Does the Toyota Corolla fail the MOT on body, chassis and structure more than it should?
The Toyota Corolla records 6.23 body, chassis and structure failure items per 100 initial MOT tests (2019–2024), against 11.35 expected for a car of the same age mix: less than expected for its class and age (−5.12, 95% interval −5.21 to −5.04). It ranks 552 of 663 models on body, chassis and structure (1 = most failures above expected).
Data release dvsa-2024-v2 (24 Sep 2026) · page updated 30 Sep 2026 · all models on body, chassis and structure · check a Toyota Corolla by registration
What exactly fails on body, chassis and structure?
The most frequent DVSA defect wording in this group on the Toyota Corolla is “A transmission shaft constant velocity joint boot severely deteriorated”, recorded 11,052 times in 2019–2024.
| DVSA defect wording | Items | Per 100 tests |
|---|---|---|
| A transmission shaft constant velocity joint boot severely deteriorated | 11,052 | 1.80 |
| Exhaust system leaking or insecure | 7,853 | 1.28 |
| A transmission shaft constant velocity joint boot missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt etc | 7,148 | 1.16 |
| Vehicle structure corroded to the extent that the rigidity of the assembly is seriously reduced | 2,418 | 0.39 |
| Body, cab or chassis excessively corroded at a mounting point | 1,892 | 0.31 |
Source: DVSA MOT bulk data (OGL v3.0) · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 615,584 (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 Toyota Corolla gets a body, chassis and structure advisory, how often does it fail next time?
13.0% of Toyota Corolla MOTs with a body, chassis and structure advisory were followed by a fail in the same group at the next MOT, typically 12 months and 4,278 miles later (27,368 advisories followed).
Source: DVSA MOT bulk data (OGL v3.0) · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 27,368 (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
Toyota Corolla 1998 · Toyota Corolla 1999 · Toyota Corolla 2000 · Toyota Corolla 2001 · Toyota Corolla 2002 · Toyota Corolla 2003 · Toyota Corolla 2004 · Toyota Corolla 2005 · Toyota Corolla 2006 · Toyota Corolla 2007 · Toyota Corolla 2008 · Toyota Corolla 2009 · Toyota Corolla 2010 · Toyota Corolla 2019 · Toyota Corolla 2020 · Toyota Corolla in Norway · Toyota Corolla in Finland · Toyota Corolla in the Netherlands · Toyota Corolla by postcode area · Toyota Corolla brakes failures · Toyota Corolla vehicle identification failures · Toyota Corolla lamps, reflectors and electrics failures · Toyota Corolla noise, emissions and leaks failures · Toyota Corolla road wheels failures · Toyota Corolla seat belts and airbags failures · Toyota Corolla steering failures · Toyota Corolla suspension failures · Toyota Corolla tyres failures · Toyota Corolla visibility failures