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 1,768 of 1,769 failed first attempts (99.9%) that recorded an odometer reading in 2025 — the subset the age-and-mileage comparison can be computed on.
Standout: Rigid brake pipes (rear) — 7.7% of this year's failed first attempts
Recorded on 137 of those tests. It tops the table on elevation — about 9.2× 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.
| Fault pattern | Location | Failures | vs similar cars | Share of fails | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Rigid brake pipes (rear)
Brakes > Rigid brake pipes
|
Rear | 137 | ×9.2 | 7.7% | Strong |
|
Rigid brake pipes (front)
Brakes > Rigid brake pipes
|
Front | 54 | ×5.0 | 3.1% | Likely |
|
Coil spring (rear)
Suspension > Springs > Coil springs > Coil spring
|
Rear | 316 | ×3.3 | 17.9% | Likely |
|
Stop lamp (rear)
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment > Stop lamp
|
Rear | 187 | ×3.3 | 10.6% | Likely |
|
Drive shafts — Joints (front)
Body, chassis, structure > Transmission > Drive shafts > Joints
|
Front | 224 | ×2.9 | 12.7% | Possible |
|
Registration plate lamp(s) (rear)
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment > Registration plate lamp(s)
|
Rear | 159 | ×2.5 | 9.0% | Possible |
|
Track rod end (front)
Steering > Steering linkage components > Track rod end
|
Front | 219 | ×2.5 | 12.4% | Possible |
|
Position lamp (front)
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment > Position lamps > Position lamp
|
Front | 236 | ×2.2 | 13.3% | 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).