Does the Mitsubishi Lancer fail the MOT on seat belts and airbags more than it should?
The Mitsubishi Lancer records 0.96 seat belts and airbags failure items per 100 initial MOT tests (2019–2024), against 1.96 expected for a car of the same age mix: less than expected for its class and age (−1.00, 95% interval −1.10 to −0.90). It ranks 531 of 627 models on seat belts and airbags (1 = most failures above expected).
Data release dvsa-2024-v2 (24 Sep 2026) · page updated 30 Sep 2026 · all models on seat belts and airbags · check a Mitsubishi Lancer by registration
What exactly fails on seat belts and airbags?
The most frequent DVSA defect wording in this group on the Mitsubishi Lancer is “An SRS malfunction indicator lamp (MIL) indicates a system malfunction”, recorded 294 times in 2019–2024.
| DVSA defect wording | Items | Per 100 tests |
|---|---|---|
| An SRS malfunction indicator lamp (MIL) indicates a system malfunction | 294 | 0.39 |
| The strength or continuity of the load bearing structure within 30cm of any seat belt anchorage (a 'prescribed area') is significantly reduced or inadequately repaired | 173 | 0.23 |
| Seat belt not functioning as intended or of an incorrect type | 71 | 0.09 |
| Seat belt buckle missing, damaged or not functioning as intended | 53 | 0.07 |
| A statutory seat belt missing | 31 | 0.04 |
Source: DVSA MOT bulk data (OGL v3.0) · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 75,633 (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
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