Model Reports 4 min read Updated 18 Oct 2026

Jaguar XF 2016: reliability & common MOT faults

In 2025, 83 in every 100 first MOTs on a 2016 Jaguar XF were passes. Most common reason for a fail: Tyre condition (front).

Summary

A 2016 Jaguar XF passed first time about 3 in every 100 more often than the average of the 2015 and 2017 model years.

At a glance

How 7,830 first tests went in 2025.

Passed first time
83 in every 100
Did not pass first time
17 in every 1001,308 failed first-attempt tests
The typical car
9 yearsabout 74,389 miles
First tests counted
7,830

What failed most often

  1. Tyre condition (front)14 in every 100 failed tests
  2. Tyre tread depth (rear)12 in every 100 failed tests
  3. Brake pads (rear)8 in every 100 failed tests

How we count this. Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Only Class 4 cars on their first MOT of the year are counted. A car that fails and is fixed at the test station still counts as a fail in the first-attempt rate. These are raw results, not adjusted for age, mileage, or peer mix. The MOT does not test engine or gearbox internals.

Note:

These are patterns across 2016 Jaguar XF vehicles in 2025, not a prediction that any one car will have them. Faults are grouped by part of the car. A wear pattern follows age and use more than the way the car was built. They come from MOT defect codes, not manufacturer bulletins, recalls or a diagnosis of any one car.

Brakes

Three faults. The strongest is the flexible brake hoses (rear): 20 times as often as on similar cars.

Figures below are measured across the 1,307 of 1,308 failed first attempts (99.9%) that recorded an odometer reading in 2025. Mileage is needed to compare like with like.

We only list faults with at least 20 failures and a rate of about 2.0 times that of similar cars, which keeps one-off results out of the list.

Flexible brake hoses (rear)

Failed on 28 first tests20 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

Testers reject a flexible brake hose for being excessively damaged or chafed only if it is severe enough to expose the reinforcement. Slight damage, chafing or twisting is graded Minor. A leak is graded Dangerous on a hydraulic braking system and Major on an air system, and a hose damaged and likely to fail is also Dangerous.

Also noted as an advisory

Testers also noted it as an advisory, worn but not yet failing, on 33 first tests, 6.0 times as often as on similar cars.

Anti-lock braking system (ABS)

Failed on 65 first tests4.9 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

What it means

ABS is failed as removed only where it has obviously been removed, because not every vehicle in the age range where removal is not permitted has ABS. A warning lamp that does not light or shows an ABS fault is Major, as is a missing or excessively damaged wheel speed sensor. Every failure row for this component is Major.

Electronic stability control

Failed on 31 first tests2.6 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

An ESC warning lamp is failed only when the tester is certain it indicates an ESC malfunction, because the lamp takes various forms and the owner's handbook may need checking. The system is also called ESP, VDC or DSC, among many other names. Every failure row is Major, covering the lamp, wheel speed sensors, wiring, other components and the switch.

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage. Advisories count notes recorded on failed first tests only.

Seat belts and restraints

One fault: airbag warning light, 4.4 times as often as on similar cars.

Airbag warning light

Failed on 52 first tests4.4 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

What it means

The airbag warning lamp (SRS MIL in DVSA's wording) is failed only if it indicates a system malfunction, which is Major. A lamp lit to show the passenger airbag is disabled is not to be regarded as a defect. Dashboard messages are not a defect in their own right, though they can help the tester confirm a malfunction.

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage.

Tyres

One wear pattern: tyre tread depth (rear), 3.7 times as often as on similar cars.

Tyre tread depth (rear)

Failed on 154 first tests3.7 times as often as similar carsWear pattern

What it means

Only primary grooves count when tread depth is assessed: those holding the wear indicators, or cut as deep as those when new. Shallower secondary grooves are ignored. Tread depth below the minimum for the vehicle is Dangerous, and so is a pattern not visible over the whole tread, but that second row applies only to vehicles that need the lower minimum.

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage.

Noise, emissions and leaks

Two faults. The strongest is the diesel emissions test (compression-ignition rules for vehicles from 01/01/2014): 2.2 times as often as on similar cars.

Diesel emissions test (compression-ignition rules for vehicles from 01/01/2014)

Failed on 27 first tests2.2 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

Diesel engine warning light

Failed on 83 first tests2.0 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

An engine malfunction indicator lamp that is illuminated to show a malfunction is graded Major on a diesel, but only on the diesels the test covers, which depends on the vehicle type and when it was first used. DVSA lists it under exhaust emissions for compression ignition engines, and the detail line for the row also names an inoperative lamp.

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage.

Advisories

Other things testers noted as worn or close to failing, more often than on similar cars.

An advisory is a note from the tester about something that has not failed yet. It is an early warning, not a fail. Advisories for the faults above are shown with those faults.

Suspension sub-frame (rear)

Noted on 47 first tests4.9 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Brake pads (rear)

Noted on 149 first tests2.0 times as often as similar carsWear pattern

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Counts cover advisories recorded on failed first tests only, compared with cars of the same age and mileage.

MOT pass rates

How first tests ended, and how the pass rates are counted.

Passed first time
83in every 100
Passed on the first test.
Fixed at the station
3in every 100
Failed, then fixed at the test station the same day.
Failed
14in every 100
Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.

First-attempt pass 83.3% of 7,830 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 86.2%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 3 fixed and the 14 not fixed make the 17 in every 100 that did not pass first time.

Petrol and diesel

First testsTypical mileagePassed first time, as tested
Diesel7,49875,451 miles83
Petrol33252,018 miles86

Figures are in every 100 first tests.

Same model, other years

Passed first time in every 100, all tested in 2025.

406080100201020162020Older carsNewer cars
406080100201020162020Older carsNewer cars

Newer cars are younger, so look for a jump rather than the climb. A year earlier (2024), when these cars were a year younger, 84 in every 100 passed first time.

YearPassed first timeFirst tests
200864 in every 1003,774
200963 in every 1005,297
201065 in every 1007,738
201168 in every 1007,192
201270 in every 1008,895
201372 in every 10010,154
201473 in every 10011,369
201575 in every 1009,229
2016 This car83 in every 1007,830
201786 in every 1006,591
201885 in every 1005,506
201986 in every 1003,163
202088 in every 1001,290
202190 in every 100673

If you are buying one

What this year's MOT record means for the decision in front of you.

Mileage matters most on a 2016 Jaguar XF.

Of 2016 Jaguar XF vehicles with under 51,000 miles, 89 in every 100 passed their 2025 MOT first time. With 100,000 miles or more, 80 in every 100 did.

Under 51,0001,540 tests
89
51,000–67,0001,576 tests
85
67,000–82,000 Typical car1,592 tests
82
82,000–100,0001,530 tests
81
100,000 and over1,591 tests
80

What to check at your mileage

How often each fault turned up on a failed first test, by the car's mileage. Read it as: what is likely to need looking at on a car like the one in front of you.

Under 51,00067,000–82,000100,000 and over
Tyre condition (front)2.32.52.2
Tyre tread depth (rear)0.72.72.5
Brake pads (rear)1.31.31.5
Diesel engine warning light0.51.02.1
Suspension arm pins and bushes (front)0.11.11.2

Faults per 100 first tests, by the car's mileage at the test.

When a car fails

53in every 100

of failed cars had one item to fix.

18in every 100

of failed cars had three or more items to fix.

6in every 100

of all first tests had a defect the tester marked dangerous (unsafe to drive away).

Every figure here is a first-attempt MOT rate from DVSA open data for this model line, for cars of this model year tested in 2025. Each mileage band holds a fifth of the tests. MOTs do not test engine or gearbox internals, so this is a pre-purchase checklist, not a full reliability score.

FAQs

Short answers about how to read this model-year guide.

A 2016 Jaguar XF passed first time about 3 in every 100 more often than the average of the 2015 and 2017 model years. In 2025, 83.3% of 7,830 first MOTs on the 2016 Jaguar XF passed first time (PRS: items fixed at the station the same day, counted as a fail). The official-style rate including PRS is 86.2%. Among 1,308 failed first-attempt MOT tests (test year 2025), Flexible brake hoses (rear) appears more often than on similar cars (2.1% of those tests; 28 observed failures; about 20× more often than similar cars). There is no single reliability score here; this is a pre-purchase checklist built from DVSA open data, not a guarantee for any individual car.
Ranked by how often they were actually recorded, the items that most often failed a 2016 Jaguar XF at the first attempt were Tyre condition (front) (14.1%), Tyre tread depth (rear) (11.8%) and Brake pads (rear) (7.8%), each as a share of the year's failed first attempts. That is what goes wrong most often on the car. The common faults table shows a different measure: faults that are unusual compared with similar cars.
Among failed first-attempt tests we highlight patterns that appear more often than on similar cars. Top example: Flexible brake hoses (rear) (2.1% of those tests; 28 observed failures; about 20× more often than similar cars). These are statistical signals, not a diagnosis of any individual car.
Flexible brake hoses (rear) shows up more often than on similar cars (2.1% of those tests; 28 observed failures; about 20× more often than similar cars). That does not prove a design fault. Age, mileage, and how the car was used still matter. Treat it as a pre-purchase checkpoint, not a manufacturer service bulletin.
Common MOT problem areas for the 2016 Jaguar XF include Flexible brake hoses (rear), Anti-lock braking system (ABS), Airbag warning light. These are the faults that stand out compared with similar cars, not a complete list of what can go wrong on any individual car.
Advisories flag issues noted at the test and are not a fail rate. We show advisory patterns that appear more often than on similar cars among failed first-attempt tests, separate from common failure rows. Use them as early-warning checks, not as a pass/fail score.
This page highlights MOT failure patterns for the 2016 Jaguar XF (registration year) using UK DVSA open data for the selected test year. Patterns are compared with cars of a similar age and mileage. It is a buyer checklist from MOT defect statistics, not a full service history or manufacturer service-bulletin list.
No. MOT tests do not cover engine internals, gearboxes, or many electronic modules. Patterns here come from MOT defect statistics only and should not be read as engine or gearbox reliability scores.

About this data

How this page is built and what it can (and can't) say.

These figures come from UK MOT open data for this model year. We surface common failure patterns against similar cars, not a full reliability score, and not a pass/fail verdict on any individual vehicle.

2024 2025

What we include

UK Class 4 cars only. Normal MOT tests (not retests); first test per vehicle per calendar year; results pass, PRS, or fail.

Same-day repairs

PRS means the car failed items that were fixed at the test station and then passed the same day. We count PRS as a first-attempt fail in headline rates so same-day repairs do not hide problems.

How we compare

We compare this model year with other Class 4 cars of similar age and mileage in the same test year. This model family is left out of the peer group so the car is not measured against itself.

What this does not cover

  • MOTs do not cover engine internals, gearboxes, or many electronics; this is not a full reliability score.
  • Common faults come from MOT defect stats, not manufacturer TSBs or recalls.
  • Age and mileage matching reduces, but does not remove, differences in how cars were used and maintained.
  • If the data for a car is too thin to say anything useful, we say so rather than guess.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

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