Does the Smart City fail the MOT on brakes more than it should?
The Smart City records 15.58 brakes failure items per 100 initial MOT tests (2019–2024), against 23.66 expected for a car of the same age mix: less than expected for its class and age (−8.08, 95% interval −9.26 to −6.91). It ranks 628 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 Smart City by registration
What exactly fails on brakes?
The most frequent DVSA defect wording in this group on the Smart City is “Brake pipe damaged or excessively corroded”, recorded 196 times in 2019–2024.
| DVSA defect wording | Items | Per 100 tests |
|---|---|---|
| Brake pipe damaged or excessively corroded | 196 | 2.96 |
| A flexible brake hose excessively damaged, deteriorated, chafed, twisted or stretched | 131 | 1.98 |
| 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. | 87 | 1.31 |
| Warning device shows system malfunction | 72 | 1.09 |
| Significant brake effort recorded with no brake applied indicating a binding brake | 68 | 1.03 |
Source: DVSA MOT bulk data (OGL v3.0) · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 6,619 (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 Smart City gets a brakes advisory, how often does it fail next time?
14.1% of Smart City MOTs with a brakes advisory were followed by a fail in the same group at the next MOT, typically 12.2 months and 2,029 miles later (1,366 advisories followed).
Source: DVSA MOT bulk data (OGL v3.0) · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 1,366 (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
Smart City 2004 · Smart City 2005 · Smart City 2006 · Smart City 2007 · Smart City by postcode area · Smart City body, chassis and structure failures · Smart City vehicle identification failures · Smart City lamps, reflectors and electrics failures · Smart City noise, emissions and leaks failures · Smart City seat belts and airbags failures · Smart City steering failures · Smart City suspension failures · Smart City tyres failures · Smart City visibility failures