Mini Mini MOT pass rate & common failures

At a glance

Pass rate, adjusted for age and mileage

The Mini is 2.9 percentage points below the national pass rate once age and mileage are accounted for, which is below average. The unadjusted figure is 62.6%; 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 Mini 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 functioning22.4%

   16,570 occurrencesLamp not working explained

2. 2.The aim of a headlamp is not within limits laid down in the requirements12.5%

   9,225 occurrencesHeadlamp aim incorrect explained

3. 3.Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements10.0%

   7,407 occurrencesTyre worn close to the legal limit explained

4. 4.A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn9.1%

   6,713 occurrencesSuspension arm bush worn explained

5. 5.Lambda coefficient outside the default limits or the range specified by the manufacturer9.1%

   6,700 occurrencesEmissions above the permitted limit explained

6. 6.Wiper blade missing or obviously not clearing the windscreen8.2%

   6,093 occurrencesWiper or washer not working properly explained

7. 7.A transmission shaft constant velocity joint boot missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt etc7.3%

   5,433 occurrencesDriveshaft CV joint gaiter split or missing explained

8. 8.Engine MIL illuminated indicating a malfunction6.9%

   5,120 occurrencesEngine management light on, or not working explained

9. 9.Brake pipe damaged or excessively corroded6.9%

   5,119 occurrencesBrake pipe corroded explained

10. 10.Emissions levels exceed the manufacturer's specified limits6.8%

    5,027 occurrencesEmissions above the permitted limit explained

Warnings without a failure

Most common advisories

Share of all Mini Mini 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 requirements23.4%

   57,685 testsTyre worn close to the legal limit explained

2. 2.Fluid leaking excessively and likely to harm the environment or to pose a safety risk to other road users20.2%

   49,962 tests

3. 3.Brake disc or drum excessively weakened, insecure or fractured18.2%

   44,787 testsBrake disc worn, pitted or scored explained

4. 4.A suspension component excessively damaged or corroded17.1%

   42,121 testsSuspension mounting corroded or insecure explained

5. 5.Brake pipe damaged or excessively corroded15.1%

   37,272 testsBrake pipe corroded explained

6. 6.A tyre seriously damaged14.9%

   36,880 testsTyre damaged or deteriorated explained

7. 7.A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn10.7%

   26,314 testsSuspension arm bush worn explained

8. 8.A spring or spring component fractured or seriously weakened8.0%

   19,645 testsRoad spring broken or fractured explained

The rest of the record

Everything else recorded on the Mini Mini

The 17 other defects testers recorded on this model, beyond the most common listed above. Each links to what it means and what it takes to put right.

• Brake drum or shoe worn or contaminated7.0%
• Stop lamp not working6.0%
• Exhaust leaking or insecure5.2%
• Parking brake efficiency too low5.1%
• Shock absorber defective5.0%
• Brake binding or imbalanced across an axle5.0%
• Ball joint worn4.6%
• Registration plate missing, insecure or illegible4.5%
• Suspension joint dust cover missing or split4.4%
• Tyre ply or cord exposed, or the casing separating4.4%
• Lamp of the wrong colour, position or intensity3.4%
• Airbag warning lamp on, or airbag missing3.2%
• Road wheel damaged, distorted or cracked2.8%
• Fuel filler cap missing or fuel system leaking2.8%
• Brake hose deteriorated, damaged or chafing2.5%
• Power steering fluid leaking or below minimum1.5%
• Corrosion in a structural area1.0%

How wear changes the picture

Mini pass rate by age and registration year

How often the Mini Mini passes at each age, with the years those cars were first registered. Tests are from 2025, so a car aged 6 to 8 was first used in 2017–2019.

Read this as an age curve rather than a verdict on particular model years. Nearly every car passes less often as it gets older, so a newer Mini outscoring an older one says more about wear than about how that year’s cars were built. Bands holding too few tests to be meaningful are omitted rather than shown as a rate.

What gets tested

The Mini fleet

Average mileage recorded at test

90,920

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

Fuel mix of tested cars

Petrol80.5%

Diesel19.5%

Compare within the range

Other Mini models

• Mini Cooper — 75.9% 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

• Volkswagen Tiguan — 77.3% adjusted, ranked 83
• Audi A4 — 77.8% adjusted, ranked 76
• Hyundai I10 — 67.7% adjusted, ranked 199
• Vauxhall Mokka — 68.6% adjusted, ranked 189

Common questions

Is the Mini Mini reliable?

On MOT evidence the Mini Mini is below average. It passes 69.4% of tests once age and mileage are accounted for, against a national average of 72.3%. That figure covers 71% 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 Mini Mini?

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 22.4% of failed Mini Mini 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 Mini?

The most common advisory is "Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements", noted on 23.4% of all Mini Mini tests. An advisory is not a failure: it flags something that will likely need attention before the next test.

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

The average odometer reading recorded at test is 90,920 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.

Which Mini Mini years are the most reliable?

Going by MOT pass rate, Mini Mini cars first registered 2017–2019 do best at 77.5%, and those registered 2010 and earlier do worst at 58.9%. But that ordering is mostly age, not build year: almost every model passes less often as it wears, so the newest cars top this list whatever they are. A specific year looking strong here means little on its own; the failure items above, and the individual car's own MOT history, tell you far more.

Does a Mini Mini get harder to pass as it ages?

Yes. At 6 to 8 years old, 77.5% of Mini Mini tests pass. By fifteen years or more, that falls to 58.9%. 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 Mini models petrol or diesel?

Of the Mini Mini cars tested, 80% are petrol, 20% 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 Mini