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 2,741 failed first attempts in 2025 that the age-and-mileage comparison can be computed on.
Standout: Exhaust system (front) — 7.0% of this year's failed first attempts
Recorded on 191 of those tests. It tops the table on elevation — about 27× more often than on similar cars of the same age and mileage. That is what makes it unusual for its class, which is a different question from what is most likely to fail; the buying checklist ranks by that. The full ranked list is in the table below.
| Fault pattern | Location | Failures | vs similar cars | Share of fails | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Exhaust system (front)
Body, chassis, structure > Exhaust system
|
Front | 191 | ×27 | 7.0% | Strong |
|
Drive shafts — Joints (front)
Body, chassis, structure > Transmission > Drive shafts > Joints
|
Front | 381 | ×8.5 | 13.9% | Strong |
|
Catalyst emissions
Noise, emissions and leaks > Exhaust emissions > Spark ignition > Catalyst emissions
|
Any | 125 | ×4.2 | 4.6% | Likely |
|
Service brake performance (rear)
Brakes > Brake performance > Service brake performance > Rbt > Service brake performance
|
Rear | 66 | ×2.6 | 2.4% | Possible |
|
Stop lamp (rear)
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment > Stop lamp
|
Rear | 84 | ×2.5 | 3.1% | 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).