Model Reports 5 min read Updated 18 Oct 2026

Mitsubishi Outlander 2016: reliability & common MOT faults

In 2025, 76 in every 100 first MOTs on a 2016 Mitsubishi Outlander were passes. Most common reason for a fail: Track rod end (front).

Summary

The 2016 Mitsubishi Outlander follows the pattern of the model years either side.

At a glance

How 9,951 first tests went in 2025.

Passed first time
76 in every 100
Did not pass first time
24 in every 1002,384 failed first-attempt tests
The typical car
9 yearsabout 83,408 miles
First tests counted
9,951

What failed most often

  1. Track rod end (front)13 in every 100 failed tests
  2. Suspension arm ball joint (front)8 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 Mitsubishi Outlander 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.

Suspension

One fault: anti-roll bar pins and bushes (rear), 32 times as often as on similar cars.

Figures below are measured across the 2,383 of 2,384 failed first attempts 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.

Anti-roll bar pins and bushes (rear)

Failed on 106 first tests32 times as often as similar carsStrong evidence

What it means

An anti-roll bar pin or bush that is excessively worn is Major, and one likely to become detached is graded Dangerous. The wording is DVSA's general rule for a suspension pin, bush or joint.

Also noted as an advisory

Testers also noted it as an advisory, worn but not yet failing, on 119 first tests, 24 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.

Brakes

Four faults. The strongest is the handbrake efficiency below minimum (decelerometer test): 28 times as often as on similar cars.

Handbrake efficiency below minimum (decelerometer test)

Failed on 55 first tests28 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

What it means

A parking brake with efficiency below the minimum requirement is graded Major, and efficiency less than half of the required value is graded Dangerous. This check applies only to vehicles whose parking brake has not already been tested as the secondary brake.

Handbrake performance (roller test, rear)

Failed on 64 first tests3.7 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

What it means

A parking brake that is inoperative on one side is Major. When tested on the road, the failure is the vehicle deviating excessively from a straight line. Vehicles whose parking brake was already tested as the secondary brake are not tested again for this.

Brake performance (roller test, front)

Failed on 71 first tests2.8 times as often as similar carsPossible 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.

Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test)

Failed on 184 first tests2.4 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

A parking brake with efficiency below the minimum requirement is Major, and graded Dangerous where efficiency is less than half of the required value. On a roller brake tester, the requirement counts as met if more than half of the wheels of a brake system lock. The check applies only to vehicles whose parking brake was not already tested as the secondary brake.

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

Steering

One fault: track rod end (front), 2.7 times as often as on similar cars.

Track rod end (front)

Failed on 299 first tests2.7 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

A steering ball joint with excessive wear or free play is Major, and one worn to the extent there is a serious risk of detachment is graded Dangerous. A dust cover that is damaged but still keeps dirt out is Minor, and one missing or no longer keeping dirt out is Major. Testers must tell wear from a joint's built-in clearance or spring loading.

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 26 first tests9.1 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Suspension sub-frame (rear)

Noted on 74 first tests4.2 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Rigid brake pipes (rear)

Noted on 128 first tests3.2 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

Exhaust system (rear)

Noted on 37 first tests2.6 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

Seat belt condition (rear)

Noted on 21 first tests2.2 times as often as similar carsPossible 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
76in every 100
Passed on the first test.
Fixed at the station
4in every 100
Failed, then fixed at the test station the same day.
Failed
20in every 100
Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.

First-attempt pass 76.0% of 9,951 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 80.1%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 4 fixed and the 20 not fixed make the 24 in every 100 that did not pass first time.

By fuel type

First testsTypical mileagePassed first time, as testedPassed first time, same mileage
Hybrid7,92984,601 miles7777
Diesel2,01379,614 miles7372

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.

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, 80 in every 100 passed first time.

YearPassed first timeFirst tests
200753 in every 100747
200852 in every 1001,109
200955 in every 100998
201054 in every 1001,227
201158 in every 1001,109
201262 in every 100997
201360 in every 1001,855
201465 in every 1006,658
201571 in every 10011,817
2016 This car76 in every 1009,951
201780 in every 1008,076
201884 in every 1009,823
201986 in every 1007,928
202086 in every 1004,788
202186 in every 1002,125

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 Outlander.

Of 2016 Outlander vehicles with under 60,000 miles, 83 in every 100 passed their 2025 MOT first time. With 114,000 miles or more, 72 in every 100 did.

Under 60,0001,984 tests
83
60,000–76,0002,002 tests
78
76,000–92,000 Typical car2,027 tests
75
92,000–114,0001,911 tests
72
114,000 and over2,026 tests
72

Which fuel?

Typical mileagePassed first time,
as tested		Passed first time,
same mileage
Hybrid84,601 miles7777
Diesel79,614 miles7372

Figures are in every 100 first tests. At the same mileage there is no clear difference between the two.

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 60,00076,000–92,000114,000 and over
Track rod end (front)1.43.34.1
Suspension arm ball joint (front)0.41.64.1
Brake pads (rear)0.92.32.2
Tyre condition (rear)1.42.41.6
Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test)0.91.82.5

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

When a car fails

44in every 100

of failed cars had one item to fix.

26in 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 2016 Mitsubishi Outlander follows the pattern of the model years either side. Its main cause of failure was Track rod end (front), about 13 in every 100 failed tests. In 2025, 76.0% of 9,951 first MOTs on the 2016 Mitsubishi Outlander passed first time (PRS: items fixed at the station the same day, counted as a fail). The official-style rate including PRS is 80.1%. Among 2,384 failed first-attempt MOT tests (test year 2025), Anti-roll bar pins and bushes (rear) appears more often than on similar cars (4.4% of those tests; 106 observed failures; about 32× 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 Mitsubishi Outlander at the first attempt were Track rod end (front) (12.5%), Suspension arm ball joint (front) (8.1%) 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: Anti-roll bar pins and bushes (rear) (4.4% of those tests; 106 observed failures; about 32× more often than similar cars). These are statistical signals, not a diagnosis of any individual car.
Anti-roll bar pins and bushes (rear) shows up more often than on similar cars (4.4% of those tests; 106 observed failures; about 32× 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 Mitsubishi Outlander include Anti-roll bar pins and bushes (rear), Handbrake efficiency below minimum (decelerometer test), Handbrake performance (roller test, 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 2016 Mitsubishi Outlander (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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