Model Reports 4 min read Updated 18 Oct 2026

Peugeot 2008 2021: reliability & common MOT faults

In 2025, 84 in every 100 first MOTs on a 2021 Peugeot 2008 were passes. Most common reason for a fail: Windscreen wipers (front).

Summary

At the same mileage, a diesel 2021 Peugeot 2008 passed first time more often than an electric one: 86 in every 100 against 81 in every 100.

At a glance

How 16,543 first tests went in 2025.

Passed first time
84 in every 100
Did not pass first time
16 in every 1002,585 failed first-attempt tests
The typical car
4 yearsabout 30,341 miles
First tests counted
16,543

What failed most often

  1. Windscreen wipers (front)28 in every 100 failed tests
  2. Suspension arm ball joint (front)9 in every 100 failed tests
  3. Tyre condition (rear)9 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 2021 Peugeot 2008 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

Two faults. The strongest is the suspension arm ball joint (front): 11 times as often as on similar cars.

Figures below are measured across the 2,585 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.

Suspension arm ball joint (front)

Failed on 239 first tests11 times as often as similar carsStrong evidence

What it means

A suspension arm ball joint is failed under the general suspension pin, bush or joint wording. Excessively worn is Major, and likely to become detached is graded Dangerous.

Also noted as an advisory

Testers also noted it as an advisory, worn but not yet failing, on 177 first tests, 12 times as often as on similar cars.

Shock absorbers (rear)

Failed on 57 first tests2.2 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

Slight seepage that leaves a film of fluid on a shock absorber does not fail it. Severe leakage, or damage so that it does not function, is Major. A shock absorber missing or likely to become detached is graded Dangerous, though a missing one is only rejected if shock absorbers were fitted as standard.

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage. Advisories count notes recorded on failed first tests only.

Visibility

One fault: windscreen wipers (front), 2.4 times as often as on similar cars.

Windscreen wipers (front)

Failed on 715 first tests2.4 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

Only a clearly damaged or worn windscreen wiper needs to be rejected. A wiper that is missing or not working is graded Major, and so is a blade that is missing or obviously not clearing the windscreen. A defective blade is graded Minor.

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. 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
84in 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
12in every 100
Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.

First-attempt pass 84.4% of 16,543 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 88.3%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 4 fixed and the 12 not fixed make the 16 in every 100 that did not pass first time.

By fuel type

First testsTypical mileagePassed first time, as testedPassed first time, same mileage
Petrol11,05929,385 miles8686
Electric4,28430,362 miles8181
Diesel1,19941,673 miles8486

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.

40608010020152021Older carsNewer cars
4060801002021Older 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, 86 in every 100 passed first time.

YearPassed first timeFirst tests
201358 in every 1003,150
201460 in every 10014,409
201563 in every 10015,948
201667 in every 10017,152
201769 in every 10015,658
201874 in every 10015,278
201980 in every 10014,670
202086 in every 10011,124
2021 This car84 in every 10016,543
202290 in every 10013,942

If you are buying one

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

Mileage matters most on a 2021 Peugeot 2008.

Of 2021 Peugeot 2008 vehicles with under 20,000 miles, 90 in every 100 passed their 2025 MOT first time. With 44,000 miles or more, 80 in every 100 did.

Under 20,0003,392 tests
90
20,000–27,0003,367 tests
86
27,000–34,000 Typical car3,126 tests
83
34,000–44,0003,312 tests
82
44,000 and over3,346 tests
80

Which fuel?

Typical mileagePassed first time,
as tested		Passed first time,
same mileage
Petrol29,385 miles8686
Electric30,362 miles8181

Figures are in every 100 first tests. Petrol cars look better on the raw figures only because electric cars have done more miles (typically 30,362 against 29,385). 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 20,00027,000–34,00044,000 and over
Windscreen wipers (front)3.05.04.2
Suspension arm ball joint (front)0.71.33.0
Tyre condition (rear)1.01.71.7
Tyre tread depth (front)0.11.11.6
Brake pads (front)0.10.81.1

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

When a car fails

58in every 100

of failed cars had one item to fix.

12in every 100

of failed cars had three or more items to fix.

3in 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.

At the same mileage, a diesel 2021 Peugeot 2008 passed first time more often than an electric one: 86 in every 100 against 81 in every 100. In 2025, 84.4% of 16,543 first MOTs on the 2021 Peugeot 2008 passed first time (PRS: items fixed at the station the same day, counted as a fail). The official-style rate including PRS is 88.3%. Among 2,585 failed first-attempt MOT tests (test year 2025), Suspension arm ball joint (front) appears more often than on similar cars (9.2% of those tests; 239 observed failures; about 11× 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 2021 Peugeot 2008 at the first attempt were Windscreen wipers (front) (27.7%), Suspension arm ball joint (front) (9.2%) and Tyre condition (rear) (9.1%), 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: Suspension arm ball joint (front) (9.2% of those tests; 239 observed failures; about 11× more often than similar cars). These are statistical signals, not a diagnosis of any individual car.
Suspension arm ball joint (front) shows up more often than on similar cars (9.2% of those tests; 239 observed failures; about 11× 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 2021 Peugeot 2008 include Suspension arm ball joint (front), Windscreen wipers (front), Shock absorbers (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.
This page highlights MOT failure patterns for the 2021 Peugeot 2008 (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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