Toyota Yaris MOT failure rate and common faults
421,689 Toyota Yaris cars aged 3 to 20 took their MOT in 2025, and 26.1% failed at the first attempt. An average car of the same age failed 29.0% of the time, which makes the Toyota Yaris 10% less likely to fail than the typical car on the road. Here is what fails, and which years to look for.
26.1%
failed first time
421,689 MOT tests in 2025
-10%
vs same age average
average car of this age mix: 29.0%
89 of 208
age adjusted rank
among cars; 1 fails least
70.7
dangerous defects per 1,000
same age average: 106.5
What fails on a Toyota Yaris 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 Toyota Yaris MOT failures
The individual failure items testers recorded most often, per 1,000 tests.
| Failure item | Area | Per 1,000 tests |
|---|---|---|
| Position lamp: not working | Lights and electrics | 40.9 |
| Coil spring: fractured or broken | Suspension | 36.7 |
| Wipers: does not clear the windscreen effectively | Windscreen, wipers and mirrors | 30.8 |
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm | Tyres | 23.5 |
| Registration plate lamp(s): inoperative in the case of a single lamp or all lamps | Lights and electrics | 18.4 |
| Stop lamp: not working | Lights and electrics | 17.7 |
| Washers: provides insufficient washer liquid | Windscreen, wipers and mirrors | 16.3 |
| Headlamp: not working on dipped beam | Lights and electrics | 15.9 |
| Headlamp aim: projected beam image is obviously incorrect | Lights and electrics | 14.0 |
| Rigid brake pipes: excessively corroded | Brakes | 13.6 |
Toyota Yaris 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 22,024 | 7.6% | 11.4% | 20,200 |
| 2021 | 23,831 | 9.0% | 12.8% | 26,600 |
| 2020 | 20,622 | 11.5% | 14.1% | 29,800 |
| 2019 | 28,086 | 13.7% | 16.5% | 34,800 |
| 2018 | 28,061 | 16.4% | 19.1% | 41,400 |
| 2017 | 26,846 | 18.8% | 21.8% | 46,900 |
| 2016 | 28,562 | 19.4% | 25.1% | 53,300 |
| 2015 | 30,794 | 21.0% | 28.1% | 60,300 |
| 2014 | 29,162 | 27.5% | 31.4% | 65,500 |
| 2013 | 28,936 | 31.1% | 34.3% | 71,400 |
| 2012 | 27,285 | 33.1% | 36.6% | 76,000 |
| 2011 | 15,896 | 33.6% | 38.8% | 78,700 |
| 2010 | 18,099 | 37.7% | 40.7% | 85,200 |
| 2009 | 23,721 | 37.0% | 41.8% | 86,700 |
| 2008 | 20,935 | 43.6% | 42.9% | 97,000 |
| 2007 | 19,151 | 44.5% | 42.7% | 98,100 |
| 2006 | 15,360 | 46.0% | 43.0% | 98,700 |
| 2005 | 14,318 | 45.1% | 42.4% | 93,400 |
Advisories to look for in a Toyota Yaris'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 Toyota Yaris, 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 edge222.4
- Tyres: slightly damaged/cracking or perishing179.4
- Rigid brake pipes: corroded, covered in grease or other material108.0
- Brake discs: worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened105.9
- Suspension arms: pin or bush worn but not resulting in excessive movement105.5
- Coil spring: corroded66.8
Checking a used Toyota Yaris before you buy
The Toyota Yaris 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.
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.
Brakes
Look through the wheel spokes at the discs for a deep lip or scoring, check the handbrake holds the car on a slope, and feel for a pull to one side when braking hard.
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 Toyota Yaris cars tested: Petrol 63%, Hybrid 32%, Diesel 5%. Average age at test 10.9 years, average recorded mileage 62,000.
Toyota Yaris MOT questions
What is the Toyota Yaris MOT failure rate?
26.1% of Toyota Yaris cars failed their first MOT test of 2025, from 421,689 tests on vehicles aged 3 to 20. An average car with the same age mix failed 29.0% of the time, so the Toyota Yaris was 10% less likely to fail.
What fails most often on a Toyota Yaris MOT?
Lights and electrics caused the most failure items, at 188 per 1,000 tests. The single most common failure item was "Position lamp: not working", recorded 40.9 times per 1,000 tests.
Which Toyota Yaris year has the best MOT record?
Measured against cars of the same age, 2022 registrations did best: 7.6% failed against an average of 11.4% 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 Toyota Yaris will pass?
No. These are averages across every Toyota Yaris 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 Toyota models
- Toyota Aygo24.2% failed
- Toyota Prius21.4% failed
- Toyota Auris28.1% failed
- Toyota RAV420.2% failed
- Toyota Corolla18.6% failed
- Toyota C-HR14.1% failed
Ranked close to the Toyota Yaris
- Kia Nirorank 86
- Ford Kugarank 87
- Skoda Octaviarank 88
- Volvo XC90rank 90
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 Toyota Yaris 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.