MOT fail rates

Chevrolet Spark MOT fail rate by age

How often the Chevrolet Spark fails its MOT at each age, compared with all cars of the same age, and what it fails on. From 59,796 DVSA MOT tests taken 2022 to 2025.

MOT data updated 22 September 2026

At 12 years, the most tested age

MOT fail rate at age 12 (n=14,596)44.0%

All cars at 12 years (n=7,303,151)36.0%

Median mileage at test65,849

All cars, median mileage87,673

255 of 299 model groups with enough tests fail less often at 12 years.

What stands out

At 9 years the Chevrolet Spark fails 44.6% of MOTs (4,909 tests), 17.5 points above the 27.1% for all cars that age. At 15 years it fails 45.8% (2,724 tests), 4.2 points above the 41.6% average.
The gap is widest at 9 years: 17.5 points above all cars.
Its most common structural or mechanical fail item at 12 years: Rigid brake pipes: excessively corroded, at 11.2 per 100 MOTs.

MOT fail rate by age

Solid line: this model. Dashed line: all cars at the same age.

Chevrolet Spark: share of MOT tests that failed, by age, against all cars. Ages with fewer than 1,000 tests are not shown.
Age	MOT fail rate	Tests (n)	All cars	Difference	Median mileage
9 years	44.6%	4,909	27.1%	+17.5 pts	55,168 miles
10 years	45.4%	8,693	30.3%	+15.0 pts	59,789 miles
11 years	44.2%	12,400	33.3%	+10.9 pts	62,954 miles
12 years	44.0%	14,596	36.0%	+8.0 pts	65,849 miles
13 years	45.0%	10,185	38.3%	+6.7 pts	68,181 miles
14 years	44.9%	6,289	40.3%	+4.7 pts	69,870 miles
15 years	45.8%	2,724	41.6%	+4.2 pts	71,497 miles

Most common fail items at 12 years

Split into structural or mechanical items and wear items. Wear items (tyres, brake pads, wipers, bulbs) say more about upkeep than about the design.

Structural and mechanical

Fail item	Per 100 MOTs
Rigid brake pipes: excessively corroded Major	11.2
Service brake performance: excessively binding Major	5.2
Coil spring broken Major	5.2

Out of 14,596 MOTs. A test with two faults counts twice.

Wear and upkeep

Fail item	Per 100 MOTs
Side/position light not working Major	9.9
Brake light not working Major	7.9
Wipers not clearing screen Major	5.4
Tyre tread below 1.6 mm Dangerous	4.7
Dipped headlight not working Major	4.4
Registration plate lamp(s): inoperative in the case of a single lamp or all lamps Major	2.9
Washers: provides insufficient washer liquid Major	2.3

Out of 14,596 MOTs. A test with two faults counts twice.

Other models at 12 years

Model	MOT fail rate	Tests (n)	All cars
Chevrolet Aveo	47.4%	5,561	36.0%
Chevrolet Matiz	47.1%	1,076	36.0%
Ford Fiesta	40.5%	389,900	36.0%

MOT fail rate by first-use year

Each year has its own page: the fail rate for cars first used that year at each MOT from 2022 to 2025 with at least 1,000 tests, the most common faults at that age, and the car tax and ULEZ rules for that year.

First-use year data updated 28 September 2026.

Latest MOT age with at least 1,000 tests for each first-use year.
First used	Age at test	MOT fail rate	Tests (n)	All cars
2010	15 years in 2025	45.8%	2,724	41.6%
2011	14 years in 2025	46.0%	3,220	40.3%
2012	13 years in 2025	47.3%	3,242	38.3%
2013	12 years in 2025	43.4%	3,547	36.0%

More on the Chevrolet Spark

Read this with care. A fail rate is not a measure of build quality. How far cars are driven, how they are used and how well owners maintain them all change it, and wear items such as tyres and brake pads are common fails. Compare a model only with cars of the same age. Methodology and limits.

Looking at one Chevrolet Spark?

These are figures for the model, not for one car. The VetTheCar Buying Report looks at a single car: its MOT tests, defects, advisories and mileage readings.

See an example report Browse the car tools

Source

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data, class 4 normal MOT tests, 2022 to 2025. MOT data updated 22 September 2026.

Not affiliated with or endorsed by DVSA. How we calculate these figures · Data sources