MOT fail rates

Jaguar S-Type MOT fail rate by age

How often the Jaguar S-Type fails its MOT at each age, compared with all cars of the same age, and what it fails on. From 49,246 DVSA MOT tests taken 2022 to 2025.

MOT data updated 22 September 2026

At 18 years, the most tested age

MOT fail rate at age 18 (n=7,774)36.5%

All cars at 18 years (n=3,261,622)43.3%

Median mileage at test93,413

All cars, median mileage105,218

51 of 238 model groups with enough tests fail less often at 18 years.

What stands out

At 15 years the Jaguar S-Type fails 33.6% of MOTs (2,614 tests), 8.0 points below the 41.6% for all cars that age. At 24 years it fails 39.5% (1,825 tests), 1.7 points above the 37.8% average.
It moves from below to above the all-car rate between 23 and 24 years.
Its most common structural or mechanical fail item at 18 years: Suspension arm ball joint dust cover: ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt, at 5.9 per 100 MOTs.

MOT fail rate by age

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

Jaguar S-Type: 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
15 years	33.6%	2,614	41.6%	−8.0 pts	90,145 miles
16 years	35.6%	4,688	42.6%	−7.0 pts	93,146 miles
17 years	36.5%	6,310	43.1%	−6.6 pts	94,125 miles
18 years	36.5%	7,774	43.3%	−6.8 pts	93,413 miles
19 years	37.0%	7,057	43.2%	−6.2 pts	93,341 miles
20 years	37.4%	6,341	42.8%	−5.3 pts	91,498 miles
21 years	38.5%	5,238	42.1%	−3.6 pts	89,973 miles
22 years	38.0%	4,230	41.0%	−3.0 pts	89,344 miles
23 years	38.5%	3,169	39.6%	−1.2 pts	86,878 miles
24 years	39.5%	1,825	37.8%	+1.7 pts	84,230 miles

Most common fail items at 18 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
Suspension arm ball joint dust cover: ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt Major	5.9
Track rod end: ball joint dust cover excessively damaged or deteriorated so that it no longer prevents the ingress of dirt Major	5.8
Suspension arm bush worn Major	5.5
Suspension rod ball joint dust cover: ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt Major	4.1
Linkage ball joint dust cover: ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt Major	4.1
Malfunction indicator lamp: inoperative or indicates a malfunction Major	3.3

Out of 7,774 MOTs. A test with two faults counts twice.

Wear and upkeep

Fail item	Per 100 MOTs
Wipers not clearing screen Major	3.7
Headlamp aim: too low Major	3.4
Side/position light not working Major	3.2
Headlamp aim: projected beam image is obviously incorrect Major	3.1

Out of 7,774 MOTs. A test with two faults counts twice.

Other models at 18 years

Model	MOT fail rate	Tests (n)	All cars
Jaguar X-Type	44.1%	13,832	43.3%
Jaguar XK	25.7%	6,701	43.3%
Jaguar XJ	29.4%	5,998	43.3%

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
2002	22 years in 2024	39.7%	1,116	41.0%
2003	22 years in 2025	36.4%	1,210	41.0%
2004	21 years in 2025	35.0%	1,445	42.1%
2005	20 years in 2025	37.6%	1,324	42.8%
2006	19 years in 2025	33.5%	1,447	43.2%
2007	18 years in 2025	34.2%	1,654	43.3%

More on the Jaguar S-Type

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 Jaguar S-Type?

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