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 755 of 769 failed first attempts (98.2%) that recorded an odometer reading in 2025 — the subset the age-and-mileage comparison can be computed on.
Standout: Shock absorbers (rear) — 14.3% of this year's failed first attempts
Recorded on 108 of those tests. It tops the table on elevation — about 6.0× 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Macpherson strut (front)
Suspension > Macpherson strut > Macpherson strut
|
Front | 20 | ×6.1 | 2.6% | Possible |
|
Shock absorbers (rear)
Suspension > Shock absorbers
|
Rear | 108 | ×6.0 | 14.3% | Strong |
|
Individual direction indicators (rear)
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment > Direction indicators > Flashing type > Individual direction indicators
|
Rear | 29 | ×4.7 | 3.8% | Possible |
|
Coil spring (front)
Suspension > Springs > Coil springs > Coil spring
|
Front | 183 | ×3.9 | 24.2% | Likely |
|
Position lamp (rear)
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment > Position lamps > Position lamp
|
Rear | 38 | ×3.1 | 5.0% | Likely |
| Diesel emissions test (compression-ignition rules for vehicles from 01/01/2014) | Any | 43 | ×3.0 | 5.7% | Likely |
|
Shock absorbers (front)
Suspension > Shock absorbers
|
Front | 38 | ×2.6 | 5.0% | 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).