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 1,755 of 1,757 failed first attempts (99.9%) that recorded an odometer reading in 2025 — the subset the age-and-mileage comparison can be computed on.
Standout: Linkage pins and bushes (front) — 6.9% of this year's failed first attempts
Recorded on 121 of those tests. It tops the table on elevation — about 32× 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.
| Fault pattern | Location | Failures | vs similar cars | Share of fails | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Linkage pins and bushes (front)
Suspension > Anti-roll bars > Linkage pins and bushes
|
Front | 121 | ×32 | 6.9% | Strong |
|
Wheel bearings (front)
Suspension > Wheel bearings
|
Front | 72 | ×6.4 | 4.1% | Likely |
|
Parking brake control — Lever
Brakes > Parking brake control > Lever
|
Any | 61 | ×5.3 | 3.5% | Likely |
|
Service brake performance (rear)
Brakes > Brake performance > Service brake performance > Plate brake tester > Service brake performance
|
Rear | 40 | ×4.7 | 2.3% | Likely |
|
Malfunction indicator lamp
Noise, emissions and leaks > Exhaust emissions > Spark ignition > Malfunction indicator lamp
|
Any | 180 | ×3.9 | 10.3% | Likely |
|
Service brake performance (rear)
Brakes > Brake performance > Service brake performance > Rbt > Service brake performance
|
Rear | 147 | ×3.5 | 8.4% | Likely |
|
Parking brake performance (rear)
Brakes > Brake performance > Parking brake performance > Rbt > Parking brake performance
|
Rear | 41 | ×3.4 | 2.3% | Likely |
|
Electronic stability control
Brakes > ABS / EBS / ESC > Electronic stability control
|
Any | 43 | ×3.1 | 2.5% | Likely |
|
Catalyst emissions
Noise, emissions and leaks > Exhaust emissions > Spark ignition > Catalyst emissions
|
Any | 145 | ×3.1 | 8.3% | Likely |
|
Exhaust system (front)
Body, chassis, structure > Exhaust system
|
Front | 39 | ×2.8 | 2.2% | 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).