Does the Smart Forfour fail the MOT on vehicle identification more than it should?
The Smart Forfour records 0.35 vehicle identification failure items per 100 initial MOT tests (2019–2024), against 0.33 expected for a car of the same age mix: about as expected for its class and age (the difference is within its interval or under 0.5 items per 100 tests) (+0.02, 95% interval −0.01 to +0.05). It ranks 294 of 636 models on vehicle identification (1 = most failures above expected).
Data release dvsa-2024-v2 (24 Sep 2026) · page updated 30 Sep 2026 · all models on vehicle identification · check a Smart Forfour by registration
What exactly fails on vehicle identification?
The most frequent DVSA defect wording in this group on the Smart Forfour is “Number plate does not conform to the specified requirements”, recorded 226 times in 2019–2024.
| DVSA defect wording | Items | Per 100 tests |
|---|---|---|
| Number plate does not conform to the specified requirements | 226 | 0.17 |
| Number plate inscription missing or illegible | 182 | 0.13 |
| Number plate missing or so insecure that it is likely to fall off | 55 | 0.04 |
Source: DVSA MOT bulk data (OGL v3.0) · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 136,129 (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 Forfour gets a vehicle identification advisory, how often does it fail next time?
4.2% of Smart Forfour MOTs with a vehicle identification advisory were followed by a fail in the same group at the next MOT, typically 12 months and 4,532 miles later (1,584 advisories followed).
Source: DVSA MOT bulk data (OGL v3.0) · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 1,584 (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 Forfour 2004 · Smart Forfour 2005 · Smart Forfour 2006 · Smart Forfour 2007 · Smart Forfour 2015 · Smart Forfour 2016 · Smart Forfour 2017 · Smart Forfour 2018 · Smart Forfour 2019 · Smart Forfour in Finland · Smart Forfour in the Netherlands · Smart Forfour by postcode area · Smart Forfour body, chassis and structure failures · Smart Forfour brakes failures · Smart Forfour lamps, reflectors and electrics failures · Smart Forfour noise, emissions and leaks failures · Smart Forfour road wheels failures · Smart Forfour seat belts and airbags failures · Smart Forfour steering failures · Smart Forfour suspension failures · Smart Forfour tyres failures · Smart Forfour visibility failures