Jeep Compass MOT pass rate & common failures

At a glance

Pass rate, adjusted for age and mileage

The Compass is 0.5 percentage points below the national pass rate once age and mileage are accounted for, which is about average. The unadjusted figure is 76.2%; the difference is what the age and mileage of this model’s fleet was hiding.

DVSA recorded wording

Most common failure items

Share of failed Jeep Compass tests in which each item was recorded. One failed test often lists several items, so these do not sum to 100%.

1. 1.Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements22.4%

   551 occurrencesTyre worn close to the legal limit explained

2. 2.Wiper blade missing or obviously not clearing the windscreen14.0%

   345 occurrencesWiper or washer not working properly explained

3. 3.A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn12.3%

   304 occurrencesSuspension arm bush worn explained

4. 4.A tyre cords visible or damaged9.2%

   228 occurrencesTyre ply or cord exposed, or the casing separating explained

5. 5.Windscreen washers not working or not providing sufficient fluid to clear the windscreen8.4%

   207 occurrencesWiper or washer not working properly explained

6. 6.A brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm8.2%

   202 occurrencesBrake drum or shoe worn or contaminated explained

7. 7.A tyre seriously damaged8.2%

   201 occurrencesTyre damaged or deteriorated explained

8. 8.A lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning7.7%

   190 occurrencesLamp not working explained

9. 9.A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn7.1%

   174 occurrencesSuspension arm bush worn explained

10. 10.A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn6.8%

    168 occurrencesSuspension arm bush worn explained

Warnings without a failure

Most common advisories

Share of all Jeep Compass tests carrying each advisory. The denominator differs from the failure list above because an advisory can be issued on a car that passed.

1. 1.Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements27.8%

   3,448 testsTyre worn close to the legal limit explained

2. 2.Brake disc or drum excessively weakened, insecure or fractured15.4%

   1,908 testsBrake disc worn, pitted or scored explained

3. 3.A tyre seriously damaged15.3%

   1,898 testsTyre damaged or deteriorated explained

4. 4.A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn13.1%

   1,629 testsSuspension arm bush worn explained

5. 5.A brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm9.6%

   1,188 testsBrake drum or shoe worn or contaminated explained

6. 6.Brake disc or drum significantly and obviously worn4.7%

   587 testsBrake disc worn, pitted or scored explained

7. 7.Fluid leaking excessively and likely to harm the environment or to pose a safety risk to other road users4.3%

   535 tests

8. 8.Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements3.9%

   486 testsTyre worn close to the legal limit explained

How wear changes the picture

Pass rate by vehicle age

Bands holding too few tests to be meaningful are omitted rather than shown as a rate.

What gets tested

The Compass fleet

Average mileage recorded at test

49,523

Across examples of every age, so this is a description of the fleet rather than an annual figure.

Fuel mix of tested cars

Petrol63.9%

Diesel27.2%

Hybrid8.8%

Compare within the range

Other Jeep models

• Jeep Renegade — 74.8% adjusted
• Jeep Grand Cherokee — 75.4% adjusted
• Jeep Cherokee — 68.4% unadjusted
• Jeep Wrangler — 73.9% adjusted
• Jeep Patriot — 49.5% unadjusted
• All Jeep models →

Similar test volumes

Compare against other makes

• Citroen Nemo — 59.3% adjusted, ranked 255
• Toyota Proace — 69.7% adjusted, ranked 174
• Ford Mustang — 80.6% adjusted, ranked 49
• Volkswagen California — 76.5% adjusted, ranked 91

Common questions

Is the Jeep Compass reliable?

On MOT evidence the Jeep Compass is about average. It passes 71.8% of tests once age and mileage are accounted for, against a national average of 72.3%. That figure covers 61% of the national age and mileage range, which is enough to quote but not to rank. This measures how often the car meets the MOT standard, not how often it breaks down or what a repair costs.

What is the most common MOT failure on a Jeep Compass?

The item recorded most often is "Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements", which appears in 22.4% of failed Jeep Compass tests. Because one failed test can list several items, these shares do not add up to 100%.

What do testers most often warn about on a Jeep Compass?

The most common advisory is "Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements", noted on 27.8% of all Jeep Compass tests. An advisory is not a failure: it flags something that will likely need attention before the next test.

What mileage does a Jeep Compass usually have at its MOT?

The average odometer reading recorded at test is 49,523 miles. This is the mileage across all tested examples of every age, not an annual figure, so treat it as a description of the fleet rather than a target for one car.

Does a Jeep Compass get harder to pass as it ages?

Yes. At 3 to 5 years old, 83.8% of Jeep Compass tests pass. By fifteen years or more, that falls to 49.5%. Nearly every model follows this pattern, which is why comparing raw pass rates between models is misleading unless age is accounted for.

Are most Jeep Compass models petrol or diesel?

Of the Jeep Compass cars tested, 64% are petrol, 27% are diesel, 9% are hybrid. Fuel type affects which items tend to fail, particularly emissions and exhaust components.

How this was worked out

Method and limits

Figures come from the DVSA anonymised MOT testing dataset, published under the Open Government Licence. Only class 4 initial tests are counted: retests are excluded so a car appears once, and abandoned tests are excluded entirely. The adjusted rate is directly standardised across twenty-five age and mileage bands and reweighted onto the national distribution, so this model is compared against cars that have lived a similar life rather than against a younger or lighter-used fleet.

An MOT measures whether a car met a legal standard on the day. It is not a breakdown record, a service history or a running-cost estimate, and a pass rate is a property of a fleet rather than a prediction about one car.

Further reading

Make sense of the numbers

• How to judge reliability from evidence rather than reputation
• What counts as high or low mileage for a car’s age
• The most common MOT failures and how to avoid them
• What to check before buying a used Jeep