Porsche 911 — MOT statistics 2024
The Porsche 911 failed 12.08% of 50,378 first MOT attempts in 2024 ("first-time", excluding retests). Adjusted for the age of the fleet, its initial-failure ratio is 35.8 (100 = expected for its age profile). This car fails its MOT about 64% less often than expected for its age.
Age-adjusted peer: Jaguar I-Pace (index 59.1) — the two published results are 23.3 index points apart, so read it as the nearest published comparison of the same type, not a close match.
Porsche 911 common problems: what actually fails the MOT
Suspension is well below the reference at 2.9 per 100 tests, against 21.7 per 100 tests across UK vehicles of the same ages.
higher bar = fails more oftenrate per 100 tests
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.
| Group | This family | Cases behind it | UK, same ages | Family / national |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lamps & electrical | 9.4 | 26,821 | 26.6 | 0.35×0.35–0.36 |
| Brakes | 4.0 | 11,467 | 17.3 | 0.23×0.23–0.24 |
| Tyres | 3.7 | 10,652 | 8.5 | 0.43×0.43–0.44 |
| Visibility | 3.6 | 10,384 | 10.1 | 0.36×0.35–0.37 |
| Suspension | 2.9 | 8,208 | 21.7 | 0.13×0.13–0.14 |
| Body & structure | 2.9 | 8,173 | 10.3 | 0.28×0.27–0.28 |
| What failed | per 100 tests (this family) | per 100 tests (UK average) | ratio family / UK | What to check |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lambda coefficient outside the default limits or…Lambda coefficient outside the default limits or the range specified by the manufacturer | 1.11 | 0.53 | 2.10× | Ask the seller about: Lambda coefficient outside the default limits or the range s |
| Brake pipe damaged or excessively corrodedBrake pipe damaged or excessively corroded | 1.46 | 1.41 | 1.04× | Look underneath for rust or cracks around subframe and suspension mountings |
| Transmission shaft constant velocity joint boot…A transmission shaft constant velocity joint boot missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt etc | 1.19 | 1.56 | 0.76× | Ask the seller about: A transmission shaft constant velocity joint boot missing or |
| Aim of a headlamp is not within limits laid down…The aim of a headlamp is not within limits laid down in the requirements | 2.06 | 2.57 | 0.80× | Try every light and switch — lamps are a top failure |
| Windscreen or window damaged or seriously…Windscreen or window damaged or seriously discoloured but not adversely affecting driver's view | 1.64 | 2.36 | 0.70× | Check wipers, washers and windscreen chips in the driver's view |
| Tyre cords visible or damagedA tyre cords visible or damaged | 0.89 | 1.63 | 0.55× | Check tyre tread depth across the full width |
| 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 functioning | 0.87 | 2.09 | 0.42× | Try every light and switch — lamps are a top failure |
| Tyre seriously damagedA tyre seriously damaged | 1.20 | 2.54 | 0.47× | Check tyre tread depth across the full width |
| 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 sources | 1.11 | 2.83 | 0.39× | Try every light and switch — lamps are a top failure |
| Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the…Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements | 1.32 | 3.59 | 0.37× | Check tyre tread depth across the full width |
Named defects ranked by how much more often they appear than the national average — not by raw rate.
Porsche 911 MOT advisories: what gets flagged
Tyres are highest at 23.3 per 100 tests; Lamps & electrical are lowest at 1.7 per 100 tests — the gap is 21.6 per 100 tests.
higher bar = flagged more oftenadvisory items per 100 initial tests
Advisory rates table
| Group | Advisories per 100 |
|---|---|
| Tyres | 23.3 |
| Brakes | 22.3 |
| Suspension | 9.1 |
| Emissions & leaks | 4.2 |
| Non-component advisories | 3.5 |
| Lamps & electrical | 1.7 |
Advisories are wear the tester noted but didn't fail — what will need money soon.
Tyres, brakes and suspension: Porsche 911 against cars of the same age
| Age | Part | Porsche 911 | Same age, petrol and diesel | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 years | Tyres | 2.88 | 4.17 | -1.29 |
| 3 years | Brakes | 0.15 | 1.77 | -1.62 |
| 3 years | Suspension | 0.1 | 0.63 | -0.53 |
| 4 years | Tyres | 2.63 | 4.54 | -1.91 |
| 4 years | Brakes | 0.15 | 2.43 | -2.28 |
| 4 years | Suspension | 0.13 | 1.21 | -1.08 |
| 5 years | Tyres | 2.89 | 5.06 | -2.17 |
| 5 years | Brakes | 0.23 | 3.09 | -2.86 |
| 5 years | Suspension | 0.19 | 2.19 | -2.00 |
| 6 years | Tyres | 2.56 | 5.54 | -2.98 |
| 6 years | Brakes | 0.36 | 3.81 | -3.45 |
| 6 years | Suspension | 0.3 | 3.72 | -3.42 |
| 7 years | Tyres | 2.5 | 5.95 | -3.45 |
| 7 years | Brakes | 0.46 | 4.55 | -4.09 |
| 7 years | Suspension | 0.68 | 5.68 | -5.00 |
| 8 years | Tyres | 2.36 | 6.31 | -3.95 |
| 8 years | Brakes | 0.49 | 5.38 | -4.89 |
| 8 years | Suspension | 0.62 | 7.78 | -7.16 |
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 test | Fails next year | Vehicles followed |
|---|---|---|
| It failed | 18.2% | 10,248 |
| It passed | 10.9% | 172,904 |
A failed test raises next year's chance of failing again by 7.3 percentage points. The failure most likely to come back is identification of the vehicle — 22.8% 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 277,164 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 for | Index | Reading |
|---|---|---|
| Age only | 37.8 | fails less often than expected |
| Age and annual mileage | 43.3 | fails less often than vehicles driven as much |
| Share doing under 3,000 miles a year | 33.3% | a large low-use population — often second vehicles or cars kept for occasional use |
Split by how much each car is driven. This is a split by annual mileage, not by body type — the MOT record does not say whether a car is a conversion. Within each band the index compares with vehicles of the same age driven as much.
| Miles a year | Tests | Failed first time | Index within band |
|---|---|---|---|
| under 3,000 | 92,387 | 8.6% | 38.4 |
| 3,000–6,000 | 151,078 | 15.0% | 43.7 |
| 6,000–9,000 | 29,173 | 17.9% | 48.9 |
| 9,000–12,000 | 3,381 | 17.2% | 53.6 |
| 12,000–16,000 | 751 | 17.8% | 61.6 |
| 16,000 and over | 394 | 19.0% | 76.4 |
Mileage matters here: matching on how much these are driven moves the figure by 5.5 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 Porsche 911 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.
| Age | Porsche 911 | Same class, same age | Difference | Tests |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 years | 5.61% | 10.83% | -5.22 pp | 12,272 |
| 4 years | 5.27% | 12.41% | -7.14 pp | 11,835 |
| 5 years | 5.73% | 14.24% | -8.51 pp | 11,573 |
| 6 years | 6.02% | 16.17% | -10.15 pp | 10,555 |
| 7 years | 6.44% | 18.34% | -11.9 pp | 9,853 |
| 8 years | 6.41% | 20.65% | -14.24 pp | 9,231 |
| 9 years | 7.63% | 23.23% | -15.6 pp | 9,292 |
| 10 years | 8.87% | 25.75% | -16.88 pp | 9,026 |
| 11 years | 9.58% | 28.42% | -18.84 pp | 9,310 |
| 12 years | 11.12% | 30.78% | -19.67 pp | 10,463 |
| 13 years | 12.21% | 32.89% | -20.68 pp | 11,822 |
| 14 years | 13.21% | 34.9% | -21.68 pp | 13,365 |
| 15 years | 14.2% | 36.38% | -22.18 pp | 14,059 |
| 16 years | 15.77% | 37.48% | -21.7 pp | 15,214 |
| 17 years | 17.19% | 37.9% | -20.72 pp | 15,798 |
| 18 years | 17.98% | 38.33% | -20.36 pp | 14,737 |
| 19 years | 18.65% | 37.96% | -19.31 pp | 12,821 |
| 20 years | 19.98% | 37.51% | -17.53 pp | 11,375 |
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 Porsche 911 perform as it gets older?
The 911 at age 15 is well below the reference at 10.6%, against 41.6% for all vehicles of the same age.
higher = larger sharecompare shares in percentage points
Chart axes: car age, years · failure-rate scale 0–47%.
Takeaway: a 10-year-old 911 has roughly a 7% chance of failing its MOT.
Data table
| Age | Porsche 911 | All vehicles | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 5.5% | 12.4% | -6.9 pp |
| 4 | 4.7% | 13.1% | -8.4 pp |
| 5 | 5.5% | 15.1% | -9.6 pp |
| 6 | 6.1% | 17.5% | -11.4 pp |
| 7 | 5.8% | 20.2% | -14.4 pp |
| 8 | 5.1% | 23.3% | -18.2 pp |
| 9 | 5.6% | 26.5% | -20.9 pp |
| 10 | 6.5% | 30.1% | -23.6 pp |
| 11 | 7.0% | 33.2% | -26.1 pp |
| 12 | 8.8% | 35.7% | -26.9 pp |
| 13 | 8.0% | 38.2% | -30.2 pp |
| 14 | 10.0% | 40.4% | -30.4 pp |
| 15 | 10.6% | 41.6% | -31.0 pp |
| 16 | 12.6% | 43.1% | -30.5 pp |
| 17 | 13.7% | 43.1% | -29.4 pp |
| 18 | 15.0% | 43.9% | -28.8 pp |
| 19 | 15.4% | 43.5% | -28.1 pp |
| 20 | 18.3% | 41.0% | -22.8 pp |
Is a Porsche 911 ULEZ compliant?
The share of classifiable 2024 Porsche 911 MOT tests likely ULEZ compliant by first-registration date is 67.1%.
Based on 42,813 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
| Vehicle age at test | Likely ULEZ-compliant share | Tests |
|---|---|---|
| Under 3 years | Suppressed — sample below publication threshold Check a registration with TfL | n = 69 |
| 3–5 years | 100.0% Check a registration with TfL | n = 5,496 |
| 6–7 years | 100.0% Check a registration with TfL | n = 4,028 |
| 8 years | 100.0% Check a registration with TfL | n = 1,703 |
| 9 years | 100.0% Check a registration with TfL | n = 1,722 |
| 10–14 years | 100.0% Check a registration with TfL | n = 7,334 |
| 15–17 years | 100.0% Check a registration with TfL | n = 5,646 |
| 18 years | 100.0% Check a registration with TfL | n = 2,736 |
| 19 years | 0.0% Check a registration with TfL | n = 2,754 |
| 20+ years | 0.0% Check a registration with TfL | n = 11,325 |
How dangerous are Porsche 911 MOT failures?
Major defects are well below the reference at 20.9 per 100 tests, against 52.8 per 100 tests nationally.
higher bar = fails more oftenrate per 100 tests
Severity table
| Severity | This family /100 | National /100 | Family / national |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minor | 6.31 | 14.22 | 0.44× |
| Major | 20.87 | 52.75 | 0.40× |
| Dangerous | 3.76 | 11.15 | 0.34× |
Chart values: Minor 6.3 · Major 20.9 · Dangerous 3.8.
Per 100 tests on this family. National average: Minor 14.2 · Major 52.8 · Dangerous 11.2 per 100.
Does the month of a Porsche 911 MOT matter?
Jan is highest at 14.3%; Sep is lowest at 12.7% — the gap is 1.6 percentage points.
higher = larger sharecompare shares in percentage points
Chart scale: 11%–33%.
bars: Porsche 911 · dashed: all class-4 cars
Month-by-month table
| Month | Porsche 911 | All vehicles | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 14.28% | 31.12% | -16.8 pp |
| Feb | 13.87% | 29.99% | -16.1 pp |
| Mar | 12.79% | 28.26% | -15.5 pp |
| Apr | 13.19% | 29.78% | -16.6 pp |
| May | 12.98% | 28.79% | -15.8 pp |
| Jun | 13.09% | 28.15% | -15.1 pp |
| Jul | 12.9% | 29.33% | -16.4 pp |
| Aug | 12.98% | 29.2% | -16.2 pp |
| Sep | 12.66% | 28.19% | -15.5 pp |
| Oct | 13.5% | 30.34% | -16.8 pp |
| Nov | 13.89% | 30.58% | -16.7 pp |
| Dec | 13.38% | 29.33% | -15.9 pp |
Takeaway: the spread between best and worst month is 1.6 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.
Porsche 911 average mileage by age
At age 8, the middle half of 911s runs from 17,450 miles to 38,028 miles, against 27,268 miles as the median.
further right = more milesmedian is the typical car; band is p25–p75
Chart axes: car age, years · odometer scale 0–106k mi.
Does high mileage mean more Porsche 911 MOT failures at the same age?
Within the same age group, split by odometer (2024 MOTs), so this separates wear from age: at ages 15+, 7.5% of those with under 40,000 miles failed first time versus 27.6% of those with over 140,000 miles.Inside this age group, higher mileage goes with more failures.
| Age | Odometer | % failing | 95% interval | Tests |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3–5 | <40k miles | 5.2% | 4.6–5.8% | 5,334 |
| 3–5 | 40-70k miles | 10.3% | 6.3–16.3% | 146 (rough estimate) |
| 6–9 | <40k miles | 4.9% | 4.4–5.5% | 6,193 |
| 6–9 | 40-70k miles | 9% | 7.5–10.8% | 1,167 |
| 6–9 | 70-100k miles | 12.3% | 6.6–21.8% | 73 (rough estimate) |
| 10–14 | <40k miles | 5.5% | 4.8–6.3% | 3,396 |
| 10–14 | 40-70k miles | 9.4% | 8.4–10.5% | 3,000 |
| 10–14 | 70-100k miles | 13.1% | 10.9–15.5% | 819 |
| 10–14 | 100-140k miles | 17.6% | 11.5–26.2% | 102 (rough estimate) |
| 15+ | <40k miles | 7.5% | 6.7–8.5% | 3,277 |
| 15+ | 40-70k miles | 12.8% | 12.1–13.6% | 7,774 |
| 15+ | 70-100k miles | 19.5% | 18.6–20.4% | 7,432 |
| 15+ | 100-140k miles | 22.4% | 21–23.8% | 3,343 |
| 15+ | 140k+ miles | 27.6% | 24.2–31.2% | 627 |
line: median · band: middle half of the fleet (p25–p75)
Mileage by age (p25 / median / p75)
| Age | p25 | Median | p75 | Tests |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 6,171 | 9,944 | 14,900 | 1,619 |
| 4 | 9,762 | 14,910 | 20,916 | 1,564 |
| 5 | 12,246 | 18,269 | 25,059 | 2,313 |
| 6 | 9,958 | 16,980 | 25,253 | 2,152 |
| 7 | 15,506 | 23,009 | 32,257 | 1,876 |
| 8 | 17,450 | 27,268 | 38,028 | 1,703 |
| 9 | 20,341 | 30,791 | 42,157 | 1,722 |
| 10 | 21,590 | 32,679 | 45,044 | 1,569 |
| 11 | 29,232 | 41,961 | 55,533 | 1,279 |
| 12 | 33,420 | 46,822 | 61,630 | 1,520 |
| 13 | 29,275 | 42,499 | 57,643 | 1,265 |
| 14 | 32,790 | 48,068 | 64,551 | 1,701 |
| 15 | 41,404 | 58,160 | 74,794 | 1,433 |
| 16 | 39,877 | 56,647 | 73,897 | 1,816 |
| 17 | 41,768 | 59,137 | 76,783 | 2,397 |
| 18 | 48,852 | 66,569 | 84,281 | 2,736 |
| 19 | 53,387 | 70,444 | 88,590 | 2,754 |
| 20+ | 58,228 | 79,026 | 100,728 | 11,358 |
A typical 8-year-old 911 has ~27,268 miles on the clock. Much more — ask why; much less — check for gaps in the MOT history.
Where in Britain the Porsche 911 fails its MOT most
London SW area is highest at 22.8%; Paisley area is lowest at 8.0% — the gap is 14.8 percentage points.
higher = larger sharecompare shares in percentage points
| Toughest areas | % failing | vs model overall |
|---|---|---|
| London SW (SW) | 22.79% | +9.5 pp |
| Llandrindod Wells (LD) | 20.44% | +7.2 pp |
| Truro (TR) | 19.86% | +6.6 pp |
| Southampton (SO) | 19.49% | +6.2 pp |
| Bath (BA) | 19.41% | +6.2 pp |
| Easiest areas | % failing | vs model overall |
|---|---|---|
| Paisley (PA) | 8.04% | -5.2 pp |
| Wigan (WN) | 8.37% | -4.9 pp |
| Birmingham (B) | 8.51% | -4.7 pp |
| Romford (RM) | 8.64% | -4.6 pp |
| Oldham (OL) | 8.65% | -4.6 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 income deprivation this model fails 2.6 pp less often than in the lowest fifth (r=-0.34, n=86 areas with ≥800 tests).
In areas with the highest terrain gradient this model fails 2.9 pp more often than in the lowest fifth (r=0.33, n=56 areas with ≥800 tests).
In areas with the highest urban share this model fails 1.9 pp less often than in the lowest fifth (r=-0.25, n=96 areas with ≥800 tests).
| Factor | Low Q | High Q | Gap | Correlation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Income deprivation | 14.0% | 11.4% | -2.6 pp | r=-0.34 |
| Terrain gradient | 12.9% | 15.7% | +2.8 pp | r=0.33 |
| Urban share | 13.9% | 12.0% | -1.9 pp | r=-0.25 |
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 | Built from | Tested against | r | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Underbody corrosion | frost days × salt load ÷ (distance to coast + 1) | share of tests with a corrosion defect | +0.42 | holds (116 areas) |
| Tyre wear | rain days × annual miles ÷ age at first tyre advisory | share of tests failing on tyres | +0.45 | holds (116 areas) |
| Overnight corrosion | terraced housing × cars per household × frost days | share with a corrosion defect | +0.41 | holds (102 areas) — and adds signal beyond the first index |
| Deferred maintenance | deprivation × advisory-to-failure conversion ÷ labour rate | cars repeating the same advisory | −0.26 | fails (118 areas) |
| Powertrain stress | engine capacity ÷ kerb weight | suspension, brake and emissions failures | −0.16 | fails (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)
| Factor | r | n areas | Low-Q fail % | High-Q fail % | Gap pp | Low-Q factor | High-Q factor |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Income deprivation (score) | -0.339 | 86 | 14.0 | 11.4 | -2.6 | 0.1 | 0.2 |
| Terrain gradient (% grade) | 0.333 | 56 | 12.9 | 15.7 | +2.9 | 0.5 | 3.3 |
| Urban share (0–1) | -0.251 | 96 | 13.9 | 12.0 | -1.9 | 0.4 | 1 |
| MOT centre density (per 10k vehicles) | 0.245 | 96 | 11.8 | 14.3 | +2.5 | 4.9 | 8.3 |
| Distance to coast (km) | -0.165 | 96 | 13.9 | 12.7 | -1.2 | 7.3 | 81.4 |
| Frost days (days/year) | -0.045 | 96 | 14.1 | 12.8 | -1.4 | 11.2 | 34.6 |
| Road-salt proxy (g/m²-yr) | -0.038 | 96 | 13.4 | 12.7 | -0.7 | 216.7 | 609.6 |
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: 9%–18% failing.
Porsche 911 survival: which cars are still on the road
By age 19 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
Chart axes: car age, years · survival vs ages 4–6 · scale 0–105%.
Survival vs fail rate by age
| Age | Tests | Survival vs ages 4–6 | Fail % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 12,272 | 100% | 5.61% |
| 4 | 11,835 | 100% | 5.27% |
| 5 | 11,573 | 100% | 5.73% |
| 6 | 10,555 | 93.2% | 6.02% |
| 7 | 9,853 | 87% | 6.44% |
| 8 | 9,231 | 81.5% | 6.41% |
| 9 | 9,292 | 82.1% | 7.63% |
| 10 | 9,026 | 79.7% | 8.87% |
| 11 | 9,310 | 82.2% | 9.58% |
| 12 | 10,463 | 92.4% | 11.12% |
| 13 | 11,822 | 100% | 12.21% |
| 14 | 13,365 | 100% | 13.21% |
| 15 | 14,059 | 100% | 14.2% |
| 16 | 15,214 | 100% | 15.77% |
| 17 | 15,798 | 100% | 17.19% |
| 18 | 14,737 | 100% | 17.98% |
| 19 | 12,821 | 100% | 18.65% |
By age 19, at least as many cars of this family present for MOT as at ages 4–6 (reference n≈11,321): the older fleet has not thinned out here, so there is no survivor selection to allow for.
How many miles does a Porsche 911 last?
100,000+ miles is highest at 14.1%; 200,000+ miles is lowest at 0.3% — the gap is 13.9 percentage points.
higher = larger sharecompare shares in percentage points
| Odometer | Tests ≥ threshold | Share of sample |
|---|---|---|
| 100,000+ miles | 40,239 | 14.14% |
| 150,000+ miles | 5,323 | 1.87% |
| 200,000+ miles | 760 | 0.27% |
Of 284,574 tests of this family with a usable odometer in 2024, 14.1% had reached 100k miles, 1.9% had reached 150k miles, 0.3% had reached 200k miles. This is a cross-section of cars still presenting for MOT, not a full birth cohort.
How many years is a Porsche 911 likely to last?
Bought at age 5 is highest at 13.5 years; Bought at age 15 is lowest at 4.5 years — the gap is 9.0 years.
bigger number = longer remaining lifeyears on the observed survival curve
| Age now | Typical mileage (p50) | Expected years left |
|---|---|---|
| 5 | — | at least 13.5 |
| 8 | — | at least 13.2 |
| 10 | — | at least 11.5 |
| 12 | — | at least 8.1 |
| 15 | — | at least 4.5 |
estimateEstimate only — not a warranty: a typical 10-year-old example of this family has at least 11.5 expected years of further MOT-present life. The curve is observed only until age 19, so the true figure is likely higher.
Porsche 911 faults that come together
Steering + Suspension stand out at 8.60×, against 1.00× if the faults were independent.
above 1.0× = more than expectedbelow 1.0× = less
| Group A | Group B | Together | Lift |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steering | Suspension | 333 | 8.6× (rough estimate) |
| Brakes | Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | 169 | 8.32× (rough estimate) |
| Brakes | Road Wheels | 49 | 8.15× (rough estimate) |
| Body, chassis, structure | Noise, emissions and leaks | 1,060 | 7.96× |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | 371 | 7.72× (rough estimate) |
| Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | Steering | 43 | 7.68× (rough estimate) |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | 131 | 7.53× (rough estimate) |
| Brakes | Steering | 306 | 7.39× (rough estimate) |
| Brakes | Noise, emissions and leaks | 941 | 7.32× |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Road Wheels | 102 | 7.18× (rough estimate) |
| Identification of the vehicle | Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | 28 | 6.81× (rough estimate) |
| Brakes | Suspension | 941 | 6.69× |
| Brakes | Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 2,363 | 6.65× |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | Road Wheels | 34 | 6.61× (rough estimate) |
| Road Wheels | Tyres | 44 | 6.42× (rough estimate) |
| Road Wheels | Suspension | 36 | 6.41× (rough estimate) |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Steering | 622 | 6.36× |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Noise, emissions and leaks | 1,833 | 6.03× |
| Body, chassis, structure | Steering | 254 | 5.92× (rough estimate) |
| Identification of the vehicle | Noise, emissions and leaks | 153 | 5.88× (rough estimate) |
| Body, chassis, structure | Brakes | 903 | 5.8× |
| Identification of the vehicle | Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 414 | 5.76× (rough estimate) |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Suspension | 1,846 | 5.56× |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | Steering | 197 | 5.56× (rough estimate) |
| Body, chassis, structure | Suspension | 800 | 5.49× |
| Identification of the vehicle | Steering | 46 | 5.49× (rough estimate) |
| Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | Suspension | 102 | 5.37× (rough estimate) |
| Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | Visibility | 151 | 5.33× (rough estimate) |
| Body, chassis, structure | Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 1,891 | 5.14× |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | Suspension | 606 | 5.04× |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Visibility | 2,478 | 5.01× |
| Body, chassis, structure | Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | 105 | 4.99× (rough estimate) |
| Brakes | Identification of the vehicle | 149 | 4.9× (rough estimate) |
| Steering | Visibility | 280 | 4.86× (rough estimate) |
| Body, chassis, structure | Identification of the vehicle | 152 | 4.83× (rough estimate) |
| Identification of the vehicle | Tyres | 167 | 4.82× (rough estimate) |
| Body, chassis, structure | Road Wheels | 28 | 4.5× (rough estimate) |
| Brakes | Visibility | 927 | 4.43× |
| Identification of the vehicle | Suspension | 126 | 4.43× (rough estimate) |
| Road Wheels | Visibility | 36 | 4.3× (rough estimate) |
| Brakes | Tyres | 733 | 4.28× |
| Identification of the vehicle | Visibility | 178 | 4.2× (rough estimate) |
| Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | Tyres | 95 | 4.1× (rough estimate) |
| Suspension | Visibility | 767 | 3.92× |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | Visibility | 674 | 3.76× |
| Suspension | Tyres | 591 | 3.69× |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Tyres | 1,475 | 3.64× |
| Steering | Tyres | 169 | 3.58× (rough estimate) |
| Body, chassis, structure | Visibility | 768 | 3.54× |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | Tyres | 508 | 3.47× |
| Body, chassis, structure | Tyres | 591 | 3.33× |
| Tyres | Visibility | 749 | 3.14× |
| Road Wheels | Steering | 11 | too few (rough estimate) |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Speedometer and speed limiter | 9 | too few (rough estimate) |
| Identification of the vehicle | Road Wheels | 9 | too few (rough estimate) |
| Speedometer and speed limiter | Visibility | 8 | too few (rough estimate) |
| Road Wheels | Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | 8 | too few (rough estimate) |
Defects in «Body, chassis, structure» and «Noise, emissions and leaks» appear together 7.96× more often than chance (1,060 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 Porsche 911?
Cars driven under 5,000 miles a year is well below the reference at 4.8%, against 9.8% for cars driven 8,000–12,000 miles a year.
higher = larger sharecompare shares in percentage points
| Band | Fail % | Tests |
|---|---|---|
| <5k miles/year | 4.77% | 8,579 |
| 8–12k miles/year | 9.8% | 541 |
| Gap (low − normal) | -5.03 pp | — |
By fuel and age
Petrol
| Age | Low-use fail % | n | Normal fail % | n | Gap pp |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | 4.77 | 8,579 | 9.8 | 541 | -5.03 pp |
| 6 | 5.02 | 7,834 | 9.57 | 491 | -4.56 pp |
| 7 | 5.32 | 7,026 | 11.35 | 467 | -6.03 pp |
| 8 | 5.23 | 6,611 | 12.81 | 398 | -7.58 pp |
| 9 | 6.19 | 6,578 | 14.78 | 345 | -8.6 pp |
| 10 | 7.27 | 6,241 | 18.24 | 340 | -10.96 pp |
| 11 | 7.78 | 6,452 | 16.88 | 308 | -9.1 pp |
| 12 | 9.04 | 7,411 | 25.17 | 294 | -16.13 pp |
| 13 | 9.97 | 8,337 | 21.96 | 296 | -11.99 pp |
| 14 | 10.99 | 9,436 | 21.32 | 319 | -10.33 pp |
At matched ages 5–14, cars averaging under 5k miles/year fail at 4.8% vs 9.8% for 8–12k miles/year — 5.0 pp lower (n_low=8,579, n_normal=541). 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.
Which Porsche 911 engine is best?
petrol over 2.0 is highest at 100; petrol 1.8–2.0 is lowest at 79.1 — the gap is 20.9 points.
below 100 is betterabove 100 is worse100 = normal for this model at that age
| Fuel | Capacity | vs own age norm | Raw fail % | Tests |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| petrol | 1.8–2.0 litre | 79.1 | 12.16% | 296 (rough estimate) |
| petrol | over 2.0 litre | 100 | 13.17% | 277,131 |
No engine band clearly fails less or more for its age: the bands are within 5 index points of each other, or their 95% intervals overlap, so this page does not name a best or worst engine.
Read this one with more care than the rest of the page. Age is held constant, but who buys which engine is not: the largest capacity in a range is often a performance or executive variant that is garaged, cherished and lightly driven, while the smallest is frequently a fleet or entry car worked hard from new. The gap below is real in the test records; how much of it is the engine and how much is the owner, this data cannot separate. Bands under 100 tests are not shown; bands under 5,000 tests are rough estimates.
Best year for a Porsche 911, and the years to avoid
Build year 2018 is highest at 112.6; Build year 2011 is lowest at 88.6 — the gap is 24.0 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
Every build year with its confidence interval
| Build year | vs own age norm | 95% CI | Raw fail % | Tests | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 89.4 | 75–103.9 | 4.71% | 3,118 | no different |
| 2019 | 99.7 | 89.7–109.7 | 5.34% | 7,188 | no different |
| 2018 | 112.6 | 103.3–121.9 | 6.21% | 9,034 | worse |
| 2017 | 92.6 | 84.8–100.4 | 5.28% | 10,218 | no different |
| 2016 | 91.2 | 83.7–98.7 | 5.39% | 10,584 | better |
| 2015 | 90.1 | 82.8–97.4 | 5.61% | 10,486 | better |
| 2014 | 93.3 | 85.9–100.7 | 6.36% | 9,545 | no different |
| 2013 | 90.1 | 82.4–97.9 | 6.71% | 7,779 | better |
| 2012 | 102.4 | 95.3–109.5 | 8.48% | 9,392 | no different |
| 2011 | 88.6 | 81.7–95.5 | 8.16% | 7,759 | better |
| 2010 | 92.2 | 86.5–97.9 | 9.53% | 10,502 | better |
| 2009 | 99.7 | 93.6–105.9 | 11.42% | 8,853 | no different |
| 2008 | 97.3 | 92.2–102.5 | 12.25% | 11,300 | no different |
| 2007 | 92.8 | 88.7–97 | 12.86% | 14,840 | better |
| 2006 | 102.6 | 98.7–106.5 | 15.38% | 17,235 | no different |
| 2005 | 93.6 | 90–97.2 | 15.04% | 17,136 | better |
| 2004 | 100.6 | 96.7–104.5 | 17.31% | 14,747 | no different |
| 2003 | 109.4 | 105.6–113.2 | 19.91% | 15,833 | worse |
| 2002 | 106 | 102.2–109.9 | 20.23% | 14,566 | worse |
| 2001 | 108.6 | 103.4–113.8 | 21.32% | 7,933 | worse |
| 2000 | 106.1 | 98.9–113.2 | 21.41% | 3,975 | no different |
| 1999 | 110.7 | 103.5–117.9 | 23.24% | 3,885 | worse |
| 1998 | 99.4 | 90.5–108.4 | 21.37% | 2,213 | no different |
The best build year here is 2011 and the weakest is 2018. 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 — 11 of 23 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.
Porsche 911 MOT repair costs
The MOT-failure repair budget per test runs from £27.71 to £52.65, against £54.85 for the test itself.
bigger number = costs morepounds per test, MOT-failing faults only
| Component | Fails per 100 tests | Typical repair | Its price | Contribution |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 9.4 (nat. 18.09) | Battery replacement (standard 12V lead-acid) | £140 | £13.16 |
| Brakes | 4.0 (nat. 11.25) | Front brake pads (parts + labour, typical hatchback) | £150 | £6.00 |
| Suspension | 2.9 (nat. 15.36) | Suspension coil spring (single corner) | £180 | £5.22 |
| Tyres | 3.7 (nat. 8.7) | Tyre (single mid-range 16" fitted) | £90 | £3.33 |
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 £28 to £53, 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.
Porsche 911 running costs for a fleet
Vehicles failing at age 10 stand out at 6.0%, against 5.0% at age 5, tested in the same year.
higher = larger sharecompare shares in percentage points
Failure rate and typical odometer by age
| Age | Fails | Median odometer | Tests | Gap vs age 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 5.5% | 9,944 | 1,619 | +0.0 pp |
| 4 | 4.73% | 14,910 | 1,564 | -0.8 pp |
| 5 | 5.49% | 18,269 | 2,313 | +0.0 pp |
| 6 | 6.09% | 16,980 | 2,152 | +0.6 pp |
| 7 | 5.81% | 23,009 | 1,876 | +0.3 pp |
| 8 | 5.11% | 27,268 | 1,703 | -0.4 pp |
| 9 | 5.63% | 30,791 | 1,722 | +0.1 pp |
| 10 | 6.5% | 32,679 | 1,569 | +1.0 pp |
| 11 | 7.04% | 41,961 | 1,279 | +1.5 pp |
| 12 | 8.75% | 46,822 | 1,520 | +3.3 pp |
| 13 | 7.98% | 42,499 | 1,265 | +2.5 pp |
| 14 | 9.99% | 48,068 | 1,701 | +4.5 pp |
| 15 | 10.61% | 58,160 | 1,433 | +5.1 pp |
| 16 | 12.56% | 56,647 | 1,816 | +7.1 pp |
| 17 | 13.68% | 59,137 | 2,397 | +8.2 pp |
| 18 | 15.02% | 66,569 | 2,736 | +9.5 pp |
| 19 | 15.4% | 70,444 | 2,754 | +9.9 pp |
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.
Porsche 911 rust problems: where they corrode
Age-standardised corrosion susceptibility is well below the reference at 0.34×, against 1.00× for the national age-standardised rate.
above 1.0× = rusts more than averagebelow 1.0× = rusts less
This Porsche 911 fails on corrosion much less often than average once age is held constant, and its owners live in areas that are gentler 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 Porsche 911 advisory become a failure?
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment are highest at 18.5%; Non-component advisories are lowest at 0.0% — the gap is 18.5 percentage points.
higher = more likelypercentage is the observed transition probability
chance the same component fails at the next MOT, given an advisory now
| Component | Fails next time | Typical lead time | Miles of warning | Advisories tracked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 18.5% | 12.1 months | 1,386 | 2,527 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 8.1% | 12.1 months | 1,519 | 3,270 |
| Brakes | 6.7% | 12.2 months | 1,376 | 26,367 |
| Suspension | 6.2% | 12.1 months | 1,609 | 12,096 |
| Tyres | 6.2% | 12.2 months | 1,929 | 29,188 |
| Steering | 5.5% | 12.2 months | 2,247 | 2,078 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 4.5% | 12.2 months | 925 | 8,719 |
| Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | 2.0% | 11.6 months | 1,282 | 561 |
| Identification of the vehicle | 0.9% | 11.8 months | 666 | 1,304 |
| Non-component advisories | 0.0% | — | — | 7,201 |
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 18 in 100 cars, and the median gap is 12.1 months and roughly 1,386 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 Porsche 911?
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment after a failure at age 20+ are highest at 15.7%; Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment after a passed at age <3 are lowest at 0.5% — the gap is 15.2 percentage points.
higher = more likelypercentage is the observed transition probability
| Age | Last test | Most likely next failures | Cars tracked |
|---|---|---|---|
| <3 | passed | Tyres 2.3% · Visibility 1.2% · Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 0.5% | 5,732 |
| <3 | advisory | Tyres 4.3% · Visibility 3.1% | 702 |
| <3 | failure | Tyres 2.8% · Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 1.9% · Visibility 1.9% | 425 (rough estimate) |
| 3-5 | passed | Tyres 2.1% · Visibility 1.3% · Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 0.6% | 22,614 |
| 3-5 | advisory | Tyres 4.9% · Visibility 2.5% · Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 1.1% | 3,531 |
| 3-5 | failure | Tyres 3.6% · Visibility 2.5% · Identification of the vehicle 1.0% | 1,538 |
| 6-8 | passed | Tyres 1.9% · Visibility 1.8% · Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 1.0% | 17,986 |
| 6-8 | advisory | Tyres 4.5% · Visibility 2.4% · Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 1.8% | 3,579 |
| 6-8 | failure | Visibility 3.1% · Tyres 2.7% · Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 1.8% | 1,568 |
| 9-11 | passed | Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 2.1% · Tyres 1.9% · Visibility 1.8% | 16,347 |
| 9-11 | advisory | Tyres 4.3% · Visibility 3.6% · Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 2.9% | 4,597 |
| 9-11 | failure | Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 5.0% · Tyres 4.2% · Visibility 4.1% | 2,342 |
| 12-14 | passed | Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 2.6% · Body, chassis, structure 2.4% · Visibility 2.2% | 20,148 |
| 12-14 | advisory | Visibility 4.4% · Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 4.2% · Tyres 4.2% | 7,579 |
| 12-14 | failure | Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 6.3% · Body, chassis, structure 4.7% · Tyres 4.1% | 4,264 |
| 15-19 | passed | Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 5.5% · Body, chassis, structure 2.8% · Visibility 2.8% | 32,833 |
| 15-19 | advisory | Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 9.8% · Visibility 5.1% · Brakes 5.0% | 14,918 |
| 15-19 | failure | Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 13.2% · Visibility 6.0% · Body, chassis, structure 5.8% | 10,573 |
| 20+ | passed | Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 6.5% · Visibility 2.9% · Suspension 2.3% | 33,259 |
| 20+ | advisory | Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 12.0% · Visibility 6.1% · Brakes 5.0% | 11,525 |
| 20+ | failure | Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 15.7% · Visibility 6.6% · Brakes 5.7% | 9,930 |
| unknown | passed | Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 5.3% · Suspension 5.3% · Noise, emissions and leaks 4.4% | 114 (rough estimate) |
| unknown | failure | Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 14.1% · Visibility 6.6% · Noise, emissions and leaks 3.5% | 198 (rough estimate) |
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.
Porsche 911 ownership: what six years of MOTs show
The ten-day re-test pass rate is highest at 68.3%; The later re-test pass rate is lowest at 7.1% — the gap is 61.2 percentage points.
higher = larger sharecompare shares in percentage points
Failing is usually a same-week event, not a disaster. Of 24,799 failures followed through to their re-test, 24.65% were repaired and passed the same day and 68.26% within ten days; the median gap is 2 days. 53,138 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 0.613 failures per 10,000 miles, on a median of 1,260 miles a year across 55,337 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. 65.64% of these cars strung together three or more tests with nothing recorded at all, while 15.27% 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: 2.045% of 55,785 chains show a reading lower than the previous test, with a median drop of 25,614 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.
Porsche 911 safety recalls and how to check yours
DVSA recall campaigns stand out at 48.
bigger number = more recorded casescompare like-for-like scope, not sample size alone
recall campaigns launched per year
| Reference | Launched | Vehicles | Concern |
|---|---|---|---|
R/2025/077 | 26/02/2025 | 184 | ASA0 - Check rear seat belt buckles and rework if necessary |
R/2024/427 | 28/10/2024 | 1,104 | ARC4 Stop Use & Safety Recall - Wheel attachment with central locking |
R/2024/140 | 13/03/2024 | 2,098 | ARA3 - Check front and rear windows and replace if necessary |
R/2023/319 | 08/11/2023 | 1,048 | On affected vehicles the side airbag installed in bucket seats may be activated unnecessar |
R/2021/317 | 22/09/2021 | 4 | THE SCREW CONNECTION OF THE PRESSURE INPUT ROD OF THE BRAKE BOOSTER WAS NOT CARRIED OUT AC |
All 48 campaigns
| Reference | Launched | Build dates | Vehicles | Concern |
|---|---|---|---|---|
R/2025/077 | 26/02/2025 | 16/02/2023 – 13/09/2023 | 184 | ASA0 - Check rear seat belt buckles and rework if necessary |
R/2024/427 | 28/10/2024 | 13/09/2023 – 23/10/2024 | 1,104 | ARC4 Stop Use & Safety Recall - Wheel attachment with central locking |
R/2024/140 | 13/03/2024 | 09/07/2020 – 21/02/2024 | 2,098 | ARA3 - Check front and rear windows and replace if necessary |
R/2023/319 | 08/11/2023 | 15/03/2021 – 18/10/2023 | 1,048 | On affected vehicles the side airbag installed in bucket seats may be activated unnecessar |
R/2021/317 | 22/09/2021 | 07/11/2018 – 29/04/2021 | 4 | THE SCREW CONNECTION OF THE PRESSURE INPUT ROD OF THE BRAKE BOOSTER WAS NOT CARRIED OUT AC |
R/2021/126 | 24/03/2021 | 20/08/2019 – 17/01/2020 | 2 | THE THREADED CONNECTIONS OF THE UPPER CONTROL ARMS AT THE REAR AXLE WERE NOT TIGHTENED WIT |
R/2020/211 | 17/07/2020 | 11/12/2018 – 08/11/2019 | 30 | THE FOUR WHEEL FINAL DRIVE SCREW JOINTS TO THE TRANSMISSION MOUNT HAVE NOT BEEN TIGHTENED |
R/2020/108 | 13/12/2019 | 26/02/2019 – 05/12/2019 | 581 | THERE IS A POSSIBILITY THAT THE HAZARD WARNING LIGHTS WILL NOT BE ACTIVATED AFTER PRESSING |
R/2019/251 | 31/07/2019 | 12/01/2018 – 17/06/2019 | 1 | LOUDSPEAKER COVER MAY NOT HAVE BEEN INSTALLED IN THE DOOR SUB FRAME |
R/2019/207 | 03/07/2019 | 21/01/2019 – 25/03/2019 | 5 | FASTENING NUTS TO SECURE THE DRIVE SHAFT AND WHEEL HUB ON THE REAR AXLE ARE INCORRECTLY CO |
R/2017/102 | 27/03/2017 | 26/09/2016 – 13/01/2017 | 15 | INCORRECT DETONATORS FITTED TO FRONT PASSENGER AIRBAGS |
R/2017/097 | 02/03/2017 | 10/01/2017 – 10/02/2017 | 149 | BONDING ON WINDSCREEN IS INSUFFICIENT |
R/2017/050 | 15/02/2017 | 07/10/2015 – 26/09/2016 | 1,091 | FUEL INJECTION PIPES MAY BECOME INSECURE |
R/2017/022 | 25/01/2017 | 07/10/2015 – 26/09/2016 | 1,083 | FUEL MAY LEAK |
R/2017/015 | 20/01/2017 | 28/09/2016 – 29/09/2016 | 11 | FRONT SIDE AIRBAGS MAY BE IMPAIRED |
R/2016/240 | 14/10/2016 | 07/09/2016 – 28/09/2016 | 28 | REDUCED BRAKE PERFORMANCE |
R/2016/240 | 14/10/2016 | 07/09/2016 – 28/09/2016 | 28 | REDUCED BRAKE PERFORMANCE |
R/2016/240 | 14/10/2016 | 07/09/2016 – 28/09/2016 | 28 | REDUCED BRAKE PERFORMANCE |
R/2016/240 | 14/10/2016 | 07/09/2016 – 28/09/2016 | 28 | REDUCED BRAKE PERFORMANCE |
R/2016/240 | 14/10/2016 | 07/09/2016 – 28/09/2016 | 28 | REDUCED BRAKE PERFORMANCE |
R/2014/151 | 03/11/2014 | 05/05/2014 – 06/06/2014 | 378 | BONNET CATCH ASSEMBLY MAY FAIL |
R/2014/059 | 01/05/2014 | 168 | FIRE MAY OCCUR | |
R/2013/032 | 25/04/2013 | 280 | TAILPIPE MAY BECOME DETACHED | |
R/2013/032 | 25/04/2013 | 280 | TAILPIPE MAY BECOME DETACHED | |
R/2012/156 | 10/12/2012 | 76 | REAR HUB MAY DETACH | |
R/2012/040 | 28/03/2012 | 367 | RISK OF FIRE | |
R/2012/040 | 28/03/2012 | 367 | RISK OF FIRE | |
R/2011/133 | 09/05/2011 | 430 | WHEEL MAY DETACH | |
R/2009/001 | 01/01/2009 | 217 | ENGINE SPACERS MAY DETACH | |
R/2009/001 | 01/01/2009 | 217 | ENGINE SPACERS MAY DETACH | |
R/2008/145 | 09/10/2008 | 16 | STEERING COULD BE IMPAIRED | |
R/2008/145 | 09/10/2008 | 16 | STEERING COULD BE IMPAIRED | |
R/2008/145 | 09/10/2008 | 16 | STEERING COULD BE IMPAIRED | |
R/2008/145 | 09/10/2008 | 16 | STEERING COULD BE IMPAIRED | |
R/2007/179 | 12/12/2007 | 40 | DEFECTIVE SWITCH CONSOLE | |
R/2007/056 | 26/03/2007 | 48 | SEAT BUCKLE MAY NOT DE-LATCH FOLLOWING AN IMPACT | |
R/2006/014 | 24/01/2006 | 22/11/2005 – 13/12/2005 | 111 | PARKING BRAKE MAY FAIL |
R/2006/007 | 19/01/2006 | 2,566 | WELD SEAMS ON THE EXHAUST TAILPIPE MAY FAIL | |
R/2005/009 | 29/03/2005 | 01/02/1994 – 01/02/1998 | 806 | THE LOCKING MECHANISM FOR CONVERTIBLE TOP MAY FAIL |
R/2005/009 | 29/03/2005 | 01/02/1994 – 01/02/1998 | 806 | THE LOCKING MECHANISM FOR CONVERTIBLE TOP MAY FAIL |
R/2004/063 | 18/05/2004 | 519 | SEAT BACKS DO NOT MEET THE RIGIDITY OF PORCHE SPECIFICATION | |
R/2003/175 | 17/11/2003 | 303 | POSSIBLE FIRE RISK | |
R/1996/024 | 19/02/1996 | 01/01/1996 – 31/12/1996 | 18 | INSECURITY OF TAIL PIPE COVER SLEEVE |
R/1994/045 | 04/08/1994 | 01/01/1994 – 31/12/1994 | 11 | POSSIBLE CRACKING OF REAR AXLE SIDE PARTS |
R/1994/013 | 05/04/1994 | 01/01/1991 – 31/12/1992 | 258 | REAR WHEEL LOCK UP UNDER BRAKING |
R/1994/012 | 16/02/1994 | 01/01/1989 – 31/12/1992 | 2,709 | REAR HEATER BLOWER RESISTOR MAY OVERLOAD |
R/1993/057 | 28/08/1993 | 01/03/1993 – 31/03/1993 | 2 | CONVERTIBLE TOP FRONT LOCKS MAY FRACTURE |
R/1993/012 | 06/11/1992 | 01/01/1989 – 31/12/1992 | 192 | CRUISE CONTROL BALL JOINT FAILURE |
DVSA lists 48 safety recall campaigns for the Porsche 911, covering roughly 18,779 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.
Porsche 911 technical service bulletins: what dealers are told
US market, Porsche 911 GT3 and its variants, model years 2015–2022 only. A count of bulletins, not a UK failure rate.
NHTSA manufacturer communications are 1,301.
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
| Communication year | Bulletins | Leading subjects across all years |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 15 |
|
| 2016 | 40 | |
| 2017 | 21 | |
| 2018 | 57 | |
| 2019 | 83 | |
| 2020 | 152 | |
| 2021 | 160 | |
| 2022 | 130 | |
| 2023 | 156 | |
| 2024 | 169 | |
| 2025 | 156 | |
| 2026 | 162 |
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.
Porsche 911 owner complaints: what goes wrong
US market, Porsche 911 GT3 and its variants, model years 2015–2022 only. A count of owner complaints, not a UK failure rate; NHTSA has no UK denominator.
Lamps & electrical are highest at 12; Brakes are lowest at 1 — the gap is 11.
bigger number = more recorded casescompare like-for-like scope, not sample size alone
| Component | Complaints | Share | MOT fail items per 100 | MOT rank | Agreement |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lamps & electrical | 12 | 28.6% | 9.4 | #1 | complained about and fails often |
| Engine (not MOT-tested) | 9 | 21.4% | not in top 6 | — | complained about, rarely an MOT failure |
| Transmission (not MOT-tested) | 5 | 11.9% | not in top 6 | — | complained about, rarely an MOT failure |
| Visibility | 4 | 9.5% | 3.6 | #4 | complained about, fails occasionally |
| Brakes | 1 | 2.4% | 4.0 | #2 | complained about and fails often |
| Body & structure | 1 | 2.4% | 2.9 | #6 | complained 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
THE PCM UNIT WHICH CONTROLS THE CARS COMPUTERS KEEPS SHUTTING ON AND OFF SAYING DO NOT DRIVE. GET SERVICE ….. THIS HAS HAPPENED ON MANY CARS AND THERE WAS A CLASS ACTION SUIT REGARDING A RECALL. IT IS NOW CLOSED AND I WAS NEVER NOTIFIED.
There is an active spoiler that has a brake light built into it. There is a design issue with the wiring for the light in the spoiler. The brake light harness is worn out by the movement of the spoiler causing failure of the brake light. This meams there is no 3rd brake light when the spoiler is automatically activated.
US owners have filed 42 complaints about the equivalent Porsche 911 to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, including 0 that mention a crash, 2 a fire and 0 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.
Porsche 911 inspection results in other countries
Netherlands APK is well below the reference at 28.0%, against 50.8% nationally.
higher = larger sharecompare shares in percentage points
| Country | Test | This model fails | National average | Position | Sample |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | MOT (class 4) | 12.08% | 26.01% | -13.9 pp | 50,378 |
| Netherlands | APK | 28% | 50.8% | -22.8 pp | 11,974 |
| Norway | PKK | 36% | 33.7% | +2.3 pp | 1,020 |
| Finland | Katsastus | 7.6% | 26.3% | -18.7 pp | 687 |
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.
| Fault area | Share |
|---|---|
| Axles, wheels and suspension | 44.1% |
| Environmental hazards | 23.5% |
| Vehicle identification | 10.3% |
| Road test and visibility | 10.3% |
| Brake systems | 2.9% |
Useful as a cross-check on the UK defect table above: the categories are named differently, but a component that dominates in both regimes is a genuine weak point of the model rather than an artefact of one country's testing style.
| Code | Fault | Recorded | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
210 | Tyre pressure not at the correct value | 1,956 | failure |
516 | Dipped headlight incorrectly aimed | 658 | failure |
AC1 | Tyre down to 1.6–2.5 mm of tread | 503 | advisory |
205 | Tyre with insufficient tread | 329 | failure |
178 | Driveshaft gaiter split, no longer sealing | 324 | failure |
RA2 | Excessive leak of other fluids | 297 | advisory |
203 | Tyre damaged | 262 | failure |
391 | Wipers leave insufficient visibility | 177 | failure |
Worth dwelling on how mundane the top of that list is: tyre pressure, tread depth, headlight aim. The Dutch APK records 0.607 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 Porsche 911 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.; Statens vegvesen — Periodisk kjøretøykontroll (PKK) 2024, CC BY 4.0; Traficom — Periodic inspections of cars by model / by model and fault object 2024, CC BY 4.0. Adapted; licences and full notice.
Porsche 911 MOT: quick answers
Porsche 911 MOT Risk Index is well below the reference at 35.8, 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 Porsche 911 first-time MOT pass rate?
- 87.92% of first attempts passed in 2024 (50,378 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 12.08% figure is the first-time initial failure rate, using 50,378 primary tests as the denominator (first-time, excluding retests). The age-adjusted MOT initial-failure ratio 35.8 is shown separately because raw rates compare fleet age as well as cars.
Compare the Porsche 911 with other cars
Volkswagen T-Roc is highest at 62.4; Porsche 911 is lowest at 35.8 — the gap is 26.6 points.
below 100 is betterabove 100 is worse100 = normal for this model at that age
Same brand
Similar risk
Jaguar I-Pace (index 59.1)Audi Q2 (index 62.4)Volkswagen T-Roc (index 62.4)
Same size class
how Jaguar F-Pace compareshow Nissan Leaf compareshow Mercedes-Benz CLA compares
By build year
Porsche 911 1998Porsche 911 1999Porsche 911 2000Porsche 911 2001Porsche 911 2002Porsche 911 2003Porsche 911 2004Porsche 911 2005Porsche 911 2006Porsche 911 2007Porsche 911 2008Porsche 911 2009Porsche 911 2010Porsche 911 2011Porsche 911 2012Porsche 911 2013Porsche 911 2014Porsche 911 2015Porsche 911 2016Porsche 911 2017Porsche 911 2018Porsche 911 2019Porsche 911 2020
By area
Porsche 911 MOT failure rate by postcode area
By failure group
Porsche 911 body, chassis and structure failuresPorsche 911 brakes failuresPorsche 911 vehicle identification failuresPorsche 911 lamps, reflectors and electrics failuresPorsche 911 noise, emissions and leaks failuresPorsche 911 road wheels failuresPorsche 911 seat belts and airbags failuresPorsche 911 steering failuresPorsche 911 suspension failuresPorsche 911 tyres failuresPorsche 911 visibility failures
Inspections abroad
Porsche 911 in NorwayPorsche 911 in FinlandPorsche 911 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:porsche-911:dvsa-2024-v2. Full method: methodology.
Cite: MOT Risk Index (2026). Porsche 911 MOT statistics 2024 (data release dvsa-2024-v2; downloadable dataset motriskindex-families-2024-v5, doi:10.5281/zenodo.22975051). https://motriskindex.co.uk/cars/porsche-911/ · Published 2026-07-30.