Model Reports 4 min read Updated 18 Oct 2026

Toyota Corolla 2021: reliability & common MOT faults

In 2025, 89 in every 100 first MOTs on a 2021 Toyota Corolla were passes. Most common reason for a fail: Windscreen wipers (front).

Summary

The 2021 Toyota Corolla follows the pattern of the model years either side.

At a glance

How 18,029 first tests went in 2025.

Passed first time
89 in every 100
Did not pass first time
11 in every 1001,948 failed first-attempt tests
The typical car
4 yearsabout 36,924 miles
First tests counted
18,029

What failed most often

  1. Windscreen wipers (front)20 in every 100 failed tests
  2. Tyre condition (front)17 in every 100 failed tests
  3. Tyre tread depth (front)7 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 Corolla 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.

Visibility

One fault: bonnet, 41 times as often as on similar cars.

Figures below are measured across the 1,948 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.

Bonnet

Failed on 59 first tests41 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.

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

Tyres

One wear pattern: tyre pressure monitoring system, 2.0 times as often as on similar cars.

Tyre pressure monitoring system

Failed on 82 first tests2.0 times as often as similar carsWear pattern

What it means

A tyre pressure monitoring system that is obviously inoperative is graded Major, and so is one listed as malfunctioning or obviously inoperative. The Minor row uses the word malfunctioning too, but its detail is a warning lamp indicating a fault, and it also covers a tyre that is obviously under-inflated.

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.

Number plates (front)

Noted on 30 first tests2.1 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
89in 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
7in every 100
Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.

First-attempt pass 89.2% of 18,029 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 93.0%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 4 fixed and the 7 not fixed make the 11 in every 100 that did not pass first time.

Same model, other years

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

YearPassed first timeFirst tests
201988 in every 10014,253
202089 in every 10017,123
2021 This car89 in every 10018,029
202290 in every 10017,287

Newer cars are younger, so look for a jump rather than the climb.

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 Corolla.

Of 2021 Corolla vehicles with under 22,000 miles, 92 in every 100 passed their 2025 MOT first time. With 63,000 miles or more, 87 in every 100 did.

Under 22,0003,445 tests
92
22,000–32,0003,803 tests
91
32,000–43,000 Typical car3,512 tests
89
43,000–63,0003,626 tests
87
63,000 and over3,642 tests
87

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 22,00032,000–43,00063,000 and over
Windscreen wipers (front)1.92.41.9
Tyre condition (front)1.82.02.0
Tyre tread depth (front)0.30.71.2
Headlight aim0.60.71.0
Windscreen washers0.20.40.8

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

When a car fails

64in every 100

of failed cars had one item to fix.

12in 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 Corolla follows the pattern of the model years either side. Its main cause of failure was Windscreen wipers (front), about 20 in every 100 failed tests. In 2025, 89.2% of 18,029 first MOTs on the 2021 Toyota Corolla passed first time (PRS: items fixed at the station the same day, counted as a fail). The official-style rate including PRS is 93.0%. Among 1,948 failed first-attempt MOT tests (test year 2025), Bonnet appears more often than on similar cars (3.0% of those tests; 59 observed failures; about 41× 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 Corolla at the first attempt were Windscreen wipers (front) (20.5%), Tyre condition (front) (17.0%) and Tyre tread depth (front) (7.0%), 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: Bonnet (3.0% of those tests; 59 observed failures; about 41× more often than similar cars). These are statistical signals, not a diagnosis of any individual car.
Bonnet shows up more often than on similar cars (3.0% of those tests; 59 observed failures; about 41× 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 Corolla include Bonnet. 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 2021 Toyota Corolla (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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