MOT fail rates

Mazda 5 MOT fail rate by age

How often the Mazda 5 fails its MOT at each age, compared with all cars of the same age, and what it fails on. From 44,929 DVSA MOT tests taken 2022 to 2025.

MOT data updated 22 September 2026

At 15 years, the most tested age

MOT fail rate at age 15 (n=7,427)52.1%

All cars at 15 years (n=5,591,675)41.6%

Median mileage at test106,945

All cars, median mileage100,157

270 of 280 model groups with enough tests fail less often at 15 years.

What stands out

At 8 years the Mazda 5 fails 30.6% of MOTs (1,323 tests), 6.9 points above the 23.8% for all cars that age. At 18 years it fails 54.2% (2,018 tests), 10.9 points above the 43.3% average.
The gap is widest at 16 years: 11.2 points above all cars.
Its most common structural or mechanical fail item at 15 years: Suspension arm bush worn, at 8.3 per 100 MOTs.

MOT fail rate by age

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

Mazda 5: 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
8 years	30.6%	1,323	23.8%	+6.9 pts	67,700 miles
9 years	35.0%	2,078	27.1%	+7.9 pts	74,779 miles
10 years	35.5%	2,927	30.3%	+5.2 pts	82,484 miles
11 years	38.7%	3,116	33.3%	+5.5 pts	89,517 miles
12 years	44.5%	4,110	36.0%	+8.5 pts	93,599 miles
13 years	46.8%	4,960	38.3%	+8.6 pts	97,207 miles
14 years	50.1%	6,570	40.3%	+9.9 pts	102,373 miles
15 years	52.1%	7,427	41.6%	+10.5 pts	106,945 miles
16 years	53.8%	6,217	42.6%	+11.2 pts	110,497 miles
17 years	51.7%	4,183	43.1%	+8.7 pts	113,573 miles
18 years	54.2%	2,018	43.3%	+10.9 pts	115,041 miles

Most common fail items at 15 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 bush worn Major	8.3
Suspension ball joint worn Major	7.6
Driveshaft CV boot split Major	6.2
Anti-roll bar link worn Major	5.6
Exhaust system: has a major leak of exhaust gases Major	4.9

Out of 7,427 MOTs. A test with two faults counts twice.

Wear and upkeep

Fail item	Per 100 MOTs
Side/position light not working Major	10.8
Dipped headlight not working Major	5.7
Headlamp aim: projected beam image is obviously incorrect Major	5.6
Tyre tread below 1.6 mm Dangerous	5.3
Wipers not clearing screen Major	5

Out of 7,427 MOTs. A test with two faults counts twice.

Other models at 15 years

Model	MOT fail rate	Tests (n)	All cars
Mazda 2	45.6%	35,817	41.6%
Mazda 3	45.3%	29,030	41.6%
Mazda MX-5	28.7%	22,503	41.6%

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
2007	18 years in 2025	53.7%	1,111	43.3%
2008	17 years in 2025	49.5%	1,390	43.1%
2009	16 years in 2025	53.2%	1,031	42.6%
2010	15 years in 2025	50.8%	1,253	41.6%

More on the Mazda 5

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 5?

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