Mini Cooper MOT pass rate & common failures

At a glance

Pass rate, adjusted for age and mileage

The Cooper is 3.6 percentage points above the national pass rate once age and mileage are accounted for, which is above average. The unadjusted figure is 84.5%; 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 Mini Cooper 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 damaged19.6%

   8,408 occurrencesTyre damaged or deteriorated explained

2. 2.Wiper blade missing or obviously not clearing the windscreen15.7%

   6,728 occurrencesWiper or washer not working properly explained

3. 3.Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements12.3%

   5,280 occurrencesTyre worn close to the legal limit explained

4. 4.A tyre cords visible or damaged9.3%

   3,986 occurrencesTyre ply or cord exposed, or the casing separating explained

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

   3,874 occurrencesBrake drum or shoe worn or contaminated explained

6. 6.A tyre seriously damaged8.3%

   3,540 occurrencesTyre damaged or deteriorated explained

7. 7.A lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning7.5%

   3,199 occurrencesLamp not working explained

8. 8.A tyre seriously damaged5.4%

   2,329 occurrencesTyre damaged or deteriorated explained

9. 9.Windscreen washers not working or not providing sufficient fluid to clear the windscreen4.3%

   1,851 occurrencesWiper or washer not working properly explained

10. 10.A shock absorber damaged to the extent that it does not function or showing signs of severe leakage3.5%

    1,481 occurrencesShock absorber defective explained

Warnings without a failure

Most common advisories

Share of all Mini Cooper 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 requirements18.2%

   64,605 testsTyre worn close to the legal limit explained

2. 2.A tyre seriously damaged18.0%

   63,920 testsTyre damaged or deteriorated explained

3. 3.Brake disc or drum excessively weakened, insecure or fractured6.2%

   22,096 testsBrake disc worn, pitted or scored explained

4. 4.A brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm6.2%

   21,992 testsBrake drum or shoe worn or contaminated explained

5. 5.A tyre seriously damaged3.0%

   10,654 testsTyre damaged or deteriorated explained

6. 6.A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn2.9%

   10,207 testsSuspension arm bush worn explained

7. 7.Brake disc or drum significantly and obviously worn2.3%

   8,308 testsBrake disc worn, pitted or scored explained

8. 8.Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements2.3%

   8,289 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 Cooper fleet

Average mileage recorded at test

46,791

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

Fuel mix of tested cars

Petrol79.7%

Diesel13.0%

Electric4.8%

Hybrid2.5%

Compare within the range

Other Mini models

• Mini Mini — 69.4% adjusted
• Mini Countryman — 79.9% adjusted
• Mini One — 73.9% adjusted
• Mini Clubman — 76.8% adjusted
• Mini John Cooper Works — 83.8% adjusted
• Mini Paceman — 81.6% unadjusted
• All Mini models →

Similar test volumes

Compare against other makes

• Mercedes-Benz C-Class — 77.0% adjusted, ranked 86
• Mercedes-Benz A-Class — 73.3% adjusted, ranked 131
• Honda Jazz — 75.5% adjusted, ranked 101
• Fiat 500 — 65.3% adjusted, ranked 219

Common questions

Is the Mini Cooper reliable?

On MOT evidence the Mini Cooper is above average. It passes 75.9% of tests once age and mileage are accounted for, against a national average of 72.3%, which ranks it 97 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 Mini Cooper?

The item recorded most often is "A tyre seriously damaged", which appears in 19.6% of failed Mini Cooper 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 Mini Cooper?

The most common advisory is "Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements", noted on 18.2% of all Mini Cooper tests. An advisory is not a failure: it flags something that will likely need attention before the next test.

What mileage does a Mini Cooper usually have at its MOT?

The average odometer reading recorded at test is 46,791 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 Mini Cooper get harder to pass as it ages?

Yes. At 3 to 5 years old, 89.0% of Mini Cooper tests pass. By fifteen years or more, that falls to 60.6%. Nearly every model follows this pattern, which is why comparing raw pass rates between models is misleading unless age is accounted for.

Are most Mini Cooper models petrol or diesel?

Of the Mini Cooper cars tested, 80% are petrol, 13% are diesel, 5% are electric. 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 Mini