2020 MOT Statistics Revealed

Please note, we have since published MOT statistics from 2021.

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We made a freedom of information request to the DVSA to find out:

• In 2020 which top 10 vehicles (by make and model) were most likely to fail the most MOT test?
• In 2020 what were the top 10 MOT advisory notices issued?
• In 2020 what were the top 10 reasons for MOT failures?
• In 2020 how many MOT tests were carried out in total?

We have presented the data returned to us by the DVSA in this blog post, this information could be especially useful to used car owners that are due an MOT shortly and want to be better prepared.

In 2020 which top 10 vehicles (by make and model) were most likely to fail the most MOT test?

Make	Model	Tests	Failures	Initial Failure Rate
VAUXHALL	CORSA	846,742	316,009	37.32%
VAUXHALL	ASTRA	724,623	260,282	35.92%
FORD	FOCUS	1,031,127	345,735	33.53%
VOLKSWAGEN	POLO	571,842	188,585	32.98%
FORD	FIESTA	1,359,812	446,403	32.83%
TOYOTA	YARIS	410,373	124,984	30.46%
VOLKSWAGEN	GOLF	865,840	255,870	29.55%
BMW	3 SERIES	453,370	127,554	28.13%
NISSAN	QASHQAI	420,716	115,115	27.36%
AUDI	A3	395,454	103,047	26.06%

In 2020 what were the top 10 MOT advisory notices issued?

inspection_manual_reference	level_1	level_2	level_3	level_4	Advisory Text	Advisories
5.2.3 (e)	Tyres	Tread depth			worn close to legal limit/worn on edge	8,185,136
1.1.14 (a) (ii)	Brakes	Mechanical brake components	Brake discs and drums	Brake discs	worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened	3,381,677
5.2.3 (d) (ii)	Tyres	Condition			slightly damaged/cracking or perishing	2,972,076
1.1.13 (a) (ii)	Brakes	Mechanical brake components	Brake linings and pads	Brake pads	wearing thin	2,753,921
1.1.11 (c)	Brakes	Rigid brake pipes			corroded, covered in grease or other material	2,024,556
5.3.4 (a) (i)	Suspension	Suspension arms	Pins and bushes		pin or bush worn but not resulting in excessive movement	1,904,764
8.4.1 (a) (i)	Noise, emissions and leaks	Fluid leaks	Engine oil leaks		leak, but not excessive	1,274,137
5.3.1 (b) (i)	Suspension	Springs	Coil springs	Coil spring	corroded	1,000,329
5.3.2 (b)	Suspension	Shock absorbers			light misting of oil or has limited damping effect	972,232
n/a	Non-component advisories				Child Seat fitted not allowing full inspection of adult belt	855,374

In 2020 what were the top 10 reasons for MOT failures?

Class 3 & 4: Cars and light vans up to 3,000kg

		Overall			Dangerous			Major
Defect category		% of tests	% of defects		% of tests	% of defects		% of tests	% of defects
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment		12.8399%	26.3647%		0.1984%	1.6244%		12.7297%	31.2259%
Suspension		9.1654%	18.1388%		0.5493%	5.1792%		8.8428%	20.6852%
Brakes		7.7138%	17.1004%		2.9399%	29.1846%		5.7837%	14.7260%
Tyres		6.7748%	12.3574%		5.3487%	59.5508%		1.7049%	3.0845%
Visibility		5.2299%	8.4583%		0.0206%	0.1641%		5.2157%	10.0880%
Body, chassis, structure		3.9149%	6.5407%		0.2351%	2.0965%		3.7518%	7.4139%
Noise, emissions and leaks		3.1435%	5.1777%		0.0478%	0.3816%		3.1158%	6.1200%
Steering		1.8181%	2.8026%		0.1124%	0.9662%		1.7285%	3.1634%
Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems		1.1679%	1.7848%		0.0319%	0.2783%		1.1403%	2.0808%
Identification of the vehicle		0.4180%	0.6685%		0.0000%	0.0000%		0.4180%	0.7998%
Road Wheels		0.3285%	0.5839%		0.0618%	0.5713%		0.2705%	0.5864%
Buses and coaches supplementary tests		0.0017%	0.0025%		0.0003%	0.0026%		0.0015%	0.0025%
Seat belt installation check		0.0076%	0.0109%		0.0000%	0.0000%		0.0076%	0.0130%
Speedometer and speed limiter		0.0064%	0.0087%		0.0000%	0.0000%		0.0064%	0.0104%
Motorcycle brakes		0.0000%	0.0000%		0.0000%	0.0000%		0.0000%	0.0000%
Motorcycle lamps and reflectors		0.0000%	0.0000%		0.0000%	0.0000%		0.0000%	0.0001%
Motorcycle tyres		0.0000%	0.0000%		0.0000%	0.0001%		0.0000%	0.0000%
Overall Initial Failure Rate		30.5%			8.7%			21.8%
Average defects per Initial Test Failure			2.53			0.42			2.11

Data notes for top 10 reasons for MOT failures

• All figures are for vehicles as initially presented for test (Failure and PRS type Reason for Rejections are included).
• A failed test commonly has multiple failure items.
• % of tests = Number of tests with one or more failure items in defect category / total tests.
• % of defects = Total defects in category / Total defects for all categories.
• Average defects per Initial Test Failure = Total failure items / (Total tests with Fail result + Total tests with PRS result).
• Overall Volumes for 2020 have been impacted by the Expiry extension exercise. Test were at a lower level April-July, and rose monthly levels higher than in previous years thereafter.

In 2020 how many MOT tests were carried out in total?

									Failures with at least one Dangerous item		Failures without any Dangerous items
Financial Year	Class		Tests	PRS	Fails	Initial Fail Rate	Final Fail Rate		Failures	Initial Fail Rate	Failures	Initial Fail Rate
January-December 2020	Classes 1 & 2: Motorcycles		823,856	55,900	75,257	15.9%	9.1%		40,193	4.9%	90,964	11.0%
	Classes 3 & 4: Cars, vans and passenger vehicles with up to 12 seats		29,427,588	2,001,372	6,967,900	30.5%	23.7%		2,558,594	8.7%	6,410,678	21.8%
	Class 5: Private passenger vehicles with more than 12 seats		41,503	2,038	8,916	26.4%	21.5%		2,525	6.1%	8,429	20.3%
	Class 7: Goods vehicles between 3,000 and 3,500 kg gross vehicle weight		762,809	58,500	236,900	38.7%	31.1%		92,015	12.1%	203,385	26.7%
	Total		31,055,756	2,117,810	7,288,973	30.3%	23.5%		2,693,327	8.7%	6,713,456	21.6%

Data notes for in 2020 how many MOT tests were carried out in total?

Due to the Coronavirus pandemic and the beginning of Lockdown, on 25th March 2020 the DfT announced an MOT expiry extension programme, to take effect from 30th March 2020.

Whilst testing continued through the following months at a lower level, and started back towards normal levels later in the year, there was already a small reduction in test volumes prior to the announcement, likely due to some VTS ceasing testing, and to some vehicle owners having already decided to not to leave home, so no longer travelling.

More information about this data

How was this information obtained?

We made a freedom of information request to the DVSA. So, the information in this blog post came from the DVSA.

How to check the MOT history/status of your vehicle

We offer a free MOT check tool and also include MOT data in our initial check, this data comes from the DVSA MOT API.

Got a question?

Feel free to get in touch via email: enquiries@rapidcarcheck.co.uk