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 3,448 of 3,449 failed first attempts that recorded an odometer reading in 2025 — the subset the age-and-mileage comparison can be computed on.
Standout: Ball joint (front) — 2.1% of this year's failed first attempts
Recorded on 74 of those tests. It tops the table on elevation — about 6.2× 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Ball joint (front)
Suspension > Other suspension component > Ball joint
|
Front | 74 | ×6.2 | 2.1% | Likely |
|
Seat belts — Condition (rear)
Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems > Seat belts > Condition
|
Rear | 96 | ×3.3 | 2.8% | Likely |
| Diesel emissions test (compression-ignition rules for vehicles from 01/07/2008) | Any | 194 | ×3.0 | 5.6% | Possible |
|
Wheel bearings (front)
Suspension > Wheel bearings
|
Front | 127 | ×2.9 | 3.7% | Possible |
|
Drive shafts — Joints (front)
Body, chassis, structure > Transmission > Drive shafts > Joints
|
Front | 427 | ×2.3 | 12.4% | Possible |
|
Coil spring (front)
Suspension > Springs > Coil springs > Coil spring
|
Front | 536 | ×2.3 | 15.5% | Possible |
|
Electronic stability control
Brakes > ABS / EBS / ESC > Electronic stability control
|
Any | 71 | ×2.3 | 2.1% | Possible |
|
Stop lamp (rear)
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment > Stop lamp
|
Rear | 368 | ×2.2 | 10.7% | Possible |
|
Track rod end
Steering > Steering linkage components > Track rod end
|
Any | 131 | ×2.1 | 3.8% | 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).