Model Reports 4 min read Updated 18 Oct 2026

Toyota RAV-4 2011: reliability & common MOT faults

In 2025, 69 in every 100 first MOTs on a 2011 Toyota RAV-4 were passes. Most common reason for a fail: Individual sidelight or tail light (front).

Summary

The 2011 Toyota RAV-4 follows the pattern of the model years either side.

At a glance

How 2,964 first tests went in 2025.

Passed first time
69 in every 100
Did not pass first time
31 in every 100928 failed first-attempt tests
The typical car
14 yearsabout 103,220 miles
First tests counted
2,964

What failed most often

  1. Individual sidelight or tail light (front)20 in every 100 failed tests
  2. Anti-roll bar linkage ball joint dust cover (front)10 in every 100 failed tests
  3. Rigid brake pipes (rear)6 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 RAV-4 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.

Suspension

Three faults. The strongest is the anti-roll bar linkage (rear): 8.3 times as often as on similar cars.

Figures below are measured across the 928 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.

Anti-roll bar linkage (rear)

Failed on 40 first tests8.3 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

What it means

An anti-roll bar linkage is graded Dangerous when a suspension component is missing, likely to become detached, fractured or likely to fail. Insecure attachment that impairs directional stability is graded Dangerous too. Excessive damage or corrosion that seriously weakens the part is Major, and so is plain insecure attachment to the chassis or axle.

Anti-roll bar ball joint dust cover (front)

Failed on 46 first tests3.2 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

What it means

A missing anti-roll bar ball joint dust cover is Major, and so is one that no longer prevents the ingress of dirt. A cover that is only severely deteriorated is Minor. DVSA uses one wording for the dust cover on any suspension joint.

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

Failed on 96 first tests2.5 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.

Seat belts and restraints

One fault: seat belt condition (rear), 5.8 times as often as on similar cars.

Seat belt condition (rear)

Failed on 44 first tests5.8 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

What it means

Any sign of overstretching is a deficiency, and so is a cut anywhere on a child seat belt. On other belts the size of a cut decides it, with a stricter limit at the webbing edge than away from it. Webbing significantly stretched or weakened has rows in both Major and Dangerous grades.

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

Brakes

One fault: rigid brake pipes (rear), 4.1 times as often as on similar cars.

Rigid brake pipes (rear)

Failed on 58 first tests4.1 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

What it means

Chafing, corrosion or damage to a rigid brake pipe justifies rejection once its wall thickness is reduced by a set amount, although DVSA accepts this is not easy to determine. If a tester is not sure, the benefit of the doubt applies. A leaking pipe or connection is graded Dangerous on a hydraulic system and Major on an air system.

Also noted as an advisory

Testers also noted it as an advisory, worn but not yet failing, on 119 first tests, 3.2 times as often as on similar cars.

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 mounting area (rear)

Noted on 26 first tests2.7 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Suspension arm pins and bushes (front)

Noted on 190 first tests2.2 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Coil spring (rear)

Noted on 131 first tests2.1 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Suspension arm (front)

Noted on 28 first tests2.0 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Suspension sub-frame (rear)

Noted on 100 first tests2.0 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Suspension arm (rear)

Noted on 48 first tests2.0 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
69in every 100
Passed on the first test.
Fixed at the station
6in every 100
Failed, then fixed at the test station the same day.
Failed
25in every 100
Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.

First-attempt pass 68.7% of 2,964 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 75.3%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 6 fixed and the 25 not fixed make the 31 in every 100 that did not pass first time.

Same model, other years

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

40608010020052011Older carsNewer cars
4060801002011Older cars

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

YearPassed first timeFirst tests
200160 in every 100608
200261 in every 1001,039
200360 in every 1001,482
200460 in every 1001,983
200563 in every 1002,436
200657 in every 1002,414
200757 in every 1002,080
200858 in every 1001,373
200961 in every 1001,368
201065 in every 1003,185
2011 This car69 in every 1002,964
201271 in every 1001,660
201377 in every 1001,349
201476 in every 1001,283

If you are buying one

What this year's MOT record means for the decision in front of you.

Mileage matters most on a 2011 Toyota RAV-4.

Of 2011 Toyota RAV-4 vehicles with under 74,000 miles, 79 in every 100 passed their 2025 MOT first time. With 133,000 miles or more, 58 in every 100 did.

Under 74,000582 tests
79
74,000–95,000608 tests
74
95,000–112,000 Typical car600 tests
69
112,000–133,000582 tests
64
133,000 and over592 tests
58

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 74,00095,000–112,000133,000 and over
Individual sidelight or tail light (front)1.47.28.6
Anti-roll bar linkage ball joint dust cover (front)1.73.25.7
Rigid brake pipes (rear)1.71.73.2
Windscreen washers1.42.02.7

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

When a car fails

31in every 100

of failed cars had one item to fix.

43in every 100

of failed cars had three or more items to fix.

7in 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 2011 Toyota RAV-4 follows the pattern of the model years either side. Its main cause of failure was Individual sidelight or tail light (front), about 20 in every 100 failed tests. In 2025, 68.7% of 2,964 first MOTs on the 2011 Toyota RAV-4 passed first time (PRS: items fixed at the station the same day, counted as a fail). The official-style rate including PRS is 75.3%. Among 928 failed first-attempt MOT tests (test year 2025), Anti-roll bar linkage (rear) appears more often than on similar cars (4.3% of those tests; 40 observed failures; about 8.3× 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 RAV-4 at the first attempt were Individual sidelight or tail light (front) (19.8%), Anti-roll bar linkage ball joint dust cover (front) (10.3%) and Rigid brake pipes (rear) (6.2%), 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: Anti-roll bar linkage (rear) (4.3% of those tests; 40 observed failures; about 8.3× more often than similar cars). These are statistical signals, not a diagnosis of any individual car.
Anti-roll bar linkage (rear) shows up more often than on similar cars (4.3% of those tests; 40 observed failures; about 8.3× 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 RAV-4 include Anti-roll bar linkage (rear), Seat belt condition (rear), Rigid brake pipes (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.
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 RAV-4 (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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