Mazda CX-30 MOT pass rate & common failures

At a glance

Recorded pass rate

We are not publishing a ranking for the CX-30. The examples tested do not cover a wide enough spread of ages and mileages to compare it fairly, and an unadjusted pass rate mostly sorts models by how recently they were bought rather than how well they were built. The failure and advisory patterns below come from the same 20,888 tests and are worth reading on their own terms.

DVSA recorded wording

Most common failure items

Share of failed Mazda CX-30 tests in which each item was recorded. One failed test often lists several items, so these do not sum to 100%.

1. 1.A tyre seriously damaged22.2%

   293 occurrencesTyre damaged or deteriorated explained

2. 2.Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements21.5%

   284 occurrencesTyre worn close to the legal limit explained

3. 3.A brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm20.2%

   267 occurrencesBrake drum or shoe worn or contaminated explained

4. 4.Wiper blade missing or obviously not clearing the windscreen20.2%

   267 occurrencesWiper or washer not working properly explained

5. 5.A shock absorber damaged to the extent that it does not function or showing signs of severe leakage9.6%

   127 occurrencesShock absorber defective explained

6. 6.Engine MIL illuminated indicating a malfunction6.5%

   86 occurrencesEngine management light on, or not working explained

7. 7.Brake disc or drum significantly and obviously worn6.1%

   81 occurrencesBrake disc worn, pitted or scored explained

8. 8.A tyre cords visible or damaged3.9%

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

9. 9.A tyre seriously damaged2.9%

   38 occurrencesTyre damaged or deteriorated explained

10. 10.A tyre pressure monitoring system malfunctioning or obviously inoperative2.1%

    28 occurrencesTyre pressure monitoring system inoperative explained

Warnings without a failure

Most common advisories

Share of all Mazda CX-30 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 requirements19.4%

   4,042 testsTyre worn close to the legal limit explained

2. 2.Brake disc or drum excessively weakened, insecure or fractured16.5%

   3,445 testsBrake disc worn, pitted or scored explained

3. 3.A shock absorber damaged to the extent that it does not function or showing signs of severe leakage12.1%

   2,522 testsShock absorber defective explained

4. 4.A brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm12.0%

   2,514 testsBrake drum or shoe worn or contaminated explained

5. 5.A tyre seriously damaged5.7%

   1,195 testsTyre damaged or deteriorated explained

6. 6.Brake disc or drum significantly and obviously worn4.0%

   825 testsBrake disc worn, pitted or scored explained

7. 7.Child Seat fitted not allowing full inspection of adult belt2.8%

   578 tests

8. 8.A tyre seriously damaged2.6%

   541 testsTyre damaged or deteriorated explained

What gets tested

The CX-30 fleet

Average mileage recorded at test

29,044

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

Fuel mix of tested cars

Petrol98.6%

Hybrid1.4%

Compare within the range

Other Mazda models

• Mazda 2 — 69.8% adjusted
• Mazda 3 — 70.6% adjusted
• Mazda MX-5 — 77.2% adjusted
• Mazda CX-5 — 78.5% adjusted
• Mazda 6 — 73.3% adjusted
• Mazda CX-3 — 83.5% unadjusted
• All Mazda models →

Common questions

How reliable is the Mazda CX-30 compared with other cars?

We do not publish a comparison for the Mazda CX-30, because the cars of this model that have been tested do not cover a wide enough range of ages and mileages. Its raw pass rate is 91.3% across 20,888 tests, but comparing a raw rate between models mostly ranks them by how new they are rather than how good they are. The failure and advisory patterns further down the page are still drawn from real tests and are worth reading.

What is the most common MOT failure on a Mazda CX-30?

The item recorded most often is "A tyre seriously damaged", which appears in 22.2% of failed Mazda CX-30 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 Mazda CX-30?

The most common advisory is "Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements", noted on 19.4% of all Mazda CX-30 tests. An advisory is not a failure: it flags something that will likely need attention before the next test.

What mileage does a Mazda CX-30 usually have at its MOT?

The average odometer reading recorded at test is 29,044 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.

Are most Mazda CX-30 models petrol or diesel?

Of the Mazda CX-30 cars tested, 99% are petrol, 1% 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. No adjusted rate is shown because this model's tested examples do not cover enough of the national age and mileage range for standardisation to mean anything.

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 Mazda