Model Reports 4 min read Updated 18 Oct 2026

MINI Clubman 2017: reliability & common MOT faults

In 2025, 80 in every 100 first MOTs on a 2017 MINI Clubman were passes. Most common reason for a fail: Tyre condition (rear).

Summary

The 2017 MINI Clubman follows the pattern of the model years either side.

At a glance

How 7,877 first tests went in 2025.

Passed first time
80 in every 100
Did not pass first time
20 in every 1001,582 failed first-attempt tests
The typical car
8 yearsabout 56,425 miles
First tests counted
7,877

What failed most often

  1. Tyre condition (rear)14 in every 100 failed tests
  2. Brake light11 in every 100 failed tests
  3. Coil spring (rear)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 2017 MINI Clubman 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.

Lamps and electrical

Two faults. The strongest is the brake light (rear): 4.5 times as often as on similar cars.

Figures below are measured across the 1,580 of 1,582 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.

Brake light (rear)

Failed on 173 first tests4.5 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

What it means

All stop lamps missing or not working is graded Dangerous, and so is a stop lamp that stays on when the brakes are released. A stop lamp that is missing or not working is Major. On some vehicles with LED rear lamps, part of the stop lamp can go out when the rear fog lamp is lit, which is not regarded as a defect.

Side repeater indicators

Failed on 50 first tests2.6 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

Sequential or dynamic direction indicators are not a reason to fail. Where a side repeater is required, it is allowed to be part of the front direction indicator if it has a marked wraparound lens, or an amber light coming through the front lens when viewed from a set distance to the side of the rear bumper. A lens defect with no effect on the emitted light is Minor, and one that adversely affects the light is Major.

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

Suspension

One fault: coil spring (rear), 2.1 times as often as on similar cars.

Coil spring (rear)

Failed on 154 first tests2.1 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.

Wheel condition (rear)

Noted on 22 first tests3.7 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Wheel condition (front)

Noted on 47 first tests3.6 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

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
80in 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
17in every 100
Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.

First-attempt pass 79.9% of 7,877 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 83.4%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 3 fixed and the 17 not fixed make the 20 in every 100 that did not pass first time.

Petrol and diesel

First testsTypical mileagePassed first time, as testedPassed first time, same mileage
Petrol5,80153,190 miles8080
Diesel2,07667,314 miles7980

Figures are in every 100 first tests. Cars with more miles usually fail more often, so the same-mileage figure gives every fuel the mileage mix of all the cars in this year.

Same model, other years

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

40608010020152016201720182019Older carsNewer cars
40608010020152016201720182019Older 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, 82 in every 100 passed first time.

YearPassed first timeFirst tests
201577 in every 1001,379
201677 in every 1008,657
2017 This car80 in every 1007,877
201882 in every 1006,031
201985 in every 100317

If you are buying one

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

Mileage matters most on a 2017 Clubman.

Of 2017 Clubman vehicles with under 40,000 miles, 83 in every 100 passed their 2025 MOT first time. With 76,000 miles or more, 75 in every 100 did.

Under 40,0001,595 tests
83
40,000–51,0001,526 tests
83
51,000–62,000 Typical car1,580 tests
81
62,000–76,0001,558 tests
78
76,000 and over1,616 tests
75

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 40,00051,000–62,00076,000 and over
Tyre condition (rear)2.12.23.7
Brake light1.42.92.7
Coil spring (rear)1.01.92.3
Tyre tread depth (front)0.61.21.9
Brake pads (rear)1.01.11.2

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

When a car fails

63in every 100

of failed cars had one item to fix.

12in 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.

The 2017 MINI Clubman follows the pattern of the model years either side. Its main cause of failure was Tyre condition (rear), about 14 in every 100 failed tests. In 2025, 79.9% of 7,877 first MOTs on the 2017 MINI Clubman passed first time (PRS: items fixed at the station the same day, counted as a fail). The official-style rate including PRS is 83.4%. Among 1,582 failed first-attempt MOT tests (test year 2025), Brake light (rear) appears more often than on similar cars (10.9% of those tests; 173 observed failures; about 4.5× 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 2017 MINI Clubman at the first attempt were Tyre condition (rear) (14.2%), Brake light (10.9%) and Coil spring (rear) (9.7%), 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 light (rear) (10.9% of those tests; 173 observed failures; about 4.5× more often than similar cars). These are statistical signals, not a diagnosis of any individual car.
Brake light (rear) shows up more often than on similar cars (10.9% of those tests; 173 observed failures; about 4.5× 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 2017 MINI Clubman include Brake light (rear), Side repeater indicators, 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 2017 MINI Clubman (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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