Does the Smart Fortwo fail the MOT on brakes more than it should?
The Smart Fortwo records 9.50 brakes failure items per 100 initial MOT tests (2019–2024), against 11.81 expected for a car of the same age mix: less than expected for its class and age (−2.31, 95% interval −2.43 to −2.19). It ranks 467 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 Fortwo by registration
What exactly fails on brakes?
The most frequent DVSA defect wording in this group on the Smart Fortwo is “Significant brake effort recorded with no brake applied indicating a binding brake”, recorded 7,892 times in 2019–2024.
| DVSA defect wording | Items | Per 100 tests |
|---|---|---|
| Significant brake effort recorded with no brake applied indicating a binding brake | 7,892 | 2.54 |
| Brake pipe damaged or excessively corroded | 5,155 | 1.66 |
| a brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm | 4,194 | 1.35 |
| 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. | 1,822 | 0.59 |
| Parking brake inoperative on one side | 1,357 | 0.44 |
Source: DVSA MOT bulk data (OGL v3.0) · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 311,254 (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 Fortwo gets a brakes advisory, how often does it fail next time?
13.4% of Smart Fortwo MOTs with a brakes advisory were followed by a fail in the same group at the next MOT, typically 12 months and 2,868 miles later (41,270 advisories followed).
Source: DVSA MOT bulk data (OGL v3.0) · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 41,270 (advisories followed) · Method: the same vehicles followed to their next ordinary MOT · Updated: 30 Sep 2026 · Release: dvsa-2024-v2 · CSV
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