Toyota Prius MOT pass rate & common failures

At a glance

Pass rate, adjusted for age and mileage

The Prius is 9.1 percentage points above the national pass rate once age and mileage are accounted for, which is well above average. The unadjusted figure is 78.7%; 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 Prius 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 functioning15.6%

   3,390 occurrencesLamp not working explained

2. 2.Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements14.7%

   3,202 occurrencesTyre worn close to the legal limit explained

3. 3.A suspension joint dust cover missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt etc12.9%

   2,801 occurrencesSuspension joint dust cover missing or split explained

4. 4.A brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm10.8%

   2,349 occurrencesBrake drum or shoe worn or contaminated explained

5. 5.Wiper blade missing or obviously not clearing the windscreen9.6%

   2,094 occurrencesWiper or washer not working properly explained

6. 6.A rear registration plate lamp or light source missing or inoperative in the case of a single lamp or all lamps9.4%

   2,053 occurrencesLamp not working explained

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

   1,932 occurrencesHeadlamp aim incorrect explained

8. 8.A shock absorber damaged to the extent that it does not function or showing signs of severe leakage7.1%

   1,542 occurrencesShock absorber defective explained

9. 9.A tyre seriously damaged6.5%

   1,417 occurrencesTyre damaged or deteriorated explained

10. 10.A suspension joint dust cover missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt etc5.9%

    1,276 occurrencesSuspension joint dust cover missing or split explained

Warnings without a failure

Most common advisories

Share of all Toyota Prius 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 requirements14.9%

   24,316 testsTyre worn close to the legal limit explained

2. 2.Brake disc or drum excessively weakened, insecure or fractured8.0%

   13,074 testsBrake disc worn, pitted or scored explained

3. 3.A tyre seriously damaged6.7%

   10,905 testsTyre damaged or deteriorated explained

4. 4.A brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm6.3%

   10,233 testsBrake drum or shoe worn or contaminated explained

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

   7,998 testsBrake pipe corroded explained

6. 6.A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn4.8%

   7,842 testsSuspension arm bush worn explained

7. 7.Number plate inscription missing or illegible3.6%

   5,864 testsRegistration plate missing, insecure or illegible explained

8. 8.Product on the lens or light source which obviously reduces light intensity or changes emitted colour to other than white or yellow3.5%

   5,669 testsLamp of the wrong colour, position or intensity 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 Prius fleet

Average mileage recorded at test

140,045

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

Fuel mix of tested cars

Hybrid100.0%

Compare within the range

Other Toyota models

• Toyota Yaris — 72.3% adjusted
• Toyota Aygo — 70.4% adjusted
• Toyota Auris — 72.6% adjusted
• Toyota Corolla — 78.8% adjusted
• Toyota RAV4 — 79.0% adjusted
• Toyota C-Hr — 86.0% unadjusted
• All Toyota models →

Similar test volumes

Compare against other makes

• Ford Transit Connect — 68.4% adjusted, ranked 192
• Citroen C1 — 68.7% adjusted, ranked 184
• Renault Captur — 70.8% adjusted, ranked 162
• Hyundai Tucson — 74.8% adjusted, ranked 115

Common questions

Is the Toyota Prius reliable?

On MOT evidence the Toyota Prius is well above average. It passes 81.4% of tests once age and mileage are accounted for, against a national average of 72.3%, which ranks it 45 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 Toyota Prius?

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 15.6% of failed Toyota Prius 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 Prius?

The most common advisory is "Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements", noted on 14.9% of all Toyota Prius tests. An advisory is not a failure: it flags something that will likely need attention before the next test.

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

The average odometer reading recorded at test is 140,045 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 Toyota Prius get harder to pass as it ages?

Yes. At 3 to 5 years old, 90.0% of Toyota Prius tests pass. By fifteen years or more, that falls to 64.4%. 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.

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 Toyota