At a glance
How 5,387 first tests went in 2025.
- Passed first time
- 44 in every 100
- Did not pass first time
- 56 in every 1002,997 failed first-attempt tests
- The typical car
- 14 yearsabout 141,200 miles
- First tests counted
- 5,387
What failed most often
- Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test)20 in every 100 failed tests
- Suspension arm ball joint (front)20 in every 100 failed tests
- Track rod end (front)15 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.
These are patterns across 2011 Renault Trafic 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.
Lamps and electrical
One fault: hazard warning switch, 19 times as often as on similar cars.
Figures below are measured across the 2,980 of 2,997 failed first attempts (99.4%) that recorded an odometer reading in 2025. Mileage is needed to compare like with like.
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.
Hazard warning switch
Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage.
Suspension
Four faults. The strongest is the macpherson strut pins and bushes (front): 13 times as often as on similar cars.
Macpherson strut pins and bushes (front)
What it means
A suspension pin or bush that is excessively worn is graded Major. One likely to become detached is graded Dangerous. DVSA uses its general suspension pin, bush or joint wording here, not anything specific to a strut.
Also noted as an advisory
Testers also noted it as an advisory, worn but not yet failing, on 104 first tests, 5.6 times as often as on similar cars.
Macpherson strut (front)
What it means
Many MacPherson strut top bushes are designed to have significant lateral play when the suspension hangs free, so a top bush is rejected only when the play comes from wear or maladjustment. A top bush or bearing with excessive wear or free play is Major. Rubber or synthetic bushes are rejected only for serious deterioration of the bonding or flexible material.
Suspension arm pins and bushes (rear)
What it means
Pins and bushes on suspension arms fail as Major when they are excessively worn. They are graded Dangerous when likely to become detached. DVSA uses the same wording for a suspension joint.
Suspension arm ball joint (front)
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.
Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage. Advisories count notes recorded on failed first tests only.
Brakes
Four faults. The strongest is the rigid brake pipes (rear): 5.3 times as often as on similar cars.
Rigid brake pipes (rear)
What it means
Chafing, corrosion or damage to a rigid brake pipe justifies rejection once its wall thickness is reduced by a set amount, although DVSA accepts this is not easy to determine. If a tester is not sure, the benefit of the doubt applies. A leaking pipe or connection is graded Dangerous on a hydraulic system and Major on an air system.
Also noted as an advisory
Testers also noted it as an advisory, worn but not yet failing, on 409 first tests, 3.3 times as often as on similar cars.
Brake performance not tested
What it means
A brake performance test recorded as unable to be tested is Major. DVSA says the result must only be used where it becomes apparent during the test that the item cannot be tested, and this could not have been identified before starting. The reason has to go in the additional information box.
Rigid brake pipes (front)
What it means
Chafing, corrosion or damage to a rigid brake pipe justifies rejection once its wall thickness is reduced by a set amount, although DVSA accepts this is not easy to determine. If a tester is not sure, the benefit of the doubt applies. A leaking pipe or connection is graded Dangerous on a hydraulic system and Major on an air system.
Also noted as an advisory
Testers also noted it as an advisory, worn but not yet failing, on 225 first tests, 2.8 times as often as on similar cars.
Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test)
What it means
A parking brake with efficiency below the minimum requirement is Major, and graded Dangerous where efficiency is less than half of the required value. On a roller brake tester, the requirement counts as met if more than half of the wheels of a brake system lock. The check applies only to vehicles whose parking brake was not already tested as the secondary brake.
Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage. Advisories count notes recorded on failed first tests only.
Steering
One fault: track rod end (front), 2.8 times as often as on similar cars.
Track rod end (front)
What it means
A steering ball joint with excessive wear or free play is Major, and one worn to the extent there is a serious risk of detachment is graded Dangerous. A dust cover that is damaged but still keeps dirt out is Minor, and one missing or no longer keeping dirt out is Major. Testers must tell wear from a joint's built-in clearance or spring loading.
Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage.
Advisories
Other things testers noted as worn or close to failing, more often than on similar cars.
An advisory is a note from the tester about something that has not failed yet. It is an early warning, not a fail. Advisories for the faults above are shown with those faults.
Suspension sub-frame pins and bushes (front)
Anti-roll bar pins and bushes (front)
Brake light (rear)
Suspension spring mounting area (rear)
Vehicle structure condition (front)
Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Counts cover advisories recorded on failed first tests only, 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
- 44in every 100
- Passed on the first test.
- Fixed at the station
- 8in every 100
- Failed, then fixed at the test station the same day.
- Failed
- 48in every 100
- Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.
First-attempt pass 44.4% of 5,387 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 52.0%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 8 fixed and the 48 not fixed make the 56 in every 100 that did not pass first time.
Same model, other years
Passed first time in every 100, all tested in 2025.
Newer cars are younger, so look for a jump rather than the climb. A year earlier (2024), when these cars were a year younger, 45 in every 100 passed first time.
| Year | Passed first time | First tests |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | 51 in every 100 | 477 |
| 2003 | 46 in every 100 | 1,082 |
| 2004 | 46 in every 100 | 1,806 |
| 2005 | 50 in every 100 | 2,240 |
| 2006 | 47 in every 100 | 3,019 |
| 2007 | 48 in every 100 | 3,414 |
| 2008 | 50 in every 100 | 3,340 |
| 2009 | 47 in every 100 | 2,494 |
| 2010 | 47 in every 100 | 4,402 |
| 2011 This car | 44 in every 100 | 5,387 |
| 2012 | 49 in every 100 | 4,026 |
| 2013 | 49 in every 100 | 3,949 |
| 2014 | 52 in every 100 | 6,199 |
| 2015 | 57 in every 100 | 9,873 |
| 2016 | 60 in every 100 | 11,420 |
| 2017 | 61 in every 100 | 8,443 |
| 2018 | 65 in every 100 | 6,706 |
| 2019 | 69 in every 100 | 7,525 |
| 2020 | 76 in every 100 | 4,163 |
| 2021 | 77 in every 100 | 6,081 |
| 2022 | 77 in every 100 | 4,715 |
If you are buying one
What this year's MOT record means for the decision in front of you.
Mileage makes a modest difference on a 2011 Trafic.
Of 2011 Trafic vehicles with under 102,000 miles, 51 in every 100 passed their 2025 MOT first time. With 183,000 miles or more, 43 in every 100 did.
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 102,000 | 129,000–153,000 | 183,000 and over | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test) | 6.4 | 12.9 | 12.8 |
| Suspension arm ball joint (front) | 7.8 | 10.1 | 12.7 |
| Track rod end (front) | 6.6 | 9.0 | 9.4 |
| Individual sidelight or tail light (front) | 5.3 | 8.1 | 10.1 |
| Drive shaft joints and boots (front) | 6.6 | 5.5 | 8.3 |
Faults per 100 first tests, by the car's mileage at the test.
When a car fails
of failed cars had one item to fix.
of failed cars had three or more items to fix.
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.
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.
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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