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 1,093 of 1,095 failed first attempts (99.8%) that recorded an odometer reading in 2025 — the subset the age-and-mileage comparison can be computed on.
Standout: Electrical equipment — Horn — 13.4% of this year's failed first attempts
Recorded on 147 of those tests. It tops the table on elevation — about 13× 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Linkage pins and bushes (front)
Suspension > Anti-roll bars > Linkage pins and bushes
|
Front | 52 | ×22 | 4.8% | Likely |
|
Electrical equipment — Horn
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment > Electrical equipment > Horn
|
Any | 147 | ×13 | 13.4% | Strong |
|
Anti-roll bars — Linkage (front)
Suspension > Anti-roll bars > Linkage
|
Front | 25 | ×12 | 2.3% | Possible |
|
Pins and bushes (front)
Suspension > Macpherson strut > Pins and bushes
|
Front | 23 | ×7.8 | 2.1% | Possible |
|
Macpherson strut (front)
Suspension > Macpherson strut > Macpherson strut
|
Front | 51 | ×7.7 | 4.7% | Likely |
|
Individual direction indicators (front)
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment > Direction indicators > Flashing type > Individual direction indicators
|
Front | 58 | ×5.5 | 5.3% | Likely |
|
Rigid brake pipes (rear)
Brakes > Rigid brake pipes
|
Rear | 82 | ×4.8 | 7.5% | Likely |
|
Coil spring (rear)
Suspension > Springs > Coil springs > Coil spring
|
Rear | 161 | ×3.7 | 14.7% | Likely |
|
Individual direction indicators (rear)
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment > Direction indicators > Flashing type > Individual direction indicators
|
Rear | 68 | ×2.9 | 6.2% | Possible |
|
Service brake performance (front)
Brakes > Brake performance > Service brake performance > Rbt > Service brake performance
|
Front | 45 | ×2.5 | 4.1% | 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).