Smart Fortwo 2009: MOT failure rate for its age

35.9% of 36,100 MOT tests of the Smart Fortwo first registered in 2009 failed at the first attempt (2019–2024; retests excluded). Against this model's own normal rate at the same ages the index is 103.2 (95% CI 101.4–105.0; 100 = normal for this model at that age): close to other build years of the same model at the same age (within 5 points of normal).

Smart Fortwo built in 2009 at a glance
Measure	Value	Unit	Compared with	Years	Tests
Failed first time	35.9	%	all ages tested	2019–2024	36100
Index against this model at the same age (95% CI 101.4–105.0)	103.2	index	100 = normal for this model at that age	2019–2024	36100
Rank among this model's 18 build years	12	of 18	1 = fails least for its age	2019–2024	36100
Tested in 2024	5579	tests	median 64,874 miles	2024	5579

Built 2009 against Smart Fortwo normal for the age: first-time MOT failure share at each age, age 10: 36.4% vs 33%; age 11: 35.3% vs 33.9%; age 12: 35.9% vs 34.7%; age 13: 34.9% vs 34.6%; age 14: 35.7% vs 35.9%; age 15: 37% vs 36.8%. Axis from 0% to 40%. DVSA MOT bulk data, 2019–2024.

Check a 2009 Smart Fortwo by registration · All Smart Fortwo MOT statistics · Download the build-year table (CSV)

Data release dvsa-2024-v2 (24 Sep 2026) · page updated 30 Sep 2026 · full dataset (v5).

How does the 2009 Smart Fortwo fail at each age?

Cars built in 2009 were tested at ages 10 to 15 between 2019 and 2024. Each row compares their first-time failure share with what this model normally shows at that age, after allowing for the overall failure level of each test year.

Smart Fortwo built 2009: first-time MOT failure by age, against the model's normal rate at that age (2019–2024)
Age	Tests	Failed, %	95% interval	Normal for this model at that age, %	Index (100 = normal)
10	6,555	36.4	35.3–37.6	33	110.5
11	6,031	35.3	34.1–36.5	33.9	104.3
12	6,110	35.9	34.7–37.2	34.7	103.5
13	5,983	34.9	33.7–36.1	34.6	100.8
14	5,842	35.7	34.5–37	35.9	99.6
15	5,579	37	35.7–38.2	36.8	100.4

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 36,100 (initial tests) · Method: normal rate = this model's first-time failure share at that age across its build years (cells of 400+ tests), adjusted for each test year's overall level; cells of 30+ tests, under 500 marked rough · Updated: 30 Sep 2026 · Release: dvsa-2024-v2 · CSV

What fails most on the 2009 Smart Fortwo?

The most common failure group on cars built in 2009 is suspension: 18.5 items per 100 first tests, against 10 across all build years of the Smart Fortwo. These counts are not age-adjusted: cars built in 2009 were tested at ages 10 to 15.

Failure items per 100 first tests, Smart Fortwo built 2009 against the Smart Fortwo in all build years (2019–2024, not age-adjusted)
Failure group	Built 2009, per 100	All build years, per 100	Items
Suspension	18.5	10	6,694
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment	18.3	14.2	6,602
Brakes	14	9.5	5,060
Visibility	8.1	7.8	2,928
Tyres	8.1	7.2	2,914

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 36,100 (initial tests of this build year) · Method: failure items grouped by DVSA's top-level defect groups, per 100 initial tests; groups with 30+ items · Updated: 30 Sep 2026 · Release: dvsa-2024-v2 · CSV

How does 2009 compare with the years around it?

Among the 18 published build years of the Smart Fortwo, 2009 ranks 12 (1 = fails least for its age). 2008: index 103.3. 2010: index 106.4.

Smart Fortwo build years: index against the model at the same age (2019–2024)
Build year	Index (100 = normal)	95% interval	Verdict	Tests
2002	106.2	93.0–119.4	no different (rough estimate)	558
2003	101.5	93.1–109.9	no different (rough estimate)	1,343
2004	99.7	95.5–103.9	no different	5,368
2005	109.7	105.5–113.9	worse	6,098
2006	104.7	100.9–108.5	worse	7,185
2007	103.3	100.6–106.1	worse	14,353
2008	103.3	101.4–105.2	worse	29,795
2009	103.2	101.4–105.0	worse	36,100
2010	106.4	104.5–108.4	worse	34,072
2011	95.2	92.9–97.4	better	23,700
2012	91.8	89.1–94.6	better	16,141
2013	96.1	93.5–98.8	better	20,631
2014	93.9	91.3–96.6	better	22,779
2015	90.6	86.8–94.3	better	13,197
2016	98.9	96.2–101.5	no different	34,193
2017	96.5	93.3–99.7	better	25,276
2018	102.3	97.6–107.0	no different	13,525
2019	94.1	86.8–101.4	no different	5,751

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 310,065 (initial tests) · Method: observed failures against those expected for the same model at the same ages, test-year level adjusted; verdict follows the printed one-decimal bound · Updated: 30 Sep 2026 · Release: dvsa-2024-v2 · CSV

How to cite this page

MOT Risk Index (2026). Smart Fortwo 2009 MOT statistics (data release dvsa-2024-v2; full dataset motriskindex-families-2024-v5, DOI 10.5281/zenodo.22975051), updated 30 September 2026. motriskindex.co.uk/cars/smart-fortwo/2009/

How every figure is calculated: methodology. Age, test year and build year are tied together (age = test year − build year), so the test-year level is taken as observed, not estimated.

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