MOT Risk Index.co.uk

Chevrolet Spark — MOT statistics 2024

The Chevrolet Spark failed 44.55% of 14,723 first MOT attempts in 2024 ("first-time", excluding retests). Adjusted for the age of the fleet, its initial-failure ratio is 122.7 (100 = expected for its age profile). This car fails its MOT about 23% more often than expected for its age.

MOT risk index 122.7, 95% CI 120.5–124.9 (100 = national average) 100 122.7 0 200
Index
122.7
100 = age-normal
Raw fail rate
44.55%
n = 14,723
Dangerous /100
13
national ≈11
Rank
669 of 761
lower index = better

Age-adjusted peer: Tesla Model 3 (index 124.7) — the two published results are 2.0 index points apart.

Chevrolet Spark common problems: what actually fails the MOT

Brakes stand out at 35.7 per 100 tests, against 11.2 per 100 tests across UK vehicles of the same ages.

higher bar = fails more oftenrate per 100 tests

Chevrolet Spark common problems: what actually fails the MOT — 2024 UK MOT data

family vs national — matched to UK vehicles of the same ages — top component groups, per 100 tests. Legend: This family · National avg. Combined labels: family / national average. A gap here reflects how these vehicles are driven, used and maintained as well as how they were built — an MOT defect is a test outcome, not a breakdown.

Component-group comparison table

Each ratio carries a 95% interval. With 6 groups compared here, roughly one apparent difference in twenty is chance alone.

GroupThis familyCases behind itUK, same agesFamily / national
Brakes35.735,28611.23.20×3.16–3.23
Lamps & electrical29.329,00016.91.73×1.71–1.75
Suspension15.215,03016.00.95×0.94–0.97
Visibility11.911,7217.61.56×1.53–1.59
Tyres10.310,2149.61.07×1.05–1.09
Body & structure4.84,7804.61.05×1.03–1.09
Named defects — items per 100 initial tests, this family vs UK national average; this model measured on 98,905 tests, 2019-2024, national column 2024
What failedper 100 tests (this family)per 100 tests (UK average)ratio family / UKWhat to check
Brake pipe damaged or excessively corrodedBrake pipe damaged or excessively corroded11.211.417.98×Look underneath for rust or cracks around subframe and suspension mountings
Significant brake effort recorded with no brake…Significant brake effort recorded with no brake applied indicating a binding brake10.621.0310.31×Feel for brake judder and pulling on the test drive
Rear registration plate lamp or light source…A rear registration plate lamp or light source missing or inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources7.242.832.56×Try every light and switch — lamps are a top failure
Lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a…A lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning5.892.092.82×Try every light and switch — lamps are a top failure
Brakes imbalance across an axle such that the…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.3.900.596.59×Feel for brake judder and pulling on the test drive
Stop lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of…Stop lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning4.381.502.92×Try every light and switch — lamps are a top failure
Wiper blade missing or obviously not clearing the…Wiper blade missing or obviously not clearing the windscreen4.692.222.11×Check wipers, washers and windscreen chips in the driver's view
Spring or spring component fractured or seriously…A spring or spring component fractured or seriously weakened4.802.861.68×Ask the seller about: A spring or spring component fractured or seriously weakened
Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the…Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements5.253.591.46×Check tyre tread depth across the full width
Exhaust system leaking or insecureExhaust system leaking or insecure2.801.162.42×Watch for smoke on a cold start — emissions failures are costly

Named defects ranked by how much more often they appear than the national average — not by raw rate.

Chevrolet Spark MOT advisories: what gets flagged

Brakes are highest at 66.8 per 100 tests; Non-component advisories are lowest at 5.6 per 100 tests — the gap is 61.2 per 100 tests.

higher bar = flagged more oftenadvisory items per 100 initial tests

Chevrolet Spark MOT advisories: what gets flagged — 2024 UK MOT data
Advisory rates table
GroupAdvisories per 100
Brakes66.8
Tyres43.8
Suspension24
Body & structure7.5
Emissions & leaks7
Non-component advisories5.6

Advisories are wear the tester noted but didn't fail — what will need money soon.

Tyres, brakes and suspension: Chevrolet Spark against cars of the same age

AgePartChevrolet SparkSame age, petrol and dieselDifference
5 yearsTyres4.665.06-0.40
5 yearsBrakes5.033.091.94
5 yearsSuspension2.582.190.39
6 yearsTyres6.255.540.71
6 yearsBrakes14.633.8110.82
6 yearsSuspension6.493.722.77
7 yearsTyres8.045.952.09
7 yearsBrakes22.074.5517.52
7 yearsSuspension8.135.682.45
8 yearsTyres7.556.311.24
8 yearsBrakes20.785.3815.40
8 yearsSuspension9.497.781.71

Failing items per 100 initial tests, 2019-2024. The comparison group is every petrol or diesel car tested at the same age, so weight and drivetrain show up rather than fleet age.

If a car like this fails, does it fail again?

A failure rate does not say whether a failure is a one-off or the start of something. This follows the same vehicles into their next ordinary MOT a year later — retests after a repair are excluded, because they follow a failure by definition. 2019-2024.

After this year's testFails next yearVehicles followed
It failed45.5%9,548
It passed39.3%43,504

A failed test raises next year's chance of failing again by 6.2 percentage points. The failure most likely to come back is steering — 42.2% of those vehicles fail again next year. Some of this is the vehicle and some is the owner: a car that was let go once tends to be let go again. One caveat: a car that fails may be sold or scrapped rather than tested again, so these figures describe the vehicles that came back.

Adjusted for how much these are actually driven

The headline index adjusts for the fleet's age. Wear, though, follows mileage: a three-year-old taxi and a three-year-old garage queen sit in the same age band. These two rows compare every car with vehicles of the same age, and then with vehicles of the same age and the same annual mileage, 2019-2024, on 98,722 tests. Both stand on the six-year corpus so they are measured on identical data — compare them with each other, not with the headline index above, which is measured on 2024 alone.

Standardised forIndexReading
Age only135.5fails more often than expected
Age and annual mileage149.7fails more often than vehicles driven as much
Share doing under 3,000 miles a year10.4%a normal spread of use

Mileage matters here: matching on how much these are driven moves the figure by 14.2 points — this fleet is driven less than the vehicles it is measured against, so the age-only view flatters it — but it does not change which side of normal the car sits on. One limit to keep in mind: mileage is partly a result of how often a car breaks down — one that spends weeks in the workshop covers fewer miles — so the mileage-matched figure can understate a real weakness. Tests with no usable odometer reading are left out of it.

How the Chevrolet Spark compares with cars of its own age and size

Not against the whole fleet — against cars of the same size class tested at the same age, 2019-2024.

AgeChevrolet SparkSame class, same ageDifferenceTests
5 years23.68%17.36%+6.32 pp815
6 years36.24%20.58%+15.67 pp5,118
7 years44.65%23.36%+21.29 pp9,225
8 years44.4%26.57%+17.83 pp13,568
9 years43.82%30.14%+13.68 pp17,299
10 years43.72%33.33%+10.38 pp16,655
11 years43.99%36.82%+7.17 pp15,280
12 years44.5%40.41%+4.09 pp10,976
13 years44.14%43.29%+0.85 pp6,894
14 years44.1%45.86%-1.77 pp3,041

Raw first-time failure rates within each age, so fleet age cannot flatter either side. A positive difference means this model fails more often than its own class at that age.

How does the Chevrolet Spark perform as it gets older?

The Spark at age 11 stands out at 44.3%, against 33.2% for all vehicles of the same age.

higher = larger sharecompare shares in percentage points

How does the Chevrolet Spark perform as it gets older? — 2024 UK MOT data

Chart axes: car age, years · failure-rate scale 0–49%.

Takeaway: a 10-year-old Spark has roughly a 40% chance of failing its MOT; from about age 10 it stays above the national age curve.

Data table
AgeChevrolet SparkAll vehiclesGap
1040.3%30.1%+10.2 pp
1144.3%33.2%+11.2 pp
1245.1%35.7%+9.4 pp
1345.5%38.2%+7.4 pp
1444.1%40.4%+3.6 pp

Is a Chevrolet Spark ULEZ compliant?

The share of classifiable 2024 Chevrolet Spark MOT tests likely ULEZ compliant by first-registration date is 100.0%.

Based on 14,708 classifiable initial MOT tests. This describes the tested fleet, not a specific car. MOT data do not record Euro class, so likely compliance is inferred from fuel and first-registration date. For the only authoritative answer, check the registration with TfL's official ULEZ checker.

higher = larger share likely compliantinferred from fuel and first-registration date; not a recorded Euro class

Age-band estimate from classifiable initial MOT tests
Vehicle age at testLikely ULEZ-compliant shareTests
Under 3 yearsSuppressed — sample below publication threshold
Check a registration with TfL
n = 0
3–5 yearsSuppressed — sample below publication threshold
Check a registration with TfL
n = 1
6–7 yearsSuppressed — sample below publication threshold
Check a registration with TfL
n = 1
8 yearsSuppressed — sample below publication threshold
Check a registration with TfL
n = 0
9 yearsSuppressed — sample below publication threshold
Check a registration with TfL
n = 9
10–14 years100.0%
Check a registration with TfL
n = 14,697
15–17 yearsSuppressed — sample below publication threshold
Check a registration with TfL
n = 0
18 yearsSuppressed — sample below publication threshold
Check a registration with TfL
n = 0
19 yearsSuppressed — sample below publication threshold
Check a registration with TfL
n = 0
20+ yearsSuppressed — sample below publication threshold
Check a registration with TfL
n = 0

How dangerous are Chevrolet Spark MOT failures?

Major defects stand out at 85.1 per 100 tests, against 52.8 per 100 tests nationally.

higher bar = fails more oftenrate per 100 tests

How dangerous are Chevrolet Spark MOT failures? — 2024 UK MOT data
Severity table
SeverityThis family /100National /100Family / national
Minor16.3614.221.15×
Major85.1352.751.61×
Dangerous13.0411.151.17×

Chart values: Minor 16.4 · Major 85.1 · Dangerous 13.0.

Per 100 tests on this family. National average: Minor 14.2 · Major 52.8 · Dangerous 11.2 per 100.

Does the month of a Chevrolet Spark MOT matter?

Nov is highest at 45.0%; Sep is lowest at 42.4% — the gap is 2.6 percentage points.

higher = larger sharecompare shares in percentage points

Does the month of a Chevrolet Spark MOT matter? — 2024 UK MOT data

Chart scale: 27%–46%.

bars: Chevrolet Spark · dashed: all class-4 cars

Month-by-month table
MonthChevrolet SparkAll vehiclesGap
Jan43.03%31.12%+11.9 pp
Feb43.27%29.99%+13.3 pp
Mar42.53%28.26%+14.3 pp
Apr44.49%29.78%+14.7 pp
May44.33%28.79%+15.5 pp
Jun43.99%28.15%+15.8 pp
Jul43.73%29.33%+14.4 pp
Aug43.63%29.2%+14.4 pp
Sep42.39%28.19%+14.2 pp
Oct44.04%30.34%+13.7 pp
Nov44.96%30.58%+14.4 pp
Dec42.87%29.33%+13.5 pp

Takeaway: the spread between best and worst month is 2.6 percentage points — booking month barely matters for this family. Seasonality partly reflects registration-date clustering, not weather.

Before reading the shape: most of it is not about cars. Britain changes its registration plates twice a year, and 18.9% of these cars were first registered in March with another17.1% in September — 36% in two months against the 17% an even spread would give. An MOT falls due three years after first registration, so the buying calendar becomes the testing calendar. That shapes how many cars are tested each month — not how often they fail: the busiest months here are not the worst ones, so read the failure line on its own and the volume behind it separately.

Chevrolet Spark average mileage by age

At age 12, the middle half of Sparks runs from 50,003 miles to 84,963 miles, against 67,404 miles as the median.

further right = more milesmedian is the typical car; band is p25–p75

Bars: Chevrolet Spark · dashed: all class-4 cars — 2024 UK MOT data

Chart axes: car age, years · odometer scale 0–92k mi.

Does high mileage mean more Chevrolet Spark MOT failures at the same age?

Within the same age group, split by odometer (2024 MOTs), so this separates wear from age: at ages 10–14, 34.1% of those with under 40,000 miles failed first time versus 55.6% of those with over 140,000 miles.Inside this age group, higher mileage goes with more failures.

Does high mileage mean more Chevrolet Spark MOT failures at the same age? — 2024 UK MOT data
Chevrolet Spark: first-time failure by mileage within each age group (2024)
AgeOdometer% failing95% intervalTests
10–14<40k miles34.1%32.2–36.1%2,208
10–1440-70k miles43.4%42.1–44.6%5,849
10–1470-100k miles47.9%46.5–49.2%4,957
10–14100-140k miles52%49.5–54.6%1,516
10–14140k+ miles55.6%47.1–63.7%135 (rough estimate)

line: median · band: middle half of the fleet (p25–p75)

Mileage by age (p25 / median / p75)
Agep25Medianp75Tests
1034,15650,84170,896752
1147,93764,19981,7883,819
1250,00367,40484,9633,546
1350,86468,65887,1623,542
1451,06269,78187,7103,039

A typical 12-year-old Spark has ~67,404 miles on the clock. Much more — ask why; much less — check for gaps in the MOT history.

Where in Britain the Chevrolet Spark fails its MOT most

Dundee area is highest at 65.6%; Bromley area is lowest at 31.2% — the gap is 34.5 percentage points.

higher = larger sharecompare shares in percentage points

Chevrolet Spark line: median · band: middle half of the fleet (p25–p75) — 2024 UK MOT data
Toughest areas% failingvs model overall
Dundee (DD)65.64%+22.1 pp
Aberdeen (AB)54.75%+11.2 pp
Kirkcaldy (KY)54.64%+11.1 pp
Falkirk (FK)54.51%+11.0 pp
Sunderland (SR)54.33%+10.8 pp
Easiest areas% failingvs model overall
Bromley (BR)31.19%-12.3 pp
Enfield (EN)33.08%-10.5 pp
Southend-on-Sea (SS)33.11%-10.4 pp
London NW (NW)34.45%-9.1 pp
Croydon (CR)34.58%-9.0 pp

Why do areas differ?

For each external factor we correlate the area fail rate with the factor across postcode areas that have ≥800 tests of this family, then compare the bottom vs top fifth (quintile) of the factor. Correlation, not causation — factors travel together (the north is colder and often poorer; urban areas are denser and less salted). Road surface condition is joined now, for the 91 English areas the DfT publishes, and it explains nothing: the correlation with suspension failures is −0.01 and with body and structure failures 0.07. Potholes wreck wheels and tyres between tests, but by the time a car reaches the bay the road it drives on leaves no measurable trace.

In areas with the highest mot centre density this model fails 8.1 pp more often than in the lowest fifth (r=0.61, n=49 areas with ≥800 tests).

In areas with the highest road-salt proxy this model fails 6.1 pp more often than in the lowest fifth (r=0.53, n=49 areas with ≥800 tests).

In areas with the highest frost days this model fails 5.5 pp more often than in the lowest fifth (r=0.51, n=49 areas with ≥800 tests).

Chevrolet Spark Why do areas differ? — 2024 UK MOT data
Values shown in the quintile chart
FactorLow QHigh QGapCorrelation
MOT centre density39.6%47.7%+8.1 ppr=0.61
Road-salt proxy42.0%48.0%+6.0 ppr=0.53
Frost days42.0%47.4%+5.4 ppr=0.51

Factors that only mean something combined

Some conditions are useless on their own and informative multiplied together. Frost days alone say little — Britain barely freezes. Salt tonnage alone says little — it tracks frost. Distance to the sea alone says little. Multiply the first two and divide by the third and you get an index of how hard an area attacks a car's underside, and it lines up with the corrosion defects we actually record. We built five such combinations and tested each against our own data. Three survived; two did not, and the failures are listed here on purpose — a proxy that was never checked is decoration. One survivor only survived on the second attempt: built from a crude stand-in for street parking it failed outright, and rebuilt from the census — terraced streets carrying more cars than they have driveways — it works, and carries information the salt index does not.

Composite area indicators, each tested against a defect rate we measure
CompositeBuilt fromTested againstrVerdict
Underbody corrosionfrost days × salt load ÷ (distance to coast + 1)share of tests with a corrosion defect+0.42holds (116 areas)
Tyre wearrain days × annual miles ÷ age at first tyre advisoryshare of tests failing on tyres+0.45holds (116 areas)
Overnight corrosionterraced housing × cars per household × frost daysshare with a corrosion defect+0.41holds (102 areas) — and adds signal beyond the first index
Deferred maintenancedeprivation × advisory-to-failure conversion ÷ labour ratecars repeating the same advisory−0.26fails (118 areas)
Powertrain stressengine capacity ÷ kerb weightsuspension, brake and emissions failures−0.16fails (22 models)

The deprivation result is the one worth dwelling on. The intuition that poorer areas defer repairs is strong enough that most people treat it as established. We tested it twice — once on raw failure rates (r = 0.04) and again, more fairly, on whether an advisory turns into a failure — and it did not hold any of the three times we tried it — on raw failure rates, on advisory-to-failure conversion, and again with deprivation measured properly inside each nation rather than England alone. We are closing it. What does predict local failure rates is the density of test centres, which is a statement about testing, not about cars.

All external-factor correlations (machine-readable)
Factorrn areasLow-Q fail %High-Q fail %Gap ppLow-Q factorHigh-Q factor
MOT centre density (per 10k vehicles)0.6104939.647.7+8.15.87.9
Road-salt proxy (g/m²-yr)0.5314942.048.0+6.1210.7587.3
Frost days (days/year)0.5084942.047.4+5.510.133.6
Income deprivation (score)0.3404139.842.7+2.90.10.2
Distance to coast (km)-0.2624942.540.9-1.64.787.8
Terrain gradient (% grade)0.1182944.744.0-0.70.43.2
Urban share (0–1)-0.0554943.942.9-1.00.50.9

Deprivation uses England IMD 2019 income score only (Scotland SIMD is a different scale). Salt proxy is a simplified NWSRG-style dry-salt sum from air Tmin; coastalness is distance from the area centroid to the nearest coastline.

Every dot is a postcode area — size = how many were tested there, colour = share failing. These figures are not age-adjusted: coastal and rural areas often run older fleets and salted roads, so higher raw fail rates do not automatically mean a worse local stock of this model.

Map labels: Scotland · N. England · Wales · London · S. West. Colour scale: 35%–54% failing.

Chevrolet Spark survival: which cars are still on the road

By age 14 is close to the reference at 100.0%, against 100.0% at the ages 4–6 reference level.

higher = larger sharecompare shares in percentage points

Chevrolet Spark survival: which cars are still on the road — 2024 UK MOT data

Chart axes: car age, years · survival vs ages 4–6 · scale 0–105%.

Survival vs fail rate by age
AgeTestsSurvival vs ages 4–6Fail %
581527.5%23.68%
65,118100%36.24%
79,225100%44.65%
813,568100%44.4%
917,299100%43.82%
1016,655100%43.72%
1115,280100%43.99%
1210,976100%44.5%
136,894100%44.14%
143,041100%44.1%

By age 14, at least as many cars of this family present for MOT as at ages 4–6 (reference n≈2,966): the older fleet has not thinned out here, so there is no survivor selection to allow for.

How many miles does a Chevrolet Spark last?

100,000+ miles stands out at 6.1%.

higher = larger sharecompare shares in percentage points

OdometerTests ≥ thresholdShare of sample
100,000+ miles5,9906.07%

Of 98,736 tests of this family with a usable odometer in 2024, 6.1% had reached 100k miles. This is a cross-section of cars still presenting for MOT, not a full birth cohort.

How many years is a Chevrolet Spark likely to last?

Bought at age 5 is highest at 33.3 years; Bought at age 12 is lowest at 2.5 years — the gap is 30.8 years.

bigger number = longer remaining lifeyears on the observed survival curve

Age nowTypical mileage (p50)Expected years left
5—at least 33.3
8—at least 6.5
10—at least 4.5
12—at least 2.5

estimateEstimate only — not a warranty: a typical 10-year-old example of this family has at least 4.5 expected years of further MOT-present life. The curve is observed only until age 14, so the true figure is likely higher.

Chevrolet Spark faults that come together

Body & structure + Emissions & leaks stand out at 9.05×, against 1.00× if the faults were independent.

above 1.0× = more than expectedbelow 1.0× = less

Group AGroup BTogetherLift
Body, chassis, structureNoise, emissions and leaks7509.05×
Road WheelsTyres324.22× (rough estimate)
Body, chassis, structureIdentification of the vehicle734.17× (rough estimate)
Noise, emissions and leaksSeat belts and supplementary restraint systems863.88× (rough estimate)
Identification of the vehicleNoise, emissions and leaks323.86× (rough estimate)
Identification of the vehicleVisibility1263.25× (rough estimate)
Road WheelsVisibility313.2× (rough estimate)
Body, chassis, structureSeat belts and supplementary restraint systems1493.18× (rough estimate)
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipmentRoad Wheels623.14× (rough estimate)
Noise, emissions and leaksSteering1553.04× (rough estimate)
Road WheelsSuspension363.04× (rough estimate)
Identification of the vehicleTyres913× (rough estimate)
Body, chassis, structureSteering3122.9× (rough estimate)
Identification of the vehicleLamps, reflectors and electrical equipment2262.86× (rough estimate)
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipmentNoise, emissions and leaks1,0302.75×
SteeringSuspension7932.73×
Noise, emissions and leaksSuspension6112.72×
Body, chassis, structureSuspension1,2832.71×
Noise, emissions and leaksTyres3902.71× (rough estimate)
Seat belts and supplementary restraint systemsTyres2172.67× (rough estimate)
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipmentSeat belts and supplementary restraint systems5632.66×
Identification of the vehicleSuspension1262.66× (rough estimate)
Body, chassis, structureLamps, reflectors and electrical equipment2,0832.64×
Seat belts and supplementary restraint systemsVisibility2692.59× (rough estimate)
BrakesNoise, emissions and leaks9002.55×
Noise, emissions and leaksVisibility4632.52× (rough estimate)
Body, chassis, structureTyres7602.5×
BrakesSeat belts and supplementary restraint systems4962.49× (rough estimate)
Seat belts and supplementary restraint systemsSuspension3122.46× (rough estimate)
Identification of the vehicleSteering262.42× (rough estimate)
Body, chassis, structureBrakes1,7882.4×
TyresVisibility1,6132.4×
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipmentVisibility4,1762.39×
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipmentTyres3,2802.39×
Body, chassis, structureVisibility9262.39×
BrakesIdentification of the vehicle1772.38× (rough estimate)
BrakesRoad Wheels442.37× (rough estimate)
BrakesSuspension4,4062.19×
BrakesLamps, reflectors and electrical equipment7,3112.18×
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipmentSuspension4,6172.16×
BrakesVisibility3,4972.12×
BrakesTyres2,7392.12×
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipmentSteering1,0012.06×
SuspensionTyres1,6702.03×
SuspensionVisibility2,0671.97×
Seat belts and supplementary restraint systemsSteering561.95× (rough estimate)
SteeringTyres3411.83× (rough estimate)
BrakesSteering8201.79×
SteeringVisibility4241.78× (rough estimate)
Body, chassis, structureRoad Wheels19too few (rough estimate)
Identification of the vehicleSeat belts and supplementary restraint systems16too few (rough estimate)
Road WheelsSteering11too few (rough estimate)
Noise, emissions and leaksRoad Wheels9too few (rough estimate)
Identification of the vehicleRoad Wheels5too few (rough estimate)

Defects in «Body, chassis, structure» and «Noise, emissions and leaks» appear together 9.05× more often than chance (750 co-occurrences in the same test; lift≥1.3, n≥500).

Lift = how many times more often both groups appear on the same test than if independent. A pair is listed from 5 tests with both faults; the lift is shown from 20, and called above chance only when its 95% interval excludes 1 (see rough estimates).

Is low mileage better for a Chevrolet Spark?

Cars driven under 5,000 miles a year is well below the reference at 36.5%, against 50.0% for cars driven 8,000–12,000 miles a year.

higher = larger sharecompare shares in percentage points

BandFail %Tests
<5k miles/year36.45%33,254
8–12k miles/year50.03%18,942
Gap (low − normal)-13.58 pp—
By fuel and age

Petrol

AgeLow-use fail %nNormal fail %nGap pp
515.1333728.9173-13.77 pp
626.881,35840.651,653-13.78 pp
736.372,47250.62,729-14.24 pp
837.984,05249.573,383-11.59 pp
937.35,81049.683,714-12.38 pp
1036.546,01350.513,069-13.97 pp
1137.095,80552.312,382-15.22 pp
1238.324,59352.541,336-14.23 pp
1337.393,14855.74671-18.35 pp
1441.151,53151.24201-10.09 pp

At matched ages 5–14, cars averaging under 5k miles/year fail at 36.5% vs 50.0% for 8–12k miles/year — 13.6 pp lower (n_low=33,254, n_normal=18,942). In this family low annual use is associated with fewer MOT fails, not more — the ‘garage queen’ penalty is not visible in overall fail rates.

Best year for a Chevrolet Spark, and the years to avoid

Build year 2012 is highest at 105.2; Build year 2014 is lowest at 92.3 — the gap is 12.9 points.

below 100 is betterabove 100 is worse100 = normal for this model at that age

build year vs the same model at the same age · 100 = as expected

Chevrolet Spark build year vs the same model at the same age · 100 = as expected — 2024 UK MOT data
Chevrolet Spark by build year, tests 2019–2024. Below 100 is better than the model's own age norm.
Every build year with its confidence interval
Build yearvs own age norm95% CIRaw fail %TestsVerdict
201492.387.9–96.735.96%4,675better
2013102.4100.5–104.443.71%24,374worse
2012105.2103.3–107.246.62%23,773worse
201199.197.2–10143.82%24,513no different
201093.491.5–95.441.26%21,473better

The best build year here is 2014 and the weakest is 2012. Comparing build years sounds simple and is not: within a single year of testing, a car's build year and its age are the same number, so a naive comparison of years is a comparison of ages wearing a disguise. Each year below is measured against the same model at the same age in other cohorts, across six years of testing — 4 of 5 years come out distinguishable from their own model's age norm.

Two limits worth knowing before you act on this. Age, test year and build year are locked together by arithmetic, so the test-year effect is taken from the observed national failure level of each year rather than estimated — it is an adjustment, not a solution.

Chevrolet Spark MOT repair costs

The MOT-failure repair budget per test runs from £131.20 to £249.28, against £54.85 for the test itself.

bigger number = costs morepounds per test, MOT-failing faults only

MOT repairs, budget
£131–249
per test, repairs only
The test itself
£54.85
statutory cap, unchanged since 2010
How the figure is built: chance of failing × typical price of that repair
ComponentFails per 100 testsTypical repairIts priceContribution
Brakes35.7 (nat. 11.25)Front brake pads (parts + labour, typical hatchback)£150£53.55
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment29.3 (nat. 18.09)Battery replacement (standard 12V lead-acid)£140£41.02
Suspension15.2 (nat. 15.36)Suspension coil spring (single corner)£180£27.36
Tyres10.3 (nat. 8.7)Tyre (single mid-range 16" fitted)£90£9.27

Multiply how often each component fails on this model by what that repair usually costs, and you get the amount an owner should expect to budget per test for MOT-failing faults only — roughly £131 to £249, on top of the test fee itself. It is a budgeting figure, not a quote: the spread between a set of pads and a set of discs is most of the range.

Prices are modal quotes from a hand-kept catalogue of published UK garage guides — we do not scrape the booking sites, their terms forbid it, so this list is short and updated by hand with a source and date against each line. Each line prices one typical repair in that group, not a full remedy, and only groups our catalogue actually covers are counted. The contrast worth noticing is the second card: the legal maximum for the test has been £54.85 since 2010, while the repairs it uncovers have followed inflation the whole time.

For scale from a different direction: Warrantywise, which sees used-car warranty claims rather than test failures, puts the average claim at £2,052 across the ten highest-claim models it ranks and £539 for Honda, the lowest-claim make in its index (Warrantywise index 2026, 1.6 million claims, cars aged 3–15). Those sit an order of magnitude above the figures in this table, and the gap is the point: a warranty claim is a gearbox or an engine, which almost never fails an MOT, while the faults that do fail one are corrosion, lamps and tyres, which no warranty pays for. The two numbers answer different questions and neither replaces the other.

Chevrolet Spark running costs for a fleet

Fails per 100 at age 10
40
vehicles needing work (rough estimate: 752 tests)
Repairs per 100
£13,120
plus £5,485 in test fees
Off the road
1d
median; 39.37% cleared same day
Failure rate and typical odometer by age
AgeFailsMedian odometerTestsGap vs age 5
1040.29%50,841752—
1144.33%64,1993,819—
1245.12%67,4043,546—
1345.54%68,6583,542—
1444.06%69,7813,039—

No single year stands out as the point where this model starts costing more: the year-to-year steps in its failure rate are too small or rest on too few tests to name one (D1 rule: a step is named only with at least 2,000 tests on both sides and a jump above 3 percentage points).

Repair spend uses the same modal prices as the section above, so it inherits the same limits: one typical repair per component group, not a full remedy. Downtime is the gap between the failed test and the passed re-test, which is the window a vehicle is legally off the road.

Chevrolet Spark rust problems: where they corrode

Age-standardised corrosion susceptibility stands out at 5.28×, against 1.00× for the national age-standardised rate.

above 1.0× = rusts more than averagebelow 1.0× = rusts less

How it rusts
5.28×
4.04% of tests record a corrosion defect vs 0.77% typical — age-standardised
Salt Belt exposure
82nd
percentile among the models published here, from its tests across 49 postcode areas

This Chevrolet Spark fails on corrosion far more often than average once age is held constant, and its owners live in areas that are saltier than most for the models we publish.

Corrosion is the one failure mode that is as much about geography as about the car. We keep the two apart on purpose: a model can look rusty simply because it is popular in Scotland, and a model can look clean simply because it is bought in Surrey. Blending them into a single score would hide which of the two is doing the work.

Exposure is this model's tests weighted by an area corrosion index built from frost days, salt load and distance to the coast — the composite validated at r = 0.42 against corrosion defects we actually record. It is published as a rank, not a raw score, because every mainstream model skews towards low-corrosion areas for the simple reason that most of Britain's cars are in the south. Susceptibility is standardised to the national age profile, so an old fleet does not get labelled a rusty model.

Does a Chevrolet Spark advisory become a failure?

Brakes are highest at 24.6%; Non-component advisories are lowest at 0.0% — the gap is 24.6 percentage points.

higher = more likelypercentage is the observed transition probability

chance the same component fails at the next MOT, given an advisory now

Chevrolet Spark chance the same component fails at the next MOT, given an advisory now — 2024 UK MOT data
Chevrolet Spark, advisory → failure conversion by component group, chained tests 2019–2024. Chart labels and rates: Brakes 24.6% · Suspension 18.7% · Body & chassis 13% · Steering 10.8% · Tyres 10.5% · Noise, emissions, leaks 4.4% · Identification of the veh… 3.7% · Seat belts & restraints 1.9%.
Advisory today → failure at the next test, with how long you have
ComponentFails next timeTypical lead timeMiles of warningAdvisories tracked
Brakes24.6%12 months3,68928,028
Suspension18.7%12 months4,31410,497
Body, chassis, structure13.0%12 months4,8264,633
Steering10.8%12 months3,9461,058
Tyres10.5%12 months4,25321,509
Noise, emissions and leaks4.3%12.1 months4,8084,870
Identification of the vehicle3.7%12 months4,9252,325
Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems1.9%12 months5,1621,817
Non-component advisories0.0%——4,064

This is the question an advisory note actually raises, and it needs six years of test history to answer. We followed the same vehicles from one MOT to the next across 2019–2024 and measured how often a component that was merely advised came back as a genuine failure at the next test.

Read it as a budgeting horizon, not a prophecy: the most likely component above turns into a failure for about 25 in 100 cars, and the median gap is 12 months and roughly 3,689 miles. The rest were repaired, sold, scrapped, or simply held. Rows with fewer than 500 tracked advisories are not shown.

What will fail next on a Chevrolet Spark?

Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment after a failure at age 12-14 are highest at 25.6%; Visibility after a passed at age 3-5 is lowest at 6.4% — the gap is 19.2 percentage points.

higher = more likelypercentage is the observed transition probability

Probability of each component failing at the next test, by age and last result
AgeLast testMost likely next failuresCars tracked
3-5passedBrakes 15.8% · Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 10.6% · Visibility 6.4%1,637
3-5advisoryBrakes 20.9% · Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 16.1% · Suspension 8.7%1,101
3-5failureBrakes 22.6% · Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 19.8% · Tyres 9.4%1,271
6-8passedBrakes 15.5% · Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 14.0% · Suspension 7.8%9,955
6-8advisoryBrakes 22.5% · Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 18.5% · Suspension 10.9%8,764
6-8failureBrakes 23.2% · Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 22.2% · Suspension 13.5%14,279
9-11passedLamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 14.5% · Brakes 11.8% · Suspension 10.0%9,774
9-11advisoryLamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 19.1% · Brakes 16.9% · Suspension 12.5%11,555
9-11failureLamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 24.7% · Brakes 18.9% · Suspension 16.3%16,571
12-14passedLamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 14.8% · Brakes 11.8% · Suspension 10.1%1,529
12-14advisoryLamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 19.5% · Brakes 17.4% · Suspension 13.8%2,013
12-14failureLamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 25.6% · Brakes 17.7% · Suspension 17.6%2,828

The same chains, cut differently: given a car's age and how its last test went, which component most often causes trouble at the following one.

The pattern that repeats across every family: a failure at one test roughly doubles the chance of a failure on the same component at the next one, and an advisory sits about half-way between a clean pass and a failure. Age bands in years; probabilities are per car, not per defect item.

Chevrolet Spark ownership: what six years of MOTs show

The ten-day re-test pass rate is highest at 57.8%; The later re-test pass rate is lowest at 2.8% — the gap is 55.0 percentage points.

higher = larger sharecompare shares in percentage points

Fixed same day
39.37%
of failures re-tested
Fails /10k miles
0.947
miles actually driven
Clean streaks
25.08%
3+ tests, nothing noted
Odometer anomaly
1.938%
reading went backwards

Failing is usually a same-week event, not a disaster. Of 30,630 failures followed through to their re-test, 39.37% were repaired and passed the same day and 57.81% within ten days; the median gap is 1 day. 88,752 defect items were cleared in the process.

Per mile driven, not per year. Dividing failures by the miles that actually went onto the odometers between consecutive tests gives 0.947 failures per 10,000 miles, on a median of 3,601 miles a year across 17,589 chains. This is the number to compare between models — an annual rate quietly rewards cars that barely leave the drive.

Two populations hide inside one model. 25.08% of these cars strung together three or more tests with nothing recorded at all, while 51.63% carried the same advisory three times or more — the same fault, noted, ignored, noted again. When you buy used you are buying one of those two histories, and the MOT record shows which.

Odometer anomalies: 1.938% of 17,597 chains show a reading lower than the previous test, with a median drop of 12,175 miles. We call this an anomaly and not fraud on purpose — instrument swaps, imports, unit mix-ups and keying errors all land in the same bucket. Obvious typos (drops under 100 miles or over 90% of the reading) are already excluded.

Chevrolet Spark safety recalls and how to check yours

DVSA recall campaigns stand out at 9.

bigger number = more recorded casescompare like-for-like scope, not sample size alone

recall campaigns launched per year

Chevrolet Spark recall campaigns launched per year — 2024 UK MOT data
Campaigns launched per year for the Chevrolet Spark. Source: DVSA vehicle safety recalls. Chart values: 2012: 1 · 2013: 0 · 2014: 4 · 2015: 2 · 2016: 0 · 2017: 0 · 2018: 0 · 2019: 0 · 2020: 0 · 2021: 0 · 2022: 0 · 2023: 2.
Most recent safety recall campaigns for the Chevrolet Spark
ReferenceLaunchedVehiclesConcern
R/2024/00314/12/20230Chevrolet UK Spark Hood Striker Replacement
R/2024/00314/12/202320,091Chevrolet UK Spark Hood Striker Replacement
R/2015/08728/04/201514,659CLUTCH PEDAL MAY FAIL
R/2015/01706/02/201520,089SECONDARY BONNET CATCH MAY NOT ENGAGE
R/2014/18115/12/20148,194BRAKING PERFORMANCE MAY BE REDUCED
All 9 campaigns
ReferenceLaunchedBuild datesVehiclesConcern
R/2024/00314/12/202301/01/2010 – 31/12/20150Chevrolet UK Spark Hood Striker Replacement
R/2024/00314/12/202301/01/2010 – 31/12/201520,091Chevrolet UK Spark Hood Striker Replacement
R/2015/08728/04/201501/07/2009 – 17/10/201214,659CLUTCH PEDAL MAY FAIL
R/2015/01706/02/201512/06/2009 – 31/07/201420,089SECONDARY BONNET CATCH MAY NOT ENGAGE
R/2014/18115/12/201401/12/2008 – 24/10/20098,194BRAKING PERFORMANCE MAY BE REDUCED
R/2014/15211/11/201410/05/2013 – 12/12/20132,057LOSS OF TRANSMISSION
R/2014/02203/02/201410/05/2013 – 07/06/2013432TRANSMISSION MOUNT FAILURE MAY CAUSE LOSS OF DRIVE
R/2013/14802/01/201401/07/2009 – 16/09/20108,314CLUTCH AND GEAR SELECTION MAY BE LOST
R/2012/09028/08/201201/01/2007 – 31/12/200938,876BRAKING EFFICIENCY MAY BE AFFECTED

DVSA lists 9 safety recall campaigns for the Chevrolet Spark, covering roughly 112,712 vehicles in total. A recall is the manufacturer fixing a fault for free, so an open recall on your car costs nothing to clear.

Counter-intuitive, and measured on our own data: across the 25 families published here, more recalls go with a lower MOT Risk Index (r = −0.52). Heavily recalled models are not worse cars in the test bay — an active manufacturer removes the fault before it becomes an MOT failure.

Check whether a specific car has an outstanding recall — free, by registration — at DVSA's recall service. Source: DVSA vehicle safety recalls (check-vehicle-recalls.service.gov.uk), OGL.

Chevrolet Spark technical service bulletins: what dealers are told

US market, Chevrolet SPARK, model year 2015 only. A count of bulletins, not a UK failure rate.

NHTSA manufacturer communications are 1,402.

bigger number = more recorded dealer communicationsnot affected vehicles or confirmed faults

These are the issues the manufacturer fixes quietly: service communications sent to dealers without a public recall campaign. They show what the service network has been told even when the issue never became news.

United States · NHTSA manufacturer communications

US technical service bulletins by communication year; leading subjects cover the full file
Communication yearBulletinsLeading subjects across all years
2014203
  • Equipment (614)
  • Electrical system (365)
  • Engine and cooling (126)
  • Powertrain (124)
  • Engine (94)
  • Adaptive and mobility equipment (94)
  • Other / uncategorised (65)
  • Wheels (64)
2015210
2016183
2017146
201867
2019104
202094
202158
202294
202389
2024109
202539
20266

Caveat worth stating plainly: this is NHTSA data about US-specification cars. British cars sold under the same name often use different gearboxes, engines and equipment, so a bulletin may describe a component that was never fitted here. The file counts dealer communications, not affected vehicles or confirmed failures, and it cannot tell you whether an individual UK car has the issue. A communication can carry more than one subject tag, so topic counts do not have to add up to the total. Source: NHTSA Manufacturer Communications API (US-market vehicles; queried model years 2015-2022). Licence: U.S. Government work / public domain · retrieved 2026-09-25.

Chevrolet Spark owner complaints: what goes wrong

US market, Chevrolet SPARK, model year 2015 only. A count of owner complaints, not a UK failure rate; NHTSA has no UK denominator.

Transmission (not MOT-tested) is highest at 26; Body & structure are lowest at 4 — the gap is 22.

bigger number = more recorded casescompare like-for-like scope, not sample size alone

Owner complaints (US) against actual MOT failures (UK) for the same component groups
ComponentComplaintsShareMOT fail items per 100MOT rankAgreement
Transmission (not MOT-tested)2631.3%not in top 6—complained about, rarely an MOT failure
Engine (not MOT-tested)1214.5%not in top 6—complained about, rarely an MOT failure
Lamps & electrical1113.3%29.3#2complained about and fails often
Restraints910.8%not in top 6—complained about, rarely an MOT failure
Brakes910.8%35.7#1complained about and fails often
Body & structure44.8%4.8#6complained about, fails occasionally

Two different populations answering two different questions: the MOT records what an inspector can measure once a year, the complaint file records what annoyed or frightened an owner on the road. A component high in one column and absent from the other is the interesting case — driver-assistance and electronics dominate complaints while almost never appearing as an MOT failure item.

What the reports actually say
Compass car center LLC 3433 Brooklyn Ave Fort Wayne Indiana 46809 is unsafe vehicles with suspension noise and broken parts know transmission control system mil problems eont addressed the issue either
NHTSA complaint, filed 01/17/2025 · SUSPENSION
The transmission has gone bad and the car has low mileage. I took it to a chevy dealership and they couldn't find the problem now it is completely broken and I can't drive it. I was told there is a recall on the 2015 chevy spark transmission.
NHTSA complaint, filed 01/20/2024 · POWER TRAIN

US owners have filed 83 complaints about the equivalent Chevrolet Spark to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, including 4 that mention a crash, 1 a fire and 8 an injury. These are owner reports, not verified findings — but they are the only large public record of what drivers themselves notice, and they cover the years between MOT tests.

Caveat worth stating plainly: US-specification cars, self-selected reporters, no denominator — complaint counts scale with how many cars were sold there and how motivated owners are to file. The mechanical gap matters as much as the statistical one: American cars of the same name often carry different gearboxes, engines and equipment — automatics where Britain buys manuals — so a drivetrain complaint filed in Ohio may describe a part that was never fitted here. Read the ranking inside a model, not between models, and treat drivetrain entries with particular caution. Source: NHTSA ODI consumer complaints (US market, public domain) — US-spec vehicles, indicative only.

Chevrolet Spark inspection results in other countries

United Kingdom MOT stands out at 44.6%, against 26.0% nationally.

higher = larger sharecompare shares in percentage points

Same model, different national inspection regimes
CountryTestThis model failsNational averagePositionSample
United KingdomMOT (class 4)44.55%26.01%+18.5 pp14,723
NetherlandsAPK63.1%50.8%+12.3 pp17,217

The verdict is consistent across every regime where the difference is clear, which is the strongest form this comparison takes: independent inspectorates, different rulebooks, same direction of travel.

The exact faults Netherlands records — APK defect codes, 2024
CodeFaultRecordedType
210Tyre pressure not at the correct value2,918failure
205Tyre with insufficient tread2,912failure
497Number-plate light not working or missing2,260failure
584Sidelight not working properly2,151failure
516Dipped headlight incorrectly aimed1,620failure
AC1Tyre down to 1.6–2.5 mm of tread1,542advisory
289Schijf-, trommelrem loopt niet vrij1,419failure
391Wipers leave insufficient visibility1,275failure

Worth dwelling on how mundane the top of that list is: tyre pressure, tread depth, headlight aim. The Dutch APK records 1.703 defects per inspection against a much higher national failure rate than Britain's, and the reason is not that Dutch cars are worse — it is that the two regimes draw the line between "note it" and "fail it" in different places. Codes are the RDW's own; the English wording here is our translation of the Dutch original.

Britain is not the only country that inspects every car every year, and the Chevrolet Spark is on the road in all of them. Each national regime writes its own rules, so the pass rates below are not comparable to each other — what does travel across a border is whether a model sits above or below its own country's average.

Rows with fewer than 500 inspections are not published. Sources: RDW open data — Meldingen Keuringsinstantie + Geconstateerde Gebreken + Gekentekende voertuigen (2024), CC0. Not an RDW endorsement.. Adapted; licences and full notice.

Chevrolet Spark MOT: quick answers

Chevrolet Spark MOT Risk Index stands out at 122.7, against 100 for a car with the same age profile.

below 100 is betterabove 100 is worse100 = normal for this model at that age

What is the Chevrolet Spark first-time MOT pass rate?
55.45% of first attempts passed in 2024 (14,723 tests). This is the first-time figure: retests after repair are excluded. Basis: first-time, excluding retests.
Why does this number differ from other sites?
Other sites often report a pass rate that includes retests or counts all attempts. Our 44.55% figure is the first-time initial failure rate, using 14,723 primary tests as the denominator (first-time, excluding retests). The age-adjusted MOT initial-failure ratio 122.7 is shown separately because raw rates compare fleet age as well as cars.

Compare the Chevrolet Spark with other cars

Tesla Model 3 is highest at 124.7; Nissan Juke is lowest at 120.3 — the gap is 4.4 points.

below 100 is betterabove 100 is worse100 = normal for this model at that age

Same brand

All Chevrolet MOT statistics

Similar risk

Tesla Model 3 (index 124.7)Seat Ibiza (index 120.6)Nissan Juke (index 120.3)

Same size class

how Jaguar I-Pace compareshow Honda e compareshow Citroen C3 Aircross compares

By build year

Chevrolet Spark 2010Chevrolet Spark 2011Chevrolet Spark 2012Chevrolet Spark 2013Chevrolet Spark 2014

By area

Chevrolet Spark MOT failure rate by postcode area

By failure group

Chevrolet Spark body, chassis and structure failuresChevrolet Spark brakes failuresChevrolet Spark vehicle identification failuresChevrolet Spark lamps, reflectors and electrics failuresChevrolet Spark noise, emissions and leaks failuresChevrolet Spark road wheels failuresChevrolet Spark seat belts and airbags failuresChevrolet Spark steering failuresChevrolet Spark suspension failuresChevrolet Spark tyres failuresChevrolet Spark visibility failures

Inspections abroad

Chevrolet Spark in the Netherlands


Data details & how to cite

Scope: class-4 vehicles (cars), initial tests only, outcomes pass / fail / fixed-on-the-spot at the station (PRS counts towards the failure rate — the defect was present at arrival). Index = observed initial failures ÷ failures expected for this fleet's exact age profile, ×100; margin of error is a 95% confidence interval. Covers ALL generations together — a 3-year-old and a 15-year-old are very different cars; a generation split is on the roadmap. Dataset release dataset_release_id=dvsa-2024-v2, frozen baseline; headline claim_id=family-stats:chevrolet-spark:dvsa-2024-v2. Full method: methodology.

Cite: MOT Risk Index (2026). Chevrolet Spark MOT statistics 2024 (data release dvsa-2024-v2; downloadable dataset motriskindex-families-2024-v5, doi:10.5281/zenodo.22975051). https://motriskindex.co.uk/cars/chevrolet-spark/ · Published 2026-07-30.