Model Reports 4 min read Updated 18 Oct 2026

MINI Countryman 2010: reliability & common MOT faults

In 2025, 67 in every 100 first MOTs on a 2010 MINI Countryman were passes. Most common reason for a fail: Individual sidelight or tail light (front).

Summary

The 2010 MINI Countryman follows the pattern of the model years either side.

At a glance

How 1,255 first tests went in 2025.

Passed first time
67 in every 100
Did not pass first time
33 in every 100417 failed first-attempt tests
The typical car
15 yearsabout 93,583 miles
First tests counted
1,255

What failed most often

  1. Individual sidelight or tail light (front)22 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 2010 MINI Countryman 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.

Noise, emissions and leaks

Two faults. The strongest is the petrol emissions (with catalyst): 2.3 times as often as on similar cars.

Figures below are measured across the 417 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.

Petrol emissions (with catalyst)

Failed on 36 first tests2.3 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

Emissions levels over the manufacturer's specified limits are Major, as are levels over default limits, which apply when no exact match is found for the vehicle. Dense blue or clearly visible black smoke at idle, held for a set period, is Major, except for certain older vehicles and two stroke engines where smoke is unavoidable. An induction or exhaust leak that could affect emissions levels is Major too.

Petrol engine warning light

Failed on 29 first tests2.2 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

The malfunction indicator lamp (MIL) on a petrol engine is a Major failure when it is illuminated indicating a malfunction. The detail line DVSA gives for the same row also names an inoperative lamp. The test covers only certain petrol vehicles, depending on their age, size and fuel type.

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.

Engine oil leaks

Noted on 94 first tests2.1 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
67in every 100
Passed on the first test.
Fixed at the station
9in every 100
Failed, then fixed at the test station the same day.
Failed
24in every 100
Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.

First-attempt pass 66.8% of 1,255 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 75.7%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 9 fixed and the 24 not fixed make the 33 in every 100 that did not pass first time.

Petrol and diesel

First testsPassed first time, as tested
Petrol77966
Diesel47667

Figures are in every 100 first tests.

Same model, other years

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

406080100201020152020Newer cars
40608010020102020Newer 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, 71 in every 100 passed first time.

YearPassed first timeFirst tests
2010 This car67 in every 1001,255
201169 in every 1008,679
201272 in every 1006,545
201375 in every 1002,951
201479 in every 10012,131
201582 in every 1008,751
201683 in every 1008,836
201786 in every 10010,567
201886 in every 10013,277
201988 in every 10013,302
202090 in every 1007,717
202190 in every 1007,080
202291 in every 1007,401

FAQs

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

The 2010 MINI Countryman follows the pattern of the model years either side. Its main cause of failure was Individual sidelight or tail light (front), about 22 in every 100 failed tests. In 2025, 66.8% of 1,255 first MOTs on the 2010 MINI Countryman passed first time (PRS: items fixed at the station the same day, counted as a fail). The official-style rate including PRS is 75.7%. Among 417 failed first-attempt MOT tests (test year 2025), Petrol emissions (with catalyst) appears more often than on similar cars (8.6% of those tests; 36 observed failures; about 2.3× 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 2010 MINI Countryman at the first attempt were Individual sidelight or tail light (front) (22.3%), 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: Petrol emissions (with catalyst) (8.6% of those tests; 36 observed failures; about 2.3× more often than similar cars). These are statistical signals, not a diagnosis of any individual car.
Petrol emissions (with catalyst) shows up more often than on similar cars (8.6% of those tests; 36 observed failures; about 2.3× 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 2010 MINI Countryman include Petrol emissions (with catalyst), Petrol engine 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 2010 MINI Countryman (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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