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MOT fail rates

Mazda 2 MOT fail rate by age

How often the Mazda 2 fails its MOT at each age, compared with all cars of the same age, and what it fails on. From 509,644 DVSA MOT tests taken 2022 to 2025.

MOT data updated

At 13 years, the most tested age

MOT fail rate at age 13 (n=45,716)41.4%
All cars at 13 years (n=6,612,160)38.3%
Median mileage at test76,441
All cars, median mileage92,305

202 of 293 model groups with enough tests fail less often at 13 years.

What stands out

  • At 3 years the Mazda 2 fails 7.4% of MOTs (21,809 tests), 4.6 points below the 12.1% for all cars that age. At 21 years it fails 42.6% (1,041 tests), about the same as the 42.1% average.
  • It moves from above to below the all-car rate between 17 and 18 years.
  • Its most common structural or mechanical fail item at 13 years: Suspension ball joint worn, at 10.1 per 100 MOTs.

MOT fail rate by age

3 years 21 years 50.5%

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

Mazda 2: share of MOT tests that failed, by age, against all cars. Ages with fewer than 1,000 tests are not shown.
AgeMOT fail rateTests (n)All carsDifferenceMedian mileage
3 years7.4%21,80912.1%−4.6 pts15,269 miles
4 years9.4%24,46813.4%−4.0 pts20,497 miles
5 years11.7%28,48615.3%−3.6 pts26,467 miles
6 years15.0%34,49117.8%−2.8 pts33,375 miles
7 years17.5%35,99820.6%−3.1 pts40,433 miles
8 years20.6%36,30623.8%−3.2 pts46,721 miles
9 years25.0%37,29627.1%−2.1 pts52,983 miles
10 years30.3%36,19930.3%0.0 pts57,941 miles
11 years35.1%37,03233.3%+1.9 pts62,852 miles
12 years38.6%41,50236.0%+2.6 pts70,145 miles
13 years41.4%45,71638.3%+3.1 pts76,441 miles
14 years43.5%44,99240.3%+3.2 pts82,854 miles
15 years45.6%35,81741.6%+4.0 pts87,536 miles
16 years45.8%23,71442.6%+3.2 pts89,697 miles
17 years45.9%12,66343.1%+2.9 pts89,542 miles
18 years41.8%6,12343.3%−1.5 pts81,281 miles
19 years42.8%3,77743.2%−0.4 pts79,768 miles
20 years42.3%2,21442.8%−0.5 pts81,838 miles
21 years42.6%1,04142.1%+0.5 pts82,140 miles

Most common fail items at 13 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 itemPer 100 MOTs
Suspension ball joint worn Major10.1
Coil spring broken Major6.7
Steering track rod end: ball joint play Major5.9
Rigid brake pipes: excessively corroded Major5.1
Shock absorber leaking Major3.1

Out of 45,716 MOTs. A test with two faults counts twice.

Wear and upkeep

Fail itemPer 100 MOTs
Side/position light not working Major7.3
Wipers not clearing screen Major4.7
Headlamp aim: projected beam image is obviously incorrect Major4.5
Tyre tread below 1.6 mm Dangerous3.1
Dipped headlight not working Major2.6

Out of 45,716 MOTs. A test with two faults counts twice.

Other models at 13 years

ModelMOT fail rateTests (n)All cars
Mazda 340.1%27,77438.3%
Mazda 639.0%17,93138.3%
Mazda MX-523.8%15,54038.3%

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 .

Latest MOT age with at least 1,000 tests for each first-use year.
First usedAge at testMOT fail rateTests (n)All cars
200419 years in 202342.8%1,07243.2%
200519 years in 202443.5%1,09043.2%
200619 years in 202542.6%1,03143.2%
200718 years in 202542.0%2,33343.3%
200817 years in 202549.1%6,91543.1%
200916 years in 202546.3%11,03142.6%
201015 years in 202545.3%11,58341.6%
201114 years in 202540.5%10,25040.3%
201213 years in 202538.1%8,67538.3%
201312 years in 202537.0%8,44036.0%
201411 years in 202532.6%8,37233.3%
201510 years in 202524.4%9,97830.3%
20169 years in 202521.6%10,09327.1%
20178 years in 202518.1%7,68923.8%
20187 years in 202514.3%8,10620.6%
20196 years in 202512.4%8,42917.8%
20205 years in 20259.9%4,12515.3%
20214 years in 20259.1%3,66913.4%
20223 years in 20257.2%5,20012.1%

More on the Mazda 2

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 Mazda 2?

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