These MOT failure patterns show up more often on this registration year than on similar cars of the same class, age, and mileage.
Shares below are measured across the 741 failed first attempts in 2025 that the age-and-mileage comparison can be computed on.
Standout: Prop shafts — Joints (front) — 3.6% of this year's failed first attempts
Recorded on 27 of those tests. It tops the table on elevation — about 19× more often than on similar cars of the same age and mileage. That is what makes it unusual for its class, which is a different question from what is most likely to fail; the buying checklist ranks by that. The full ranked list is in the table below.
No patterns met the strongest callout thresholds on this page; showing the highest-lift rows that still cleared the display floors.
| Fault pattern | Location | Failures | vs similar cars | Share of fails | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Prop shafts — Joints (front)
Body, chassis, structure > Transmission > Prop shafts > Joints
|
Front | 27 | ×19 | 3.6% | Possible |
|
Fuel system — Tank
Body, chassis, structure > Fuel system > Tank
|
Any | 21 | ×15 | 2.8% | Possible |
|
Spring mounting prescribed areas (rear)
Suspension > Springs > Spring mounting prescribed areas
|
Rear | 31 | ×15 | 4.2% | Likely |
|
Chassis condition (rear)
Body, chassis, structure > Chassis > Chassis condition
|
Rear | 95 | ×11 | 12.8% | Likely |
|
Wheel bearings (front)
Suspension > Wheel bearings
|
Front | 59 | ×5.2 | 8.0% | Likely |
|
Service brake performance
Brakes > Brake performance > Service Brake Efficiency (sp) > Rbt (sp) > Service brake performance
|
Any | 24 | ×5.0 | 3.2% | Possible |
|
Electrical equipment — Horn
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment > Electrical equipment > Horn
|
Any | 47 | ×4.1 | 6.3% | Likely |
|
Service brake imbalance (rear)
Brakes > Brake performance > Service Brake Efficiency (sp) > Rbt (sp) > Service brake imbalance
|
Rear | 35 | ×4.0 | 4.7% | Likely |
|
SRS malfunction indicator lamp
Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems > SRS malfunction indicator lamp
|
Any | 52 | ×2.7 | 7.0% | Possible |
|
Track rod end (front)
Steering > Steering linkage components > Track rod end
|
Front | 92 | ×2.6 | 12.4% | Possible |
Only patterns that clear minimum sample and elevation thresholds are shown (at least 20 failures and about 2.0× more often than similar cars).