At a glance
How 2,731 first tests went in 2025.
- Passed first time
- 59 in every 100
- Did not pass first time
- 41 in every 1001,116 failed first-attempt tests
- The typical car
- 17 yearsabout 123,092 miles
- First tests counted
- 2,731
What failed most often
- Individual sidelight or tail light (front)20 in every 100 failed tests
- Brake light (rear)10 in every 100 failed tests
- Number plate lights8 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.
These are patterns across 2008 Toyota Corolla 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.
Body and structure
One fault: fuel tank, 13 times as often as on similar cars.
Figures below are measured across the 1,116 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.
Fuel tank
What it means
A fuel tank, pipe or hose that is insecure is Major, and graded Dangerous when so insecure there is a risk of fire. The check covers all permanently attached fuel tanks, including gas tanks and cylinders, and hydrogen tanks on fuel cell vehicles count as fuel tanks. A missing heat shield fails a vehicle only where there is a risk of fire with other fuel system components.
Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage.
Brakes
Two faults. The strongest is the brake hand lever: 3.5 times as often as on similar cars.
Brake hand lever
What it means
A brake lever is failed for insufficient reserve only if it is touching the floor or handlebar. On motorcycle derived systems the lever may touch the handlebar, so the extent of reserve travel is assessed during the brake test. A lever not releasing correctly is Minor, and Major where the functionality of the brakes is affected.
Handbrake lever
Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage.
Noise, emissions and leaks
One fault: diesel emissions test (compression-ignition rules for vehicles from 01/07/2008), 2.5 times as often as on similar cars.
Diesel emissions test (compression-ignition rules for vehicles from 01/07/2008)
Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage.
Visibility
One fault: windscreen wipers (front), 2.1 times as often as on similar cars.
Windscreen wipers (front)
Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage.
Lamps and electrical
Two faults. The strongest is the individual direction indicators (rear): 2.0 times as often as on similar cars.
Individual direction indicators (rear)
What it means
Direction indicators must be amber, though vehicles first used before a set date may have white at the front and red at the rear when the indicators are combined with stop or position lamps, and sequential or dynamic ones are not a reason to fail. A lamp that is missing, inoperative or has more than half of a multiple light source not functioning is graded Major. A flashing rate outside the permitted range is graded Minor.
Also noted as an advisory
Testers also noted it as an advisory, worn but not yet failing, on 34 first tests, 2.1 times as often as on similar cars.
Number plate lights (rear)
What it means
Registration plate lamps must light up the rear registration plate and operate at the same time as the position lamps. A missing or inoperative lamp is Major when the plate has only one lamp or all its lamps are not working, and Minor when the plate has several lamps or light sources and not all have failed. A lamp throwing direct white light to the rear is also Minor.
Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage. Advisories count notes recorded on failed first tests only.
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 sub-frame pins and bushes (rear)
Swivel pins and bushes (rear)
Macpherson strut (front)
Suspension arm (front)
Exhaust system (rear)
Vehicle structure condition
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
- 59in every 100
- Passed on the first test.
- Fixed at the station
- 15in every 100
- Failed, then fixed at the test station the same day.
- Failed
- 26in every 100
- Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.
First-attempt pass 59.1% of 2,731 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 73.8%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 15 fixed and the 26 not fixed make the 41 in every 100 that did not pass first time.
Petrol and diesel
Figures are in every 100 first tests. Cars with more miles usually fail more often, so the same-mileage figure gives every fuel the mileage mix of all the cars in this year.
Same model, other years
Passed first time in every 100, all tested in 2025.
Newer cars are younger, so look for a jump rather than the climb. A year earlier (2024), when these cars were a year younger, 61 in every 100 passed first time.
| Year | Passed first time | First tests |
|---|---|---|
| 1997 | 59 in every 100 | 384 |
| 1998 | 56 in every 100 | 732 |
| 1999 | 60 in every 100 | 904 |
| 2000 | 62 in every 100 | 867 |
| 2001 | 62 in every 100 | 1,613 |
| 2002 | 60 in every 100 | 2,840 |
| 2003 | 57 in every 100 | 4,322 |
| 2004 | 56 in every 100 | 5,771 |
| 2005 | 59 in every 100 | 9,163 |
| 2006 | 60 in every 100 | 10,479 |
| 2007 | 60 in every 100 | 3,658 |
| 2008 This car | 59 in every 100 | 2,731 |
| 2009 | 59 in every 100 | 1,092 |
If you are buying one
What this year's MOT record means for the decision in front of you.
Mileage matters most on a 2008 Corolla.
Of 2008 Corolla vehicles with under 94,000 miles, 70 in every 100 passed their 2025 MOT first time. With 155,000 miles or more, 51 in every 100 did.
Petrol or diesel?
| Typical mileage | Passed first time, as tested | Passed first time, same mileage | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Petrol | 112,589 miles | 59 | 57 |
| Diesel | 137,087 miles | 59 | 61 |
Figures are in every 100 first tests. At the same mileage there is no clear difference between the two.
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 94,000 | 114,000–132,000 | 155,000 and over | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Individual sidelight or tail light (front) | 5.3 | 8.9 | 10.8 |
| Brake light (rear) | 3.6 | 5.4 | 3.5 |
| Number plate lights | 0.7 | 3.3 | 4.7 |
| Headlight aim (front) | 1.4 | 2.6 | 4.3 |
| Tyre condition (rear) | 1.3 | 3.3 | 2.6 |
Faults per 100 first tests, by the car's mileage at the test.
When a car fails
of failed cars had one item to fix.
of failed cars had three or more items to fix.
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.
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.
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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