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 3,540 of 3,541 failed first attempts that recorded an odometer reading in 2025 — the subset the age-and-mileage comparison can be computed on.
Standout: Reversing lamps — 3.0% of this year's failed first attempts
Recorded on 106 of those tests. It tops the table on elevation — about 7.7× 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Reversing lamps
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment > Reversing lamps > Reversing lamps
|
Any | 106 | ×7.7 | 3.0% | Strong |
|
Service brake performance (rear)
Brakes > Brake performance > Service brake performance > Rbt > Service brake performance
|
Rear | 169 | ×5.2 | 4.8% | Strong |
|
Ball joint (front)
Suspension > Suspension arms > Ball joint
|
Front | 239 | ×4.0 | 6.8% | Likely |
|
Stop lamp (rear)
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment > Stop lamp
|
Rear | 169 | ×4.0 | 4.8% | Likely |
|
Rbt (sp)
Brakes > Brake performance > Parking brake efficiency (sp) > Rbt (sp)
|
Any | 118 | ×2.8 | 3.3% | Possible |
|
Malfunction indicator lamp
Noise, emissions and leaks > Exhaust emissions > Compression ignition > Malfunction indicator lamp
|
Any | 204 | ×2.6 | 5.8% | 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).