Does the Smart Fortwo fail the MOT on tyres more than it should?

The Smart Fortwo records 7.16 tyres failure items per 100 initial MOT tests (2019–2024), against 9.23 expected for a car of the same age mix: less than expected for its class and age (−2.07, 95% interval −2.18 to −1.97). It ranks 517 of 751 models on tyres (1 = most failures above expected).

Data release dvsa-2024-v2 (24 Sep 2026) · page updated 30 Sep 2026 · all models on tyres · check a Smart Fortwo by registration

What exactly fails on tyres?

The most frequent DVSA defect wording in this group on the Smart Fortwo is “Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements”, recorded 9,080 times in 2019–2024.

Smart Fortwo: most frequent tyres defect wordings, 2019–2024 (30+ items each)
DVSA defect wording	Items	Per 100 tests
Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements	9,080	2.92
A tyre seriously damaged	7,971	2.56
A tyre cords visible or damaged	2,620	0.84
Tyre obviously under inflated	537	0.17
A tyre pressure monitoring system malfunctioning or obviously inoperative	477	0.15

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 tyres advisory, how often does it fail next time?

9.3% of Smart Fortwo MOTs with a tyres advisory were followed by a fail in the same group at the next MOT, typically 12.1 months and 3,750 miles later (50,160 advisories followed).

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data (OGL v3.0) · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 50,160 (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

Does the Smart Fortwo fail the MOT on tyres more than it should?

What exactly fails on tyres?

If a Smart Fortwo gets a tyres advisory, how often does it fail next time?

Related pages

Other pages for this model