Model Reports 4 min read Updated 18 Oct 2026

Mazda MX-5 2012: reliability & common MOT faults

In 2025, 79 in every 100 first MOTs on a 2012 Mazda MX-5 were passes. Most common reason for a fail: Coil spring (rear).

Summary

The 2012 Mazda MX-5 follows the pattern of the model years either side.

At a glance

How 2,987 first tests went in 2025.

Passed first time
79 in every 100
Did not pass first time
21 in every 100615 failed first-attempt tests
The typical car
13 yearsabout 50,638 miles
First tests counted
2,987

What failed most often

  1. Coil spring (rear)9 in every 100 failed tests
  2. Individual sidelight or tail light (front)9 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 2012 Mazda MX-5 vehicles in 2025, not a prediction that any one car will have them. Faults are grouped by part of the car. They come from MOT defect codes, not manufacturer bulletins, recalls or a diagnosis of any one car.

Brakes

One fault: brake performance (roller test, front), 4.4 times as often as on similar cars.

Figures below are measured across the 615 failed first attempts in 2025 that had a mileage recorded, which allows a like-for-like comparison.

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.

Brake performance (roller test, front)

Failed on 48 first tests4.4 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

What it means

A wheel with no recorded braking effort on the roller test is graded Dangerous. Inadequate effort, a brake grabbing severely, abnormal lag and excessive fluctuation in effort are each Major. So is significant brake effort recorded with no brake applied, which indicates a binding brake.

Also noted as an advisory

Testers also noted it as an advisory, worn but not yet failing, on 33 first tests, 3.2 times as often as on similar cars.

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

Suspension

One fault: coil spring (rear), 2.4 times as often as on similar cars.

Coil spring (rear)

Failed on 55 first tests2.4 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

A missing bump stop rubber is not a reason to fail a coil spring. When the vehicle is jacked and lowered, a spring that does not correctly locate as the suspension returns to its normal running position is rejected as insecurely attached. A missing spring is Major, and graded Dangerous where directional control is affected.

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.

Anti-roll bar linkage ball joints (rear)

Noted on 21 first tests14 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Suspension sub-frame (rear)

Noted on 64 first tests3.4 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Suspension arm (rear)

Noted on 21 first tests2.8 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Shock absorbers (rear)

Noted on 49 first tests2.6 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Brake performance (roller test, rear)

Noted on 31 first tests2.5 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Suspension sub-frame (front)

Noted on 49 first tests2.4 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Brake pads (rear)

Noted on 40 first tests2.1 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
79in every 100
Passed on the first test.
Fixed at the station
5in every 100
Failed, then fixed at the test station the same day.
Failed
16in every 100
Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.

First-attempt pass 79.4% of 2,987 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 83.7%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 5 fixed and the 16 not fixed make the 21 in every 100 that did not pass first time.

Same model, other years

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

4060801001990199520002005201220152020Older carsNewer cars
4060801001990200020122020Older 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, 78 in every 100 passed first time.

YearPassed first timeFirst tests
199068 in every 100706
199164 in every 100756
199262 in every 100556
199367 in every 100523
199467 in every 100465
199568 in every 100721
199666 in every 1001,076
199767 in every 1001,589
199868 in every 1002,159
199965 in every 1002,255
200062 in every 1002,217
200167 in every 1001,631
200265 in every 1002,616
200362 in every 1003,309
200464 in every 1002,580
200566 in every 1002,775
200667 in every 1005,552
200769 in every 1006,988
200868 in every 1004,996
200971 in every 1003,926
201073 in every 1004,428
201176 in every 1003,235
2012 This car79 in every 1002,987
201379 in every 1002,983
201481 in every 1002,754
201585 in every 1002,891
201686 in every 1003,934
201789 in every 1004,422
201889 in every 1004,111
201992 in every 1003,880
202092 in every 1001,038
202195 in every 1001,426
202294 in every 1001,300

If you are buying one

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

Mileage matters most on a 2012 Mazda MX-5.

Of 2012 Mazda MX-5 vehicles with under 32,000 miles, 89 in every 100 passed their 2025 MOT first time. With 73,000 miles or more, 70 in every 100 did.

Under 32,000607 tests
89
32,000–45,000596 tests
82
45,000–57,000 Typical car575 tests
81
57,000–73,000614 tests
75
73,000 and over594 tests
70

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 32,00045,000–57,00073,000 and over
Coil spring (rear)0.71.62.7
Individual sidelight or tail light (front)0.20.35.1

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

When a car fails

47in every 100

of failed cars had one item to fix.

26in every 100

of failed cars had three or more items to fix.

4in 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.

The 2012 Mazda MX-5 follows the pattern of the model years either side. Its main cause of failure was Coil spring (rear), about 9 in every 100 failed tests. In 2025, 79.4% of 2,987 first MOTs on the 2012 Mazda MX-5 passed first time (PRS: items fixed at the station the same day, counted as a fail). The official-style rate including PRS is 83.7%. Among 615 failed first-attempt MOT tests (test year 2025), Brake performance (roller test, front) appears more often than on similar cars (7.8% of those tests; 48 observed failures; about 4.4× 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 2012 Mazda MX-5 at the first attempt were Coil spring (rear) (8.9%) and Individual sidelight or tail light (front) (8.6%), 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: Brake performance (roller test, front) (7.8% of those tests; 48 observed failures; about 4.4× more often than similar cars). These are statistical signals, not a diagnosis of any individual car.
Brake performance (roller test, front) shows up more often than on similar cars (7.8% of those tests; 48 observed failures; about 4.4× 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 2012 Mazda MX-5 include Brake performance (roller test, front), Coil spring (rear). 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 2012 Mazda MX-5 (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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