Does the Caterham Seven fail the MOT on brakes more than it should?
The Caterham Seven records 5.02 brakes failure items per 100 initial MOT tests (2019–2024), against 21.41 expected for a car of the same age mix: less than expected for its class and age (−16.39, 95% interval −17.35 to −15.42). It ranks 702 of 712 models on brakes (1 = most failures above expected).
Data release dvsa-2024-v2 (24 Sep 2026) · page updated 30 Sep 2026 · all models on brakes · check a Caterham Seven by registration
What exactly fails on brakes?
The most frequent DVSA defect wording in this group on the Caterham Seven is “Significant brake effort recorded with no brake applied indicating a binding brake”, recorded 91 times in 2019–2024.
| DVSA defect wording | Items | Per 100 tests |
|---|---|---|
| Significant brake effort recorded with no brake applied indicating a binding brake | 91 | 1.03 |
| Parking brake efficiency below minimum requirement | 70 | 0.79 |
| Brakes imbalance across an axle such that the braking effort from any wheel is less than 70% of the maximum effort recorded from the other wheel on the same axle. | 57 | 0.64 |
| Parking brake inoperative on one side | 33 | 0.37 |
Source: DVSA MOT bulk data (OGL v3.0) · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 8,876 (initial tests) · Method: failure items (major and minor) grouped by DVSA's defect tree; wordings with 30+ items · Updated: 30 Sep 2026 · Release: dvsa-2024-v2 · CSV
Other pages for this model
Caterham Seven by postcode area · Caterham Seven body, chassis and structure failures · Caterham Seven vehicle identification failures · Caterham Seven lamps, reflectors and electrics failures · Caterham Seven noise, emissions and leaks failures · Caterham Seven steering failures · Caterham Seven suspension failures · Caterham Seven tyres failures · Caterham Seven visibility failures