Model Reports 5 min read Updated 18 Oct 2026

Tesla Model S 2016: reliability & common MOT faults

In 2025, 78 in every 100 first MOTs on a 2016 Tesla Model S were passes. Most common reason for a fail: Tyre condition (rear).

Summary

The 2016 Tesla Model S follows the pattern of the model years either side.

At a glance

How 2,130 first tests went in 2025.

Passed first time
78 in every 100
Did not pass first time
22 in every 100473 failed first-attempt tests
The typical car
9 yearsabout 92,846 miles
First tests counted
2,130

What failed most often

  1. Tyre condition (rear)18 in every 100 failed tests
  2. Tyre tread depth (rear)11 in every 100 failed tests
  3. Track rod end (front)11 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.

Note:

These are patterns across 2016 Tesla Model S vehicles in 2025, not a prediction that any one car will have them. Faults are grouped by part of the car. A wear pattern follows age and use more than the way the car was built. They come from MOT defect codes, not manufacturer bulletins, recalls or a diagnosis of any one car.

Suspension

Two faults. The strongest is the suspension arm pins and bushes (rear): 18 times as often as on similar cars.

Figures below are measured across the 471 of 473 failed first attempts (99.6%) 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.

Suspension arm pins and bushes (rear)

Failed on 42 first tests18 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

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.

Also noted as an advisory

Testers also noted it as an advisory, worn but not yet failing, on 36 first tests, 7.3 times as often as on similar cars.

Anti-roll bar linkage ball joint dust cover (front)

Failed on 22 first tests2.4 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

A suspension joint dust cover that is severely deteriorated is Minor. It becomes Major once it is missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt, so what matters is whether it still keeps dirt out. DVSA words this for any suspension joint dust cover, and files it here under anti-roll bars.

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

One fault: brake performance (roller test, front), 4.2 times as often as on similar cars.

Brake performance (roller test, front)

Failed on 21 first tests4.2 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

A wheel with no recorded braking effort on the roller test is graded Dangerous. Inadequate effort, a brake grabbing severely, abnormal lag and excessive fluctuation in effort are each Major. So is significant brake effort recorded with no brake applied, which indicates a binding brake.

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage.

Tyres

Three wear patterns. The strongest is the tyre tread depth (rear): 2.9 times as often as on similar cars.

Tyre tread depth (rear)

Failed on 52 first tests2.9 times as often as similar carsWear pattern

What it means

Only primary grooves count when tread depth is assessed: those holding the wear indicators, or cut as deep as those when new. Shallower secondary grooves are ignored. Tread depth below the minimum for the vehicle is Dangerous, and so is a pattern not visible over the whole tread, but that second row applies only to vehicles that need the lower minimum.

Tyre condition (rear)

Failed on 83 first tests2.7 times as often as similar carsWear pattern

What it means

Exposed or damaged ply or cords are graded Dangerous. A cut in excess of the requirements and deep enough to reach the ply or cords is Major, and testers may open the cut with a blunt instrument to check its depth. A tyre contacting the vehicle through flexing or suspension movement is not a defect; fouling fails only at the time of test.

Tyre condition (front)

Failed on 76 first tests2.1 times as often as similar carsWear pattern

What it means

Exposed or damaged ply or cords are graded Dangerous. A cut in excess of the requirements and deep enough to reach the ply or cords is Major, and testers may open the cut with a blunt instrument to check its depth. A tyre contacting the vehicle through flexing or suspension movement is not a defect; fouling fails only at the time of test.

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage.

Steering

One fault: track rod end (front), 2.4 times as often as on similar cars.

Track rod end (front)

Failed on 52 first tests2.4 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

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 arm ball joint (front)

Noted on 42 first tests4.6 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

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
78in every 100
Passed on the first test.
Fixed at the station
1in every 100
Failed, then fixed at the test station the same day.
Failed
21in every 100
Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.

First-attempt pass 77.8% of 2,130 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 79.0%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 1 fixed and the 21 not fixed make the 22 in every 100 that did not pass first time.

Same model, other years

Passed first time in every 100, all tested in 2025.

4060801002014201520162017201820192020Older carsNewer cars
40608010020162020Older carsNewer cars

Newer cars are younger, so look for a jump rather than the climb. A year earlier (2024), when these cars were a year younger, 77 in every 100 passed first time.

YearPassed first timeFirst tests
201472 in every 100558
201575 in every 1001,188
2016 This car78 in every 1002,130
201780 in every 1002,338
201882 in every 1001,696
201984 in every 1001,134
202080 in every 100827

If you are buying one

What this year's MOT record means for the decision in front of you.

Mileage matters most on a 2016 Tesla Model S.

Of 2016 Tesla Model S vehicles with under 65,000 miles, 84 in every 100 passed their 2025 MOT first time. With 131,000 miles or more, 73 in every 100 did.

Under 65,000425 tests
84
65,000–83,000415 tests
82
83,000–103,000 Typical car429 tests
77
103,000–131,000434 tests
74
131,000 and over423 tests
73

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 65,00083,000–103,000131,000 and over
Tyre condition (rear)3.35.13.8
Tyre tread depth (rear)1.63.02.8
Track rod end (front)0.71.95.0
Suspension arm ball joint (front)0.21.95.7

Faults per 100 first tests, by the car's mileage at the test.

When a car fails

40in every 100

of failed cars had one item to fix.

30in every 100

of failed cars had three or more items to fix.

9in every 100

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.

The 2016 Tesla Model S follows the pattern of the model years either side. Its main cause of failure was Tyre condition (rear), about 18 in every 100 failed tests. In 2025, 77.8% of 2,130 first MOTs on the 2016 Tesla Model S passed first time (PRS: items fixed at the station the same day, counted as a fail). The official-style rate including PRS is 79.0%. Among 473 failed first-attempt MOT tests (test year 2025), Suspension arm pins and bushes (rear) appears more often than on similar cars (8.9% of those tests; 42 observed failures; about 18× more often than similar cars). There is no single reliability score here; this is a pre-purchase checklist built from DVSA open data, not a guarantee for any individual car.
Ranked by how often they were actually recorded, the items that most often failed a 2016 Tesla Model S at the first attempt were Tyre condition (rear) (17.6%), Tyre tread depth (rear) (11.0%) and Track rod end (front) (11.0%), each as a share of the year's failed first attempts. That is what goes wrong most often on the car. The common faults table shows a different measure: faults that are unusual compared with similar cars.
Among failed first-attempt tests we highlight patterns that appear more often than on similar cars. Top example: Suspension arm pins and bushes (rear) (8.9% of those tests; 42 observed failures; about 18× more often than similar cars). These are statistical signals, not a diagnosis of any individual car.
Suspension arm pins and bushes (rear) shows up more often than on similar cars (8.9% of those tests; 42 observed failures; about 18× more often than similar cars). That does not prove a design fault. Age, mileage, and how the car was used still matter. Treat it as a pre-purchase checkpoint, not a manufacturer service bulletin.
Common MOT problem areas for the 2016 Tesla Model S include Suspension arm pins and bushes (rear), Brake performance (roller test, front), Anti-roll bar linkage ball joint dust cover (front). These are the faults that stand out compared with similar cars, not a complete list of what can go wrong on any individual car.
Advisories flag issues noted at the test and are not a fail rate. We show advisory patterns that appear more often than on similar cars among failed first-attempt tests, separate from common failure rows. Use them as early-warning checks, not as a pass/fail score.
This page highlights MOT failure patterns for the 2016 Tesla Model S (registration year) using UK DVSA open data for the selected test year. Patterns are compared with cars of a similar age and mileage. It is a buyer checklist from MOT defect statistics, not a full service history or manufacturer service-bulletin list.
No. MOT tests do not cover engine internals, gearboxes, or many electronic modules. Patterns here come from MOT defect statistics only and should not be read as engine or gearbox reliability scores.

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.

2024 2025

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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