Know Your MOT
13.5%fail rate

Caterham Road common MOT failures and failure rate

What a Caterham Road fails its MOT on, from real DVSA test data, and the part that resolves each item.

Based on 230 MOT tests in DVSA data.

About 13.5% of MOT tests recorded on the Caterham Road in DVSA data end in a failure. The same handful of items account for most of them.

Its most common failure is lamps & electrical, which makes up 38.7% of the Caterham Road's failures, followed by lamps & electrical, other, exhaust & emissions, brakes. Each item below links to the part that resolves it. Confirm the exact fitment against your registration or VIN before buying, and have safety-critical work done by a competent mechanic.

What it fails on, and why

Lamps & electrical38.7% of failures

Lighting is the single most common MOT failure and the cheapest to put right. A blown headlight, brake-light or number-plate bulb, a cracked lens, or a headlamp beam that points too high or low will all fail. Most are a two-minute bulb swap.

Other22.6% of failures

This covers a range of smaller items, from a non-working horn to a warning light left on.

Exhaust & emissions12.9% of failures

Exhaust failures cover leaks, insecure mountings and emissions over the limit. A blowing exhaust, a failed lambda reading or a diesel that smokes beyond the limit will fail.

Brakes6.5% of failures

Brake failures cover worn pads and discs, an imbalance between wheels, corroded or scored discs, or a binding caliper. Braking efficiency is measured on a rolling road, so a spongy or pulling brake shows up as a low reading.

Visibility/wipers6.5% of failures

Visibility failures include torn or smearing wiper blades, a washer jet that does not reach the screen, and chips or cracks in the driver's swept area. Blades and washer fluid are quick, cheap fixes.

Steering3.2% of failures

Steering faults are typically worn track-rod ends or ball joints, play in the rack, or a split gaiter letting grease out and dirt in. Excessive free play at the wheel fails.

The parts that fix each

If your car has just failed, you have 10 working days to fix the items and get a free partial retest. These are the usual parts; confirm the exact fitment against your registration or VIN before buying.

For the lamps & electrical failure: Caterham Road headlight and indicator bulbsSearch Amazon for Caterham Road headlight and indicator bulbsaffiliate searchFind Caterham Road headlight and indicator bulbs on eBayaffiliate
For the exhaust & emissions failure: Caterham Road exhaustSearch Amazon for Caterham Road exhaustaffiliate searchFind Caterham Road exhaust on eBayaffiliate
For the brakes failure: Caterham Road brake pads and discsSearch Amazon for Caterham Road brake pads and discsaffiliate searchFind Caterham Road brake pads and discs on eBayaffiliate
For the visibility/wipers failure: Caterham Road wiper bladesSearch Amazon for Caterham Road wiper bladesaffiliate searchFind Caterham Road wiper blades on eBayaffiliate
For the steering failure: Caterham Road steering track rod endsSearch Amazon for Caterham Road steering track rod endsaffiliate searchFind Caterham Road steering track rod ends on eBayaffiliate

Other models

Caterham Seven MOT failures13.6% failure rateCaterham Super MOT failures14.4% failure rateCaterham Unknown MOT failures11.1% failure rateFord Fiesta MOT failures27.1% failure rate

Sources: DVSA MOT History API: MOT test results and defect data ยท DVSA MOT testing data for Great Britain