Does the Toyota Starlet fail the MOT on body, chassis and structure more than it should?
The Toyota Starlet records 21.84 body, chassis and structure failure items per 100 initial MOT tests (2019–2024), against 16.78 expected for a car of the same age mix: more than expected for its class and age (+5.06, 95% interval +4.51 to +5.61). It ranks 97 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 Starlet by registration
What exactly fails on body, chassis and structure?
The most frequent DVSA defect wording in this group on the Toyota Starlet is “A transmission shaft constant velocity joint boot severely deteriorated”, recorded 2,653 times in 2019–2024.
| DVSA defect wording | Items | Per 100 tests |
|---|---|---|
| A transmission shaft constant velocity joint boot severely deteriorated | 2,653 | 9.52 |
| A transmission shaft constant velocity joint boot missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt etc | 1,727 | 6.20 |
| Exhaust system leaking or insecure | 919 | 3.30 |
| Vehicle structure corroded to the extent that the rigidity of the assembly is seriously reduced | 207 | 0.74 |
| Fuel system leaking, or missing or ineffective filler cap | 122 | 0.44 |
Source: DVSA MOT bulk data (OGL v3.0) · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 27,861 (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 Starlet gets a body, chassis and structure advisory, how often does it fail next time?
23.3% of Toyota Starlet MOTs with a body, chassis and structure advisory were followed by a fail in the same group at the next MOT, typically 12.1 months and 2,872 miles later (2,343 advisories followed).
Source: DVSA MOT bulk data (OGL v3.0) · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 2,343 (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 Starlet 1998 · Toyota Starlet 1999 · Toyota Starlet in the Netherlands · Toyota Starlet by postcode area · Toyota Starlet brakes failures · Toyota Starlet vehicle identification failures · Toyota Starlet lamps, reflectors and electrics failures · Toyota Starlet noise, emissions and leaks failures · Toyota Starlet seat belts and airbags failures · Toyota Starlet steering failures · Toyota Starlet suspension failures · Toyota Starlet tyres failures · Toyota Starlet visibility failures