Know Your MOT
17.7%fail rate

Maserati Merak common MOT failures and failure rate

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

Based on 502 MOT tests in DVSA data.

About 17.7% of MOT tests recorded on the Maserati Merak 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 47.2% of the Maserati Merak's failures, followed by lamps & electrical, exhaust & emissions, brakes, visibility/wipers. 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 & electrical47.2% 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.

Exhaust & emissions38.2% 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.

Brakes31.5% 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/wipers21.3% 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.

Steering14.6% 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.

Registration plate14.6% of failures

A missing, damaged, dirty or incorrectly-spaced number plate, or one using the wrong font, will fail. A replacement plate is inexpensive.

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: Maserati Merak headlight and indicator bulbsSearch Amazon for Maserati Merak headlight and indicator bulbsaffiliate searchFind Maserati Merak headlight and indicator bulbs on eBayaffiliate
For the exhaust & emissions failure: Maserati Merak exhaustSearch Amazon for Maserati Merak exhaustaffiliate searchFind Maserati Merak exhaust on eBayaffiliate
For the brakes failure: Maserati Merak brake pads and discsSearch Amazon for Maserati Merak brake pads and discsaffiliate searchFind Maserati Merak brake pads and discs on eBayaffiliate
For the visibility/wipers failure: Maserati Merak wiper bladesSearch Amazon for Maserati Merak wiper bladesaffiliate searchFind Maserati Merak wiper blades on eBayaffiliate
For the steering failure: Maserati Merak steering track rod endsSearch Amazon for Maserati Merak steering track rod endsaffiliate searchFind Maserati Merak steering track rod ends on eBayaffiliate
For the registration plate failure: Maserati Merak number plateSearch Amazon for Maserati Merak number plateaffiliate searchFind Maserati Merak number plate on eBayaffiliate

Other models

Maserati Ghibli MOT failures15.0% failure rateMaserati Granturismo MOT failures15.6% failure rateMaserati Quattroporte MOT failures19.6% 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