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 1,795 of 1,797 failed first attempts (99.9%) that recorded an odometer reading in 2025 — the subset the age-and-mileage comparison can be computed on.
Standout: Fuel cap/sealing device — 9.1% of this year's failed first attempts
Recorded on 163 of those tests. It tops the table on elevation — about 27× 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Fuel cap/sealing device
Body, chassis, structure > Fuel system > Fuel cap/sealing device
|
Any | 163 | ×27 | 9.1% | Strong |
|
Service brake imbalance (rear)
Brakes > Brake performance > Service Brake Efficiency (sp) > Rbt (sp) > Service brake imbalance
|
Rear | 59 | ×6.3 | 3.3% | Likely |
|
Catalyst emissions
Noise, emissions and leaks > Exhaust emissions > Spark ignition > Catalyst emissions
|
Any | 198 | ×4.7 | 11.0% | Likely |
|
Parking brake control — Lever
Brakes > Parking brake control > Lever
|
Any | 47 | ×3.9 | 2.6% | Likely |
|
Position lamp (front)
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment > Position lamps > Position lamp
|
Front | 216 | ×3.4 | 12.0% | Likely |
|
Registration plate lamp(s) (rear)
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment > Registration plate lamp(s)
|
Rear | 95 | ×2.9 | 5.3% | Possible |
|
Service brake performance (rear)
Brakes > Brake performance > Service brake performance > Rbt > Service brake performance
|
Rear | 107 | ×2.8 | 6.0% | Possible |
|
Pins and bushes (front)
Suspension > Suspension arms > Pins and bushes
|
Front | 187 | ×2.4 | 10.4% | 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).