Does the Toyota MR2 fail the MOT on brakes more than it should?
The Toyota MR2 records 34.90 brakes failure items per 100 initial MOT tests (2019–2024), against 23.54 expected for a car of the same age mix: more than expected for its class and age (+11.36, 95% interval +10.93 to +11.79). It ranks 55 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 Toyota MR2 by registration
What exactly fails on brakes?
The most frequent DVSA defect wording in this group on the Toyota MR2 is “Parking brake efficiency below minimum requirement”, recorded 6,884 times in 2019–2024.
| DVSA defect wording | Items | Per 100 tests |
|---|---|---|
| Parking brake efficiency below minimum requirement | 6,884 | 9.65 |
| Parking brake inoperative on one side | 4,427 | 6.20 |
| Significant brake effort recorded with no brake applied indicating a binding brake | 2,725 | 3.82 |
| Parking brake efficiency less than 50% of the required value | 2,240 | 3.14 |
| 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. | 939 | 1.32 |
Source: DVSA MOT bulk data (OGL v3.0) · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 71,364 (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 MR2 gets a brakes advisory, how often does it fail next time?
23.5% of Toyota MR2 MOTs with a brakes advisory were followed by a fail in the same group at the next MOT, typically 12.2 months and 1,549 miles later (12,325 advisories followed).
Source: DVSA MOT bulk data (OGL v3.0) · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 12,325 (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 MR2 1998 · Toyota MR2 1999 · Toyota MR2 2000 · Toyota MR2 2001 · Toyota MR2 2002 · Toyota MR2 2003 · Toyota MR2 2004 · Toyota MR2 2005 · Toyota MR2 2006 · Toyota MR2 2007 · Toyota MR2 in the Netherlands · Toyota MR2 by postcode area · Toyota MR2 body, chassis and structure failures · Toyota MR2 vehicle identification failures · Toyota MR2 lamps, reflectors and electrics failures · Toyota MR2 noise, emissions and leaks failures · Toyota MR2 road wheels failures · Toyota MR2 seat belts and airbags failures · Toyota MR2 steering failures · Toyota MR2 suspension failures · Toyota MR2 tyres failures · Toyota MR2 visibility failures