Toyota Yaris 2014: reliability & common MOT faults

In 2025, 72 in every 100 first MOTs on a 2014 Toyota Yaris were passes. Most common reason for a fail: Coil spring (front).

Summary

A 2014 Toyota Yaris passed first time about 1 in every 100 less often than the average of the 2013 and 2015 model years.

At a glance

How 28,423 first tests went in 2025.

Passed first time
72 in every 100
Did not pass first time
28 in every 1007,860 failed first-attempt tests
The typical car
11 yearsabout 61,013 miles
First tests counted
28,423

What failed most often

  1. Coil spring (front)24 in every 100 failed tests
  2. Individual sidelight or tail light (front)13 in every 100 failed tests
  3. Windscreen washers6 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 2014 Toyota Yaris 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

Two faults. The strongest is the wheel bearings (rear): 6.6 times as often as on similar cars.

Figures below are measured across the 7,858 of 7,860 failed first attempts 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.

Wheel bearings (rear)

Failed on 195 first tests6.6 times as often as similar carsStrong evidence

What it means

Excessive play in a wheel bearing, or a bearing that is excessively rough, is Major. Play so excessive that the bearing is likely to break up or directional control is impaired is Dangerous, and so is a bearing so rough that it is likely to overheat or break up.

Also noted as an advisory

Testers also noted it as an advisory, worn but not yet failing, on 75 first tests, 3.8 times as often as on similar cars.

Coil spring (front)

Failed on 1,899 first tests3.7 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

What it means

A missing bump stop rubber is not a reason to fail a coil spring. When the vehicle is jacked and lowered, a spring that does not correctly locate as the suspension returns to its normal running position is rejected as insecurely attached. A missing spring is Major, and graded Dangerous where directional control is affected.

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage. Advisories count notes recorded on failed first tests only.

Lamps and electrical

Two faults. The strongest is the side repeater indicators (front): 4.7 times as often as on similar cars.

Side repeater indicators (front)

Failed on 468 first tests4.7 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

What it means

Sequential or dynamic direction indicators are not a reason to fail. Where a side repeater is required, it is allowed to be part of the front direction indicator if it has a marked wraparound lens, or an amber light coming through the front lens when viewed from a set distance to the side of the rear bumper. A lens defect with no effect on the emitted light is Minor, and one that adversely affects the light is Major.

Individual sidelight or tail light (front)

Failed on 983 first tests2.4 times as often as similar carsPossible 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.

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.

Brake cable (rear)

Noted on 114 first tests21 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

Macpherson strut (front)

Noted on 326 first tests10 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

Brake light (rear)

Noted on 158 first tests6.2 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Suspension mounting area (rear)

Noted on 116 first tests5.8 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Chassis condition (rear)

Noted on 39 first tests4.3 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Vehicle structure condition (rear)

Noted on 30 first tests3.5 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Suspension arm (front)

Noted on 202 first tests3.1 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
72in every 100
Passed on the first test.
Fixed at the station
7in every 100
Failed, then fixed at the test station the same day.
Failed
21in every 100
Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.

First-attempt pass 72.3% of 28,423 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 79.1%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 7 fixed and the 21 not fixed make the 28 in every 100 that did not pass first time.

By fuel type

First testsTypical mileagePassed first time, as testedPassed first time, same mileage
Petrol19,57858,950 miles7272
Hybrid7,59063,114 miles7475
Diesel1,24689,596 miles6570

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.

40608010020002005201020142020Older carsNewer cars
4060801002000201020142020Older 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, 76 in every 100 passed first time.

YearPassed first timeFirst tests
199952 in every 100789
200055 in every 1002,689
200155 in every 1005,605
200256 in every 1007,169
200353 in every 1009,228
200454 in every 10011,038
200554 in every 10013,843
200654 in every 10014,734
200755 in every 10018,423
200856 in every 10020,176
200963 in every 10023,051
201062 in every 10017,516
201166 in every 10015,471
201267 in every 10026,595
201369 in every 10028,189
2014 This car72 in every 10028,423
201579 in every 10030,019
201681 in every 10027,852
201781 in every 10026,164
201884 in every 10027,274
201986 in every 10027,244
202088 in every 10020,094
202191 in every 10023,209
202292 in every 10020,982

If you are buying one

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

Mileage matters most on a 2014 Yaris.

Of 2014 Yaris vehicles with under 39,000 miles, 82 in every 100 passed their 2025 MOT first time. With 88,000 miles or more, 64 in every 100 did.

Under 39,0005,585 tests
82
39,000–54,0005,782 tests
77
54,000–69,000 Typical car5,795 tests
71
69,000–88,0005,495 tests
68
88,000 and over5,762 tests
64

Which fuel?

Typical mileagePassed first time,
as tested
Passed first time,
same mileage
Petrol58,950 miles7272
Hybrid63,114 miles7475

Figures are in every 100 first tests. 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 39,00054,000–69,00088,000 and over
Coil spring (front)4.76.97.8
Individual sidelight or tail light (front)0.63.46.5
Windscreen washers1.01.92.5
Side repeater indicators1.11.62.4
Tyre condition (front)1.31.81.8

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


When a car fails

47in every 100

of failed cars had one item to fix.

26in every 100

of failed cars had three or more items to fix.

5in 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.

A 2014 Toyota Yaris passed first time about 1 in every 100 less often than the average of the 2013 and 2015 model years. In 2025, 72.3% of 28,423 first MOTs on the 2014 Toyota Yaris passed first time (PRS: items fixed at the station the same day, counted as a fail). The official-style rate including PRS is 79.1%. Among 7,860 failed first-attempt MOT tests (test year 2025), Wheel bearings (rear) appears more often than on similar cars (2.5% of those tests; 195 observed failures; about 6.6× 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 2014 Toyota Yaris at the first attempt were Coil spring (front) (24.2%), Individual sidelight or tail light (front) (12.5%) and Windscreen washers (6.3%), 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: Wheel bearings (rear) (2.5% of those tests; 195 observed failures; about 6.6× more often than similar cars). These are statistical signals, not a diagnosis of any individual car.
Wheel bearings (rear) shows up more often than on similar cars (2.5% of those tests; 195 observed failures; about 6.6× 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 2014 Toyota Yaris include Wheel bearings (rear), Side repeater indicators (front), Coil spring (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 2014 Toyota Yaris (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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