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 497 of 498 failed first attempts (99.8%) that recorded an odometer reading in 2025 — the subset the age-and-mileage comparison can be computed on.
Standout: Drive shafts — Joints (front) — 30.4% of this year's failed first attempts
Recorded on 151 of those tests. It tops the table on elevation — about 7.2× more often than on similar cars of the same age and mileage. On this year it is also the commonest failure, so it answers both questions at once. The full ranked list is in the table below.
| Fault pattern | Location | Failures | vs similar cars | Share of fails | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Drive shafts — Joints (front)
Body, chassis, structure > Transmission > Drive shafts > Joints
|
Front | 151 | ×7.2 | 30.4% | Strong |
|
Exhaust system (rear)
Body, chassis, structure > Exhaust system
|
Rear | 34 | ×5.0 | 6.8% | Likely |
|
Position lamp (front)
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment > Position lamps > Position lamp
|
Front | 126 | ×4.6 | 25.4% | Likely |
|
Wheel bearings (front)
Suspension > Wheel bearings
|
Front | 21 | ×4.5 | 4.2% | Possible |
| Diesel emissions test (compression-ignition rules for vehicles from 01/01/2014) | Any | 29 | ×3.6 | 5.8% | Possible |
|
Stop lamp (rear)
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment > Stop lamp
|
Rear | 45 | ×3.0 | 9.1% | Likely |
|
Registration plate lamp(s)
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment > Registration plate lamp(s)
|
Any | 40 | ×2.5 | 8.0% | 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).