Does the Lotus Elise fail the MOT on body, chassis and structure more than it should?
The Lotus Elise records 0.73 body, chassis and structure failure items per 100 initial MOT tests (2019–2024), against 13.61 expected for a car of the same age mix: less than expected for its class and age (−12.88, 95% interval −13.30 to −12.47). It ranks 649 of 663 models on body, chassis and structure (1 = most failures above expected).
Data release dvsa-2024-v2 (24 Sep 2026) · page updated 30 Sep 2026 · all models on body, chassis and structure · check a Lotus Elise by registration
What exactly fails on body, chassis and structure?
The most frequent DVSA defect wording in this group on the Lotus Elise is “A door will not open using the relevant control or close properly”, recorded 73 times in 2019–2024.
| DVSA defect wording | Items | Per 100 tests |
|---|---|---|
| A door will not open using the relevant control or close properly | 73 | 0.24 |
| Exhaust system leaking or insecure | 47 | 0.16 |
Source: DVSA MOT bulk data (OGL v3.0) · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 30,192 (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
Lotus Elise 1998 · Lotus Elise 1999 · Lotus Elise 2000 · Lotus Elise 2001 · Lotus Elise 2002 · Lotus Elise 2003 · Lotus Elise 2004 · Lotus Elise 2005 · Lotus Elise by postcode area · Lotus Elise brakes failures · Lotus Elise vehicle identification failures · Lotus Elise lamps, reflectors and electrics failures · Lotus Elise noise, emissions and leaks failures · Lotus Elise road wheels failures · Lotus Elise steering failures · Lotus Elise suspension failures · Lotus Elise tyres failures · Lotus Elise visibility failures