Is the Toyota GT86 reliable?

On MOT evidence the Toyota GT86 is well above average. It passes 84.3% of tests once age and mileage are accounted for, against a national average of 72.3%. That figure covers 64% 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 Toyota GT86?

The item recorded most often is "Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements", which appears in 21.5% of failed Toyota GT86 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 Toyota GT86?

The most common advisory is "Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements", noted on 21.8% of all Toyota GT86 tests. An advisory is not a failure: it flags something that will likely need attention before the next test.

What mileage does a Toyota GT86 usually have at its MOT?

The average odometer reading recorded at test is 62,208 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 Toyota GT86 years are the most reliable?

Going by MOT pass rate, Toyota GT86 cars first registered 2020–2022 do best at 94.0%, and those registered 2011–2013 do worst at 79.9%. 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 Toyota GT86 get harder to pass as it ages?

Yes. At 3 to 5 years old, 94.0% of Toyota GT86 tests pass. By 12 to 14 years, that falls to 79.9%. Nearly every model follows this pattern, which is why comparing raw pass rates between models is misleading unless age is accounted for.

Model reliability file

Toyota GT86 MOT pass rate & common failures

From 6,584 recorded MOT tests of the Toyota GT86, published by DVSA.

Data updated 29 July 2026

Quick answer

The Toyota GT86 passes 84.3% of MOT tests once results are adjusted for the age and mileage of the cars tested, against a national average of 72.3%. That is well above average. Based on 6,584 tests. Its most commonly recorded failure is tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements, which appears in 21.5% of failed tests. Cars of this model average 62,208 miles on the odometer when tested.

At a glance

Pass rate, adjusted for age and mileage

84.3%national average72.3%unadjusted83.5%range covered64%

The GT86 is 12.0 percentage points above the national pass rate once age and mileage are accounted for, which is well above average. The unadjusted figure is 83.5%; 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 Toyota GT86 tests in which each item was recorded. One failed test often lists several items, so these do not sum to 100%.

1.Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements21.5%
194 occurrencesTyre worn close to the legal limit explained
2.Lambda coefficient outside the default limits or the range specified by the manufacturer11.0%
99 occurrencesEmissions above the permitted limit explained
3.A brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm9.0%
81 occurrencesBrake drum or shoe worn or contaminated explained
4.A tyre cords visible or damaged8.0%
72 occurrencesTyre ply or cord exposed, or the casing separating explained
5.Significant brake effort recorded with no brake applied indicating a binding brake7.8%
70 occurrencesBrake binding or imbalanced across an axle explained
6.Wiper blade missing or obviously not clearing the windscreen7.2%
65 occurrencesWiper or washer not working properly explained
7.A spring or spring component fractured or seriously weakened6.5%
59 occurrencesRoad spring broken or fractured explained
8.A tyre seriously damaged6.0%
54 occurrencesTyre damaged or deteriorated explained
9.A rear registration plate lamp or light source missing or inoperative in the case of a single lamp or all lamps5.6%
51 occurrencesLamp not working explained
10.A wheel bearing excessively rough4.9%
44 occurrencesWheel bearing has excessive play or is rough explained

Warnings without a failure

Most common advisories

Share of all Toyota GT86 tests carrying each advisory. The denominator differs from the failure list above because an advisory can be issued on a car that passed.

1.Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements21.8%
1,435 testsTyre worn close to the legal limit explained
2.A tyre seriously damaged11.3%
741 testsTyre damaged or deteriorated explained
3.Brake disc or drum excessively weakened, insecure or fractured10.0%
660 testsBrake disc worn, pitted or scored explained
4.A brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm7.8%
516 testsBrake drum or shoe worn or contaminated explained
5.A spring or spring component fractured or seriously weakened3.2%
212 testsRoad spring broken or fractured explained
6.Brake disc or drum significantly and obviously worn3.2%
208 testsBrake disc worn, pitted or scored explained
7.Significant brake effort recorded with no brake applied indicating a binding brake3.0%
200 testsBrake binding or imbalanced across an axle explained
8.Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements2.8%
187 testsTyre worn close to the legal limit explained

The rest of the record

Everything else recorded on the Toyota GT86

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.

How wear changes the picture

GT86 pass rate by age and registration year

How often the Toyota GT86 passes at each age, with the years those cars were first registered. Tests are from 2025, so a car aged 3 to 5 was first used in 2020–2022.

3–5 yrsreg. 2020–202294%

6–8 yrsreg. 2017–201989%

9–11 yrsreg. 2014–201684%

12–14 yrsreg. 2011–201380%

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 GT86 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 GT86 fleet

Average mileage recorded at test: 62,208
Fuel mix of tested cars: Petrol100.0%

Check a specific Toyota GT86

A model average tells you the pattern. Its own MOT record tells you the car.

Compare within the range

Other Toyota models

Toyota Yaris — 72.3% adjusted
Toyota Aygo — 70.4% adjusted
Toyota Prius — 81.4% adjusted
Toyota Auris — 72.6% adjusted
Toyota Corolla — 78.8% adjusted
Toyota RAV4 — 79.0% adjusted
All Toyota models

Similar test volumes

Compare against other makes

Subaru XV — 78.6% adjusted, ranked 68
Jeep Wrangler — 73.9% adjusted, ranked 123
Fiat Scudo — 58.3% adjusted, ranked 260
Audi S3 — 82.3% adjusted, ranked 36

Common questions

Is the Toyota GT86 reliable?: On MOT evidence the Toyota GT86 is well above average. It passes 84.3% of tests once age and mileage are accounted for, against a national average of 72.3%. That figure covers 64% 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 Toyota GT86?: The item recorded most often is "Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements", which appears in 21.5% of failed Toyota GT86 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 Toyota GT86?: The most common advisory is "Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements", noted on 21.8% of all Toyota GT86 tests. An advisory is not a failure: it flags something that will likely need attention before the next test.
What mileage does a Toyota GT86 usually have at its MOT?: The average odometer reading recorded at test is 62,208 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 Toyota GT86 years are the most reliable?: Going by MOT pass rate, Toyota GT86 cars first registered 2020–2022 do best at 94.0%, and those registered 2011–2013 do worst at 79.9%. 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 Toyota GT86 get harder to pass as it ages?: Yes. At 3 to 5 years old, 94.0% of Toyota GT86 tests pass. By 12 to 14 years, that falls to 79.9%. Nearly every model follows this pattern, which is why comparing raw pass rates between models is misleading unless age is accounted for.

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.