Jeep Wrangler MOT pass rate & common failures

At a glance

Pass rate, adjusted for age and mileage

The Wrangler is 1.6 percentage points above the national pass rate once age and mileage are accounted for, which is above average. The unadjusted figure is 75.3%; 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 Wrangler tests in which each item was recorded. One failed test often lists several items, so these do not sum to 100%.

1. 1.A lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning14.4%

   203 occurrencesLamp not working explained

2. 2.An obligatory rear fog lamp missing, or a front or rear fog lamp inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning11.5%

   163 occurrencesLamp not working explained

3. 3.Wiper blade missing or obviously not clearing the windscreen10.5%

   149 occurrencesWiper or washer not working properly explained

4. 4.A direction indicator lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning9.3%

   132 occurrencesDirection indicator not working explained

5. 5.A brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm9.0%

   127 occurrencesBrake drum or shoe worn or contaminated explained

6. 6.The aim of a headlamp is not within limits laid down in the requirements8.9%

   126 occurrencesHeadlamp aim incorrect explained

7. 7.The aim of a headlamp is not within limits laid down in the requirements6.9%

   98 occurrencesHeadlamp aim incorrect explained

8. 8.Stop lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning6.1%

   86 occurrencesStop lamp not working explained

9. 9.Parking brake efficiency below minimum requirement6.0%

   85 occurrencesParking brake efficiency too low explained

10. 10.Significant brake effort recorded with no brake applied indicating a binding brake5.4%

    76 occurrencesBrake binding or imbalanced across an axle explained

Warnings without a failure

Most common advisories

Share of all Jeep Wrangler 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.Brake disc or drum excessively weakened, insecure or fractured13.1%

   927 testsBrake disc worn, pitted or scored explained

2. 2.A tyre seriously damaged8.5%

   603 testsTyre damaged or deteriorated explained

3. 3.Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements6.6%

   464 testsTyre worn close to the legal limit explained

4. 4.A brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm6.5%

   461 testsBrake drum or shoe worn or contaminated explained

5. 5.Brake pipe damaged or excessively corroded4.9%

   346 testsBrake pipe corroded explained

6. 6.Fluid leaking excessively and likely to harm the environment or to pose a safety risk to other road users4.6%

   325 tests

7. 7.A spring or spring component fractured or seriously weakened4.4%

   310 testsRoad spring broken or fractured explained

8. 8.A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn3.9%

   275 testsSuspension arm bush worn 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 Wrangler fleet

Average mileage recorded at test

62,940

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

Fuel mix of tested cars

Petrol63.0%

Diesel36.7%

Compare within the range

Other Jeep models

• Jeep Renegade — 74.8% adjusted
• Jeep Compass — 71.8% adjusted
• Jeep Grand Cherokee — 75.4% adjusted
• Jeep Cherokee — 68.4% unadjusted
• Jeep Patriot — 49.5% unadjusted
• All Jeep models →

Similar test volumes

Compare against other makes

• Fiat Scudo — 58.3% adjusted, ranked 260
• Subaru XV — 78.6% adjusted, ranked 68
• Audi S3 — 82.3% adjusted, ranked 36
• Kia Proceed — 68.1% adjusted, ranked 194

Common questions

Is the Jeep Wrangler reliable?

On MOT evidence the Jeep Wrangler is above average. It passes 73.9% of tests once age and mileage are accounted for, against a national average of 72.3%, which ranks it 123 of 262 models with enough data for a fair comparison. 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 Wrangler?

The item recorded most often is "A lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning", which appears in 14.4% of failed Jeep Wrangler 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 Wrangler?

The most common advisory is "Brake disc or drum excessively weakened, insecure or fractured", noted on 13.1% of all Jeep Wrangler tests. An advisory is not a failure: it flags something that will likely need attention before the next test.

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

The average odometer reading recorded at test is 62,940 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 Wrangler get harder to pass as it ages?

Yes. At 3 to 5 years old, 89.8% of Jeep Wrangler tests pass. By fifteen years or more, that falls to 65.1%. 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 Wrangler models petrol or diesel?

Of the Jeep Wrangler cars tested, 63% are petrol, 37% are diesel. 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