Does the Lotus Elan fail the MOT on brakes more than it should?
The Lotus Elan records 26.15 brakes failure items per 100 initial MOT tests (2019–2024), against 20.27 expected for a car of the same age mix: more than expected for its class and age (+5.88, 95% interval +4.80 to +6.95). It ranks 111 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 Lotus Elan by registration
What exactly fails on brakes?
The most frequent DVSA defect wording in this group on the Lotus Elan is “Parking brake efficiency below minimum requirement”, recorded 451 times in 2019–2024.
| DVSA defect wording | Items | Per 100 tests |
|---|---|---|
| Parking brake efficiency below minimum requirement | 451 | 5.17 |
| 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. | 293 | 3.36 |
| Significant brake effort recorded with no brake applied indicating a binding brake | 237 | 2.72 |
| Service brake efficiency below minimum requirement | 235 | 2.70 |
| Parking brake efficiency less than 50% of the required value | 152 | 1.74 |
Source: DVSA MOT bulk data (OGL v3.0) · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 8,716 (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
If a Lotus Elan gets a brakes advisory, how often does it fail next time?
19.8% of Lotus Elan MOTs with a brakes advisory were followed by a fail in the same group at the next MOT, typically 12.5 months and 332 miles later (1,005 advisories followed).
Source: DVSA MOT bulk data (OGL v3.0) · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 1,005 (advisories followed) · Method: the same vehicles followed to their next ordinary MOT · Updated: 30 Sep 2026 · Release: dvsa-2024-v2 · CSV
Other pages for this model
Lotus Elan by postcode area · Lotus Elan body, chassis and structure failures · Lotus Elan vehicle identification failures · Lotus Elan lamps, reflectors and electrics failures · Lotus Elan noise, emissions and leaks failures · Lotus Elan seat belts and airbags failures · Lotus Elan steering failures · Lotus Elan suspension failures · Lotus Elan tyres failures · Lotus Elan visibility failures