Mini Clubman MOT failure rate and common faults
28,099 Mini Clubman cars aged 3 to 20 took their MOT in 2025, and 21.1% failed at the first attempt. An average car of the same age failed 23.7% of the time, which makes the Mini Clubman 11% less likely to fail than the typical car on the road. Here is what fails, and which years to look for.
21.1%
failed first time
28,099 MOT tests in 2025
-11%
vs same age average
average car of this age mix: 23.7%
83 of 208
age adjusted rank
among cars; 1 fails least
84.7
dangerous defects per 1,000
same age average: 92.6
What fails on a Mini Clubman MOT
Failure items recorded per 1,000 tests, by part of the car, set against an average car with exactly the same spread of ages. A figure well above average is a weak spot worth checking before you buy.
The most common Mini Clubman MOT failures
The individual failure items testers recorded most often, per 1,000 tests.
| Failure item | Area | Per 1,000 tests |
|---|---|---|
| Stop lamp: not working | Lights and electrics | 37.5 |
| Tyres: has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords | Tyres | 26.7 |
| Coil spring: fractured or broken | Suspension | 25.4 |
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm | Tyres | 22.6 |
| Wipers: does not clear the windscreen effectively | Windscreen, wipers and mirrors | 17.8 |
| Brake pads: less than 1.5 mm thick | Brakes | 14.7 |
| Headlamp aim: too high | Lights and electrics | 12.9 |
| Tyres: has ply or cords exposed | Tyres | 12.8 |
| Tyres: has a bulge, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure | Tyres | 11.6 |
| Position lamp: not working | Lights and electrics | 11.2 |
Mini Clubman MOT failure rate by year
Every car fails more often as it ages, so each registration year is compared with the average for all cars of the same age. Years with fewer than 500 tests are left out.
| First registered | Tests | Failed | Same age average | Average mileage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 6,274 | 17.6% | 19.1% | 50,600 |
| 2017 | 8,165 | 20.0% | 21.8% | 59,100 |
| 2016 | 8,942 | 22.9% | 25.1% | 66,900 |
| 2015 | 1,435 | 22.6% | 28.1% | 70,900 |
| 2013 | 904 | 23.8% | 34.3% | 75,800 |
| 2012 | 616 | 27.9% | 36.6% | 86,200 |
Advisories to look for in a Mini Clubman's MOT history
An advisory is a tester's warning that something is wearing but has not failed yet. These are the ones written most often on the Mini Clubman, per 1,000 tests. If the car you are looking at has one of these, ask whether it has been fixed since.
- Tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge241.7
- Tyres: slightly damaged/cracking or perishing155.9
- Brake pads: wearing thin89.4
- Brake discs: worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened79.8
- Suspension arms: pin or bush worn but not resulting in excessive movement68.8
- Brake discs: worn, but not excessively33.1
Checking a used Mini Clubman before you buy
The Mini Clubman has no part of the car that fails well above average for its age, so check the areas that fail most often overall.
Lights and electrics
Walk round the car with every light on: headlights on dip and main beam, indicators, brake lights, fog lights and the number plate lamp. A pattern of electrical faults costs more than a bulb.
Tyres
Check the tread across the full width of every tyre, inner edge included. Uneven wear points to worn suspension or out of line steering geometry.
Suspension
Drive over speed bumps with the radio off and listen for knocks. Look at the car side on: a corner sitting lower than the others often means a broken coil spring.
Averages only take you so far. The specific car's MOT history shows whether it has already failed on any of these, how often advisories were ignored, and whether the mileage climbs steadily from test to test. Read our guide to reading a car's MOT history before you go to view it.
Fuel mix of the Mini Clubman cars tested: Petrol 73%, Diesel 27%. Average age at test 8.6 years, average recorded mileage 61,900.
Mini Clubman MOT questions
What is the Mini Clubman MOT failure rate?
21.1% of Mini Clubman cars failed their first MOT test of 2025, from 28,099 tests on vehicles aged 3 to 20. An average car with the same age mix failed 23.7% of the time, so the Mini Clubman was 11% less likely to fail.
What fails most often on a Mini Clubman MOT?
Lights and electrics caused the most failure items, at 103 per 1,000 tests. The single most common failure item was "Stop lamp: not working", recorded 37.5 times per 1,000 tests.
Which Mini Clubman year has the best MOT record?
Measured against cars of the same age, 2015 registrations did best: 22.6% failed against an average of 28.1% for cars that age. Older cars always fail more often, so compare a year with its age group rather than with newer cars.
Does this tell me whether a particular Mini Clubman will pass?
No. These are averages across every Mini Clubman tested in 2025. The car in front of you has its own record: its full MOT history shows every pass, failure and advisory it has had, and it is free to view by registration.
Other Mini models
- Mini Cooper22.7% failed
- Mini Countryman16.9% failed
Ranked close to the Mini Clubman
- Suzuki Ignisrank 80
- Toyota Aurisrank 81
- Volkswagen ID3rank 82
- Toyota C-HRrank 84
How these figures are calculated
Source: DVSA Anonymised MOT tests and results, 2025 release. We count first tests of cars and small vans (class 4) aged 3 to 20, so a car that fails and is retested is counted once. A failure includes faults fixed and passed within the same visit. The same age average weights the national failure rate for each age by how many Mini Clubman cars of that age were tested, so a model is never penalised for having an older fleet. Make and model are as recorded at the test; trim levels are combined. Full method and rankings.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.