Toyota Verso 2011: reliability & common MOT faults

In 2025, 65 in every 100 first MOTs on a 2011 Toyota Verso were passes. Most common reason for a fail: Individual sidelight or tail light (front).

Summary

The 2011 Toyota Verso follows the pattern of the model years either side.

At a glance

How 3,543 first tests went in 2025.

Passed first time
65 in every 100
Did not pass first time
35 in every 1001,250 failed first-attempt tests
The typical car
14 yearsabout 96,992 miles
First tests counted
3,543

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)9 in every 100 failed tests
  3. Horn9 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 Verso 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.

Lamps and electrical

Three faults. The strongest is the horn: 7.1 times as often as on similar cars.

Figures below are measured across the 1,248 of 1,250 failed first attempts (99.8%) 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.

Horn

Failed on 111 first tests7.1 times as often as similar carsStrong evidence

What it means

A horn that does not work, or is likely to be confused with an emergency vehicle siren, is graded Major. Gongs, bells, sirens and anything with more than one tone, which includes a horn that alternates between its notes, are not allowed, except a gong, bell or siren on vehicles first used before a set date. Sound defects are Minor for named cases such as a bell or harsh sound, and Major under a general row.

Individual sidelight or tail light (rear)

Failed on 127 first tests4.5 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

What it means

A position lamp showing red light to the front or white light to the rear is Major. Rear lamps must show a steady red light, and front ones can show white, predominantly white with a blue tinge, or yellow if combined in a yellow headlamp. With a multiple light source, up to half not working is Minor and more than half is Major.

Number plate lights (rear)

Failed on 58 first tests2.0 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.

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

Brakes

One fault: rigid brake pipes (rear), 2.5 times as often as on similar cars.

Rigid brake pipes (rear)

Failed on 48 first tests2.5 times as often as similar carsPossible 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 142 first tests, 2.8 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.

Suspension

One fault: anti-roll bar linkage ball joint dust cover (front), 2.3 times as often as on similar cars.

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

Failed on 112 first tests2.3 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.

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.

Headlight (front)

Noted on 55 first tests4.3 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Chassis condition (rear)

Noted on 21 first tests3.3 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Suspension mounting area (rear)

Noted on 36 first tests2.8 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Coil spring

Noted on 20 first tests2.4 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Suspension arm (front)

Noted on 45 first tests2.3 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
65in every 100
Passed on the first test.
Fixed at the station
10in 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 64.7% of 3,543 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 75.4%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 10 fixed and the 25 not fixed make the 35 in every 100 that did not pass first time.

Petrol and diesel

First testsTypical mileagePassed first time, as testedPassed first time, same mileage
Petrol2,41485,824 miles6765
Diesel1,113122,192 miles5961

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.

40608010020112015Older carsNewer cars
4060801002011Newer 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, 67 in every 100 passed first time.

YearPassed first timeFirst tests
200962 in every 1001,697
201060 in every 1002,712
2011 This car65 in every 1003,543
201265 in every 1002,725
201370 in every 1003,016
201470 in every 1002,745
201575 in every 1002,987
201675 in every 1003,263
201780 in every 1002,163
201880 in every 100768

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 Verso.

Of 2011 Verso vehicles with under 67,000 miles, 77 in every 100 passed their 2025 MOT first time. With 132,000 miles or more, 57 in every 100 did.

Under 67,000724 tests
77
67,000–87,000693 tests
67
87,000–106,000 Typical car691 tests
64
106,000–132,000718 tests
58
132,000 and over715 tests
57

Petrol or diesel?

Typical mileagePassed first time,
as tested
Passed first time,
same mileage
Petrol85,824 miles6765
Diesel122,192 miles5961

Figures are in every 100 first tests. Petrol cars look better on the raw figures only because diesel cars have done more miles (typically 122,192 against 85,824). 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 67,00087,000–106,000132,000 and over
Individual sidelight or tail light (front)2.87.19.2
Anti-roll bar linkage ball joint dust cover (front)1.04.14.5
Horn1.83.84.3
Headlight aim1.22.33.4
Number plate lights0.63.03.4

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.

44in every 100

of failed cars had three or more items to fix.

6in 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 Verso 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, 64.7% of 3,543 first MOTs on the 2011 Toyota Verso passed first time (PRS: items fixed at the station the same day, counted as a fail). The official-style rate including PRS is 75.4%. Among 1,250 failed first-attempt MOT tests (test year 2025), Horn appears more often than on similar cars (8.9% of those tests; 111 observed failures; about 7.1× 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 Verso at the first attempt were Individual sidelight or tail light (front) (20.2%), Anti-roll bar linkage ball joint dust cover (front) (9.0%) and Horn (8.9%), 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: Horn (8.9% of those tests; 111 observed failures; about 7.1× more often than similar cars). These are statistical signals, not a diagnosis of any individual car.
Horn shows up more often than on similar cars (8.9% of those tests; 111 observed failures; about 7.1× 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 Verso include Horn, Individual sidelight or tail light (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 Verso (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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