Model Reports 4 min read Updated 18 Oct 2026

Toyota Estima 2011: reliability & common MOT faults

In 2025, 75 in every 100 first MOTs on a 2011 Toyota Estima were passes. Most common reason for a fail: Individual sidelight or tail light (front).

Summary

A 2011 Toyota Estima passed first time about 4 in every 100 less often than the average of the 2010 and 2012 model years.

At a glance

How 1,246 first tests went in 2025.

Passed first time
75 in every 100
Did not pass first time
25 in every 100308 failed first-attempt tests
The typical car
14 yearsabout 88,588 miles
First tests counted
1,246

What failed most often

  1. Individual sidelight or tail light (front)17 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 2011 Toyota Estima 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.

Lamps and electrical

Three faults. The strongest is the rear fog light: 14 times as often as on similar cars.

Figures below are measured across the 307 of 308 failed first attempts (99.7%) 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.

Rear fog light

Failed on 34 first tests14 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

What it means

A missing obligatory rear fog lamp, one that is not working, or one that does not emit a steady red light is graded Major. A rear fog lamp adversely affected by the operation of any other lamp is Major too. The manual allows it to go out when main beam is switched on or when dipped beam headlamps are switched off.

Number plate lights (rear)

Failed on 27 first tests3.9 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

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.

Headlight (front)

Failed on 35 first tests2.7 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

On vehicles first used on or after a set date, a halogen headlamp unit converted to take HID or LED bulbs fails for light source and lamp not compatible, which is Major. A complete unit built with those light sources is not failed for that. The precise position of the lamps is not part of the inspection beyond a visual look to see that they sit at about the same height and distance from each side.

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

Suspension

One fault: anti-roll bar linkage ball joint dust cover (front), 3.0 times as often as on similar cars.

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

Failed on 36 first tests3.0 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.

Visibility

One fault: windscreen wipers (front), 2.7 times as often as on similar cars.

Windscreen wipers (front)

Failed on 22 first tests2.7 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.

Brakes

One wear pattern: brake pads (front), 2.6 times as often as on similar cars.

Brake pads (front)

Failed on 23 first tests2.6 times as often as similar carsWear pattern

What it means

A pad worn down to its wear indicator, or contaminated with oil or grease, is Major. A pad worn below the set thickness limit, missing or incorrectly mounted is Dangerous. The manual treats an illuminated brake wear indicator as no reason for failure, although DVSA also lists an illuminated indicator as a Major row.

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.

Swivel pins and bushes (rear)

Noted on 20 first tests7.4 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Brake pads (rear)

Noted on 29 first tests2.3 times as often as similar carsWear pattern

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
75in every 100
Passed on the first test.
Fixed at the station
8in every 100
Failed, then fixed at the test station the same day.
Failed
17in every 100
Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.

First-attempt pass 75.3% of 1,246 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 82.7%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 8 fixed and the 17 not fixed make the 25 in every 100 that did not pass first time.

By fuel type

First testsPassed first time, as tested
Petrol65273
Hybrid54278

Figures are in every 100 first tests.

Same model, other years

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

406080100201120152020Older carsNewer cars
40608010020112020Older 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, 79 in every 100 passed first time.

YearPassed first timeFirst tests
200672 in every 100851
200771 in every 100902
200874 in every 1001,257
200978 in every 1001,580
201076 in every 1001,656
2011 This car75 in every 1001,246
201282 in every 1001,772
201381 in every 1001,553
201480 in every 1001,194
201579 in every 100813
201674 in every 100908
201780 in every 100826
201878 in every 100654
201981 in every 100646
202069 in every 100489
202171 in every 100347

FAQs

Short answers about how to read this model-year guide.

A 2011 Toyota Estima passed first time about 4 in every 100 less often than the average of the 2010 and 2012 model years. In 2025, 75.3% of 1,246 first MOTs on the 2011 Toyota Estima passed first time (PRS: items fixed at the station the same day, counted as a fail). The official-style rate including PRS is 82.7%. Among 308 failed first-attempt MOT tests (test year 2025), Rear fog light appears more often than on similar cars (11.1% of those tests; 34 observed failures; about 14× 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 2011 Toyota Estima at the first attempt were Individual sidelight or tail light (front) (16.6%), 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: Rear fog light (11.1% of those tests; 34 observed failures; about 14× more often than similar cars). These are statistical signals, not a diagnosis of any individual car.
Rear fog light shows up more often than on similar cars (11.1% of those tests; 34 observed failures; about 14× 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 2011 Toyota Estima include Rear fog light, Number plate lights (rear), 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 2011 Toyota Estima (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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