Know Your MOT
17.8%fail rate

Polaris Ranger common MOT failures and failure rate

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

Based on 920 MOT tests in DVSA data.

About 17.8% of MOT tests recorded on the Polaris Ranger 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 42.7% of the Polaris Ranger's failures, followed by lamps & electrical, visibility/wipers, registration plate, suspension. 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 & electrical42.7% 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.

Visibility/wipers23.8% 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.

Registration plate21.3% of failures

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

Suspension20.1% of failures

Suspension failures usually mean a worn or snapped coil spring, a leaking shock absorber, or play in a lower arm ball joint or bush. The tester checks for corrosion, fractures and excessive movement. A broken front spring is one of the most common failures on higher-mileage cars and is a straightforward replacement.

Brakes18.3% 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.

Other14.0% of failures

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

Failure rate by year

How the MOT failure rate varies by the car's year of first registration (older examples generally fail more as wear sets in).

201617.0% fail · 106 tests
201715.1% fail · 152 tests
201817.7% fail · 141 tests
201917.9% fail · 106 tests

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: Polaris Ranger headlight and indicator bulbsSearch Amazon for Polaris Ranger headlight and indicator bulbsaffiliate searchFind Polaris Ranger headlight and indicator bulbs on eBayaffiliate
For the visibility/wipers failure: Polaris Ranger wiper bladesSearch Amazon for Polaris Ranger wiper bladesaffiliate searchFind Polaris Ranger wiper blades on eBayaffiliate
For the registration plate failure: Polaris Ranger number plateSearch Amazon for Polaris Ranger number plateaffiliate searchFind Polaris Ranger number plate on eBayaffiliate
For the suspension failure: Polaris Ranger suspension springs and shock absorbersSearch Amazon for Polaris Ranger suspension springs and shock absorbersaffiliate searchFind Polaris Ranger suspension springs and shock absorbers on eBayaffiliate
For the brakes failure: Polaris Ranger brake pads and discsSearch Amazon for Polaris Ranger brake pads and discsaffiliate searchFind Polaris Ranger brake pads and discs on eBayaffiliate

Other models

Polaris Unknown MOT failures18.9% failure ratePolaris Sportsman MOT failures13.5% failure ratePolaris Predator MOT failures15.9% failure rateFord Fiesta MOT failures27.1% failure rate

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