Which car brand fails its MOT most?

Renault and Dacia cars fail their MOT most often for their age: too close to call.

of Renault MOTs failed at the first attempt in 2024: 31.8%of Renault MOTs failed at the first attempt in 2024

Average for cars of the same age: 23.6%

Brands with 100,000 or more MOTs in 2024.

Data: DVSA MOT results · 2024 · 32,584,335 tests

Updated 25 Sep 2026 · Release dvsa-2024-v2

Renault and Dacia are too close to call among the 28 brands big enough to measure. Renault has index 134.8 and Dacia has index 131.2. At the other end, Porsche scores 46.6. Every number here is age-adjusted, because the raw league table measures how old a brand's cars are rather than how they hold up.

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Full figures, methods and downloads

The ten worst brands, adjusted for the age of their cars

MOT Risk Index by brand, worst ten. 100 = normal failure rate for the car's age.

The ten worst brands by MOT Risk Index, adjusted for the age of their cars (2024)
#	Brand	Index	95% interval	Raw % failing	Average age	Tests	Most common failure
1	Renault	134.8	134.4–135.3	31.8%	10.5 yrs	975,628	Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment (28.79 per 100)
2	Dacia	131.2	130–132.5	21.7%	6.9 yrs	195,000	Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment (13.55 per 100)
3	Citroen	123.1	122.7–123.6	29.1%	10.4 yrs	1,004,930	Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment (31.47 per 100)
4	Nissan	115.4	115–115.7	26.4%	10 yrs	1,634,722	Suspension (22.87 per 100)
5	Vauxhall	115.3	115.1–115.6	27.4%	10.4 yrs	2,928,345	Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment (21.06 per 100)
6	Peugeot	114.9	114.5–115.2	26.6%	10.2 yrs	1,409,631	Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment (28.94 per 100)
7	Fiat	110.3	109.8–110.8	26.7%	10.7 yrs	778,689	Suspension (20.88 per 100)
8	Kia	107.2	106.8–107.7	21.1%	8.3 yrs	955,785	Brakes (14.04 per 100)
9	Ford	106.9	106.7–107.1	24.8%	10.2 yrs	4,368,815	Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment (21.28 per 100)
10	SEAT	106.5	105.9–107.1	21.3%	8.6 yrs	563,626	Suspension (13.52 per 100)

Where the raw league table lies hardest

Honda looks like one of the safest bets and is one of the worst. Only 21.6% of its tests end in failure, which places it 16th of 28 on raw numbers. But its cars average 12.3 years old, and cars that young are supposed to pass almost everything. Measured against that expectation it falls to 6th — a drop of 10 places caused entirely by taking age into account.

The ten best brands

MOT Risk Index by brand, best ten. Lower is better; 100 = normal for the car's age.

The ten best brands by MOT Risk Index, adjusted for the age of their cars (2024)
#	Brand	Index	95% interval	Raw % failing	Average age	Tests	Most common failure
1	Porsche	46.6	45.9–47.2	10.8%	11.1 yrs	163,539	Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment (7.09 per 100)
2	Lexus	54.5	53.7–55.2	12.2%	10.1 yrs	164,516	Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment (9.71 per 100)
3	Toyota	79.4	79.1–79.6	18.5%	10.6 yrs	1,664,693	Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment (20.23 per 100)
4	BMW	79.8	79.5–80	17.4%	9.7 yrs	1,834,372	Tyres (9.98 per 100)
5	MINI	81.1	80.7–81.5	18.4%	10.1 yrs	806,232	Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment (16.36 per 100)
6	Honda	81.2	80.9–81.6	21.6%	12.3 yrs	911,395	Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment (27.15 per 100)
7	Jaguar	83.5	82.8–84.1	18.0%	9.8 yrs	341,047	Suspension (15.2 per 100)
8	Land Rover	84.0	83.6–84.4	18.9%	10.2 yrs	892,155	Suspension (12.14 per 100)
9	Audi	84.1	83.8–84.4	18.4%	9.5 yrs	1,713,236	Suspension (11.32 per 100)
10	Suzuki	89.1	88.6–89.7	20.4%	10.2 yrs	433,472	Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment (15.52 per 100)

Every brand we can measure

Every brand we can measure, by MOT Risk Index (2024)
Rank	Brand	Index	95% interval	Raw % failing	Rank on raw numbers	Average age	Tests
1	Porsche	46.6	45.9–47.2	10.8%	1	11.1 yrs	163,539
2	Lexus	54.5	53.7–55.2	12.2%	2	10.1 yrs	164,516
3	Toyota	79.4	79.1–79.6	18.5%	8	10.6 yrs	1,664,693
4	BMW	79.8	79.5–80	17.4%	4	9.7 yrs	1,834,372
5	MINI	81.1	80.7–81.5	18.4%	6	10.1 yrs	806,232
6	Honda	81.2	80.9–81.6	21.6%	16	12.3 yrs	911,395
7	Jaguar	83.5	82.8–84.1	18.0%	5	9.8 yrs	341,047
8	Land Rover	84.0	83.6–84.4	18.9%	9	10.2 yrs	892,155
9	Audi	84.1	83.8–84.4	18.4%	7	9.5 yrs	1,713,236
10	Suzuki	89.1	88.6–89.7	20.4%	12	10.2 yrs	433,472
11	Mercedes-Benz	92.2	91.9–92.5	19.5%	11	9.4 yrs	1,693,817
12	Skoda	93.0	92.6–93.5	19.3%	10	9 yrs	792,014
13	MG	96.0	94.6–97.3	15.8%	3	7.8 yrs	118,639
14	Mazda	96.6	96.1–97.2	22.8%	20	10.6 yrs	523,188
15	Volkswagen	97.8	97.5–98	22.7%	19	10.4 yrs	3,021,833
16	Volvo	99.3	98.8–99.9	21.6%	17	9.7 yrs	581,718
17	Mitsubishi	99.6	98.9–100.4	23.1%	21	10.5 yrs	290,107
18	Hyundai	100.8	100.3–101.2	21.2%	14	9 yrs	904,587
19	SEAT	106.5	105.9–107.1	21.3%	15	8.6 yrs	563,626
20	Ford	106.9	106.7–107.1	24.8%	22	10.2 yrs	4,368,815
21	Kia	107.2	106.8–107.7	21.1%	13	8.3 yrs	955,785
22	Fiat	110.3	109.8–110.8	26.7%	25	10.7 yrs	778,689
23	Peugeot	114.9	114.5–115.2	26.6%	24	10.2 yrs	1,409,631
24	Vauxhall	115.3	115.1–115.6	27.4%	26	10.4 yrs	2,928,345
25	Nissan	115.4	115–115.7	26.4%	23	10 yrs	1,634,722
26	Citroen	123.1	122.7–123.6	29.1%	27	10.4 yrs	1,004,930
27	Dacia	131.2	130–132.5	21.7%	18	6.9 yrs	195,000
28	Renault	134.8	134.4–135.3	31.8%	28	10.5 yrs	975,628

What this means if you are buying

Do not read the raw failure rate off a brand and stop there. A young fleet flatters a brand twice over: fewer failures now, and a reputation built on those numbers.

Check the failure category, not just the score. Brands at the same index fail for different reasons, and wear items are cheap where structural corrosion is not.

The brand is the weakest useful unit here. Individual models inside one brand differ more than brands differ from each other — the model page is the number that should decide a purchase.

Where this number stops applying

This is inspection risk, not breakdown risk. A brand with a reputation for expensive mechanical trouble can still pass MOTs better than its age predicts, because the test checks roadworthiness items rather than drivetrain durability — and several brands in the best ten are exactly that case. Three further limits: brands are taken as written in the test record, so marques are not merged into their parent groups; only brands with at least100,000 initial tests appear, which leaves out small importers; and where the confidence interval crosses 100 the brand is shown without a colour verdict, because the data cannot separate it from normal.

Source: DVSA anonymised MOT tests and results, calendar 2024, class 4 initial tests only,data.gov.uk, snapshot taken 2026-07-30, Open Government Licence v3.0. National raw failure rate across all32,584,335 tests: 22.7%. Release dvsa-2024-v2. Method: methodology.

MOT failure by brand: quick answers

Which car brand fails its MOT most in the UK?

Renault and Dacia are too close to call once age is allowed for: index 134.8 and 131.2 against a national norm of 100. Third is Citroen (123.1).

Which car brand passes its MOT most reliably?

Porsche: index 46.6, meaning it fails roughly 53% less often than cars of the same age. Lexus follows at 54.5 and Toyota at 79.4.

Why does the raw failure rate give a different answer?

Because it ranks fleet age, not cars. Honda is the clearest case: 21.6% of its tests fail, which puts it 16th of 28 on raw numbers, but its cars average only 12.3 years old. Judged against what is normal at that age it ranks 6th.

Does a good MOT record mean the brand is reliable?

Not by itself. The MOT measures whether a car meets roadworthiness standards on the day, so it is dominated by wear items — tyres, brakes, suspension, lamps. A brand can pass inspections well and still break down often, or the reverse. Treat this as one measurement, not a verdict on the brand.