Model Reports 4 min read Updated 18 Oct 2026

Toyota C-HR 2021: reliability & common MOT faults

In 2025, 88 in every 100 first MOTs on a 2021 Toyota C-HR were passes. Most common reason for a fail: Windscreen wipers (front).

Summary

The 2021 Toyota C-HR follows the pattern of the model years either side.

At a glance

How 16,764 first tests went in 2025.

Passed first time
88 in every 100
Did not pass first time
12 in every 1002,056 failed first-attempt tests
The typical car
4 yearsabout 30,359 miles
First tests counted
16,764

What failed most often

  1. Windscreen wipers (front)23 in every 100 failed tests
  2. Reversing lights16 in every 100 failed tests
  3. Tyre condition (front)10 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 2021 Toyota C-HR 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

Two faults. The strongest is the reversing lights (rear): 90 times as often as on similar cars.

Figures below are measured across the 2,056 failed first attempts in 2025 that had a mileage recorded, which allows a like-for-like comparison.

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.

Reversing lights (rear)

Failed on 319 first tests90 times as often as similar carsStrong evidence

What it means

Reversing lamps must show a white light to the rear, and on some vehicles the engine has to be running before they work. A lamp that does not emit a steady white light, does not face the rear or has its light intensity significantly reduced is Major. A lamp not securely attached is Minor, but one likely to become detached is Major.

Individual sidelight or tail light (rear)

Failed on 62 first tests5.5 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

What it means

A position lamp showing red light to the front or white light to the rear is Major. Rear lamps must show a steady red light, and front ones can show white, predominantly white with a blue tinge, or yellow if combined in a yellow headlamp. With a multiple light source, up to half not working is Minor and more than half is Major.

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

Visibility

Two faults. The strongest is the bonnet: 40 times as often as on similar cars.

Bonnet

Failed on 47 first tests40 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

What it means

A bonnet seriously at risk of opening inadvertently is graded Dangerous. A bonnet that cannot be safely secured in the closed position is Major, as is a primary retaining device that is excessively deteriorated, ineffective or insecure. Only primary catches, those that hold the bonnet fully closed, are inspected, and only where an open bonnet would obscure the driver's view of the road.

Windscreen wipers (front)

Failed on 476 first tests2.0 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

Only a clearly damaged or worn windscreen wiper needs to be rejected. A wiper that is missing or not working is graded Major, and so is a blade that is missing or obviously not clearing the windscreen. A defective blade is graded Minor.

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. 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
88in every 100
Passed on the first test.
Fixed at the station
4in every 100
Failed, then fixed at the test station the same day.
Failed
8in every 100
Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.

First-attempt pass 87.7% of 16,764 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 92.1%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 4 fixed and the 8 not fixed make the 12 in every 100 that did not pass first time.

Same model, other years

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

4060801002016201720182019202020212022Older carsNewer cars
4060801002021Older 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, 91 in every 100 passed first time.

YearPassed first timeFirst tests
201680 in every 100470
201782 in every 10013,316
201883 in every 10017,446
201984 in every 10016,626
202085 in every 10015,458
2021 This car88 in every 10016,764
202292 in every 10016,331

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 2021 C-HR.

Of 2021 C-HR vehicles with under 20,000 miles, 92 in every 100 passed their 2025 MOT first time. With 45,000 miles or more, 84 in every 100 did.

Under 20,0003,271 tests
92
20,000–27,0003,498 tests
89
27,000–34,000 Typical car3,216 tests
87
34,000–45,0003,406 tests
87
45,000 and over3,373 tests
84

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 20,00027,000–34,00045,000 and over
Windscreen wipers (front)1.63.13.8
Reversing lights1.52.31.7
Tyre condition (front)0.91.21.2
Tyre tread depth (front)0.11.11.7
Windscreen washers0.30.30.5

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

When a car fails

70in every 100

of failed cars had one item to fix.

8in every 100

of failed cars had three or more items to fix.

2in 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 2021 Toyota C-HR follows the pattern of the model years either side. Its main cause of failure was Windscreen wipers (front), about 23 in every 100 failed tests. In 2025, 87.7% of 16,764 first MOTs on the 2021 Toyota C-HR passed first time (PRS: items fixed at the station the same day, counted as a fail). The official-style rate including PRS is 92.1%. Among 2,056 failed first-attempt MOT tests (test year 2025), Reversing lights (rear) appears more often than on similar cars (15.5% of those tests; 319 observed failures; about 90× 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 2021 Toyota C-HR at the first attempt were Windscreen wipers (front) (23.2%), Reversing lights (15.5%) and Tyre condition (front) (9.9%), 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: Reversing lights (rear) (15.5% of those tests; 319 observed failures; about 90× more often than similar cars). These are statistical signals, not a diagnosis of any individual car.
Reversing lights (rear) shows up more often than on similar cars (15.5% of those tests; 319 observed failures; about 90× 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 2021 Toyota C-HR include Reversing lights (rear), Bonnet, Individual sidelight or tail light (rear). These are the faults that stand out compared with similar cars, not a complete list of what can go wrong on any individual car.
This page highlights MOT failure patterns for the 2021 Toyota C-HR (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.

Check any vehicle’s MOT history

Full MOT history, mileage records, and reliability insights for any UK vehicle.

Run a free check