Model Reports 4 min read Updated 18 Oct 2026

MG 3 2022: reliability & common MOT faults

In 2025, 85 in every 100 first MOTs on a 2022 MG 3 were passes. Most common reason for a fail: Tyre condition (front).

Summary

The 2022 MG 3 follows the pattern of the model years either side.

At a glance

How 3,999 first tests went in 2025.

Passed first time
85 in every 100
Did not pass first time
15 in every 100606 failed first-attempt tests
The typical car
3 yearsabout 19,831 miles
First tests counted
3,999

What failed most often

  1. Tyre condition (front)15 in every 100 failed tests
  2. Headlight aim13 in every 100 failed tests
  3. Individual sidelight or tail light (front)10 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 2022 MG 3 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.

Lamps and electrical

Three faults and one wear pattern. The strongest is the daytime running lights (front): 52 times as often as on similar cars.

Figures below are measured across the 604 of 606 failed first attempts (99.7%) 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.

Daytime running lights (front)

Failed on 48 first tests52 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

What it means

Daytime running lamps are inspected only when fitted as original equipment to cars and similar passenger vehicles first used on or after a set date. A lamp that is missing or not working, or that shows red light to the front, is Major. These lamps need not operate when the engine is not running, the parking brake is on, or park is selected on an automatic.

Individual sidelight or tail light (front)

Failed on 58 first tests38 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

What it means

A position lamp showing red light to the front or white light to the rear is Major. Rear lamps must show a steady red light, and front ones can show white, predominantly white with a blue tinge, or yellow if combined in a yellow headlamp. With a multiple light source, up to half not working is Minor and more than half is Major.

Headlight

Failed on 21 first tests4.9 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

On vehicles first used on or after a set date, a halogen headlamp unit converted to take HID or LED bulbs fails for light source and lamp not compatible, which is Major. A complete unit built with those light sources is not failed for that. The precise position of the lamps is not part of the inspection beyond a visual look to see that they sit at about the same height and distance from each side.

Headlight aim (front)

Failed on 75 first tests2.3 times as often as similar carsWear pattern

What it means

Beam aim too high, too low or off to either side is Major. Where a driver's beam aim control is fitted, the aim is tested without altering the setting, and rechecked at the highest setting only if it would fail for being too low. Masks or converter kits on right hand dip headlamps are acceptable.

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

Tyres

One wear pattern: tyre pressure monitoring system, 2.3 times as often as on similar cars.

Tyre pressure monitoring system

Failed on 29 first tests2.3 times as often as similar carsWear pattern

What it means

A tyre pressure monitoring system that is obviously inoperative is graded Major, and so is one listed as malfunctioning or obviously inoperative. The Minor row uses the word malfunctioning too, but its detail is a warning lamp indicating a fault, and it also covers a tyre that is obviously under-inflated.

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.

Brake discs (front)

Noted on 76 first tests2.4 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
85in 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
10in every 100
Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.

First-attempt pass 84.8% of 3,999 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 89.9%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 5 fixed and the 10 not fixed make the 15 in every 100 that did not pass first time.

Same model, other years

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

406080100201420152016201720182019202020212022Older cars
4060801002022Older cars

Newer cars are younger, so look for a jump rather than the climb.

YearPassed first timeFirst tests
201467 in every 1001,443
201565 in every 1002,139
201671 in every 1002,888
201769 in every 1002,714
201872 in every 1002,441
201975 in every 1003,477
202079 in every 1002,366
202182 in every 1001,868
2022 This car85 in every 1003,999

If you are buying one

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

Mileage matters most on a 2022 MG 3.

Of 2022 MG 3 vehicles with under 13,000 miles, 90 in every 100 passed their 2025 MOT first time. With 30,000 miles or more, 76 in every 100 did.

Under 13,000877 tests
90
13,000–18,000796 tests
89
18,000–23,000 Typical car770 tests
85
23,000–30,000770 tests
84
30,000 and over774 tests
76

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 13,00018,000–23,00030,000 and over
Tyre condition (front)1.42.33.2
Headlight aim1.71.22.2
Individual sidelight or tail light (front)1.51.91.2
Windscreen wipers (front)0.71.81.7

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

When a car fails

56in every 100

of failed cars had one item to fix.

18in every 100

of failed cars had three or more items to fix.

2in 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 2022 MG 3 follows the pattern of the model years either side. Its main cause of failure was Tyre condition (front), about 15 in every 100 failed tests. In 2025, 84.8% of 3,999 first MOTs on the 2022 MG 3 passed first time (PRS: items fixed at the station the same day, counted as a fail). The official-style rate including PRS is 89.9%. Among 606 failed first-attempt MOT tests (test year 2025), Daytime running lights (front) appears more often than on similar cars (7.9% of those tests; 48 observed failures; about 52× 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 2022 MG 3 at the first attempt were Tyre condition (front) (14.9%), Headlight aim (12.9%) and Individual sidelight or tail light (front) (9.6%), 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: Daytime running lights (front) (7.9% of those tests; 48 observed failures; about 52× more often than similar cars). These are statistical signals, not a diagnosis of any individual car.
Daytime running lights (front) shows up more often than on similar cars (7.9% of those tests; 48 observed failures; about 52× 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 2022 MG 3 include Daytime running lights (front), Individual sidelight or tail light (front), Headlight. 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 2022 MG 3 (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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