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 4,819 of 4,820 failed first attempts that recorded an odometer reading in 2025 — the subset the age-and-mileage comparison can be computed on.
Standout: Linkage pins and bushes (front) — 2.9% of this year's failed first attempts
Recorded on 140 of those tests. It tops the table on elevation — about 14× 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 | 140 | ×14 | 2.9% | Strong |
|
Chassis condition (rear)
Body, chassis, structure > Chassis > Chassis condition
|
Rear | 176 | ×6.3 | 3.7% | Strong |
|
Service brake performance (rear)
Brakes > Brake performance > Service brake performance > Plate brake tester > Service brake performance
|
Rear | 178 | ×5.6 | 3.7% | Strong |
|
Component mounting prescribed areas (rear)
Suspension > Component mounting prescribed areas
|
Rear | 589 | ×5.1 | 12.2% | Strong |
|
Integral vehicle structure condition (rear)
Body, chassis, structure > Integral vehicle structure > Integral vehicle structure condition
|
Rear | 116 | ×5.0 | 2.4% | Strong |
|
Service brake performance (rear)
Brakes > Brake performance > Service brake performance > Rbt > Service brake performance
|
Rear | 728 | ×4.9 | 15.1% | Likely |
|
Wheel bearings (front)
Suspension > Wheel bearings
|
Front | 206 | ×4.1 | 4.3% | Likely |
|
Service brake imbalance (rear)
Brakes > Brake performance > Service brake performance > Rbt > Service brake imbalance
|
Rear | 97 | ×3.9 | 2.0% | Likely |
|
Service brake imbalance (rear)
Brakes > Brake performance > Service Brake Efficiency (sp) > Rbt (sp) > Service brake imbalance
|
Rear | 182 | ×2.8 | 3.8% | Possible |
|
Rigid brake pipes (rear)
Brakes > Rigid brake pipes
|
Rear | 232 | ×2.7 | 4.8% | 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).