Home / Research / How MOT pass rate falls with a car's age
How MOT pass rate falls with a car's age
How does MOT pass rate change as a car gets older?
MOT failure rate rises steadily with a car's age. Cars aged 0-3 years fail 10.6% of tests, rising to 22.3% at 13-15 years, about 2.1 times higher.
| Age of car | MOT failure rate | Pass rate | Tests analysed |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-3 years | 10.6% | 89.4% | 1,216,146 |
| 4-6 years | 12.1% | 87.9% | 18,401,550 |
| 7-9 years | 14.3% | 85.7% | 55,359,004 |
| 10-12 years | 18.3% | 81.7% | 87,736,917 |
| 13-15 years | 22.3% | 77.7% | 92,897,555 |
| 16-20 years | 26.1% | 73.9% | 199,864,062 |
| 21+ years | 30.8% | 69.2% | 377,477,613 |
How this is worked out
Every figure is computed from the full DVSA MOT test and defect record, not a survey or a poll. Rates are the share of MOT tests that end in a failure (or a pass); area figures count that area's recorded defects against tests taken. A model is only ranked once it clears a minimum test count, so a single unlucky batch cannot distort a list. Motorcycles, which share the MOT dataset, are excluded so these are genuine car rankings. Age is the strongest driver of MOT failure, so older models and vans naturally rank higher. Figures describe how a model performs across the fleet; they are not a diagnosis of any individual car.
Data as of September 2026.
Republish this
This table is free to reproduce with a link to Know Your MOT. Embed the live version:
Related studies
Sources: DVSA MOT History API: MOT test results and defect data ยท DVSA MOT testing data for Great Britain