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MOT fail rates

Mazda MX-5 MOT fail rate by age

How often the Mazda MX-5 fails its MOT at each age, compared with all cars of the same age, and what it fails on. From 348,258 DVSA MOT tests taken 2022 to 2025.

MOT data updated

At 16 years, the most tested age

MOT fail rate at age 16 (n=24,545)30.9%
All cars at 16 years (n=4,858,625)42.6%
Median mileage at test69,518
All cars, median mileage102,757

37 of 264 model groups with enough tests fail less often at 16 years.

What stands out

  • At 3 years the Mazda MX-5 fails 5.9% of MOTs (8,032 tests), 6.1 points below the 12.1% for all cars that age. At 25 years it fails 35.0% (10,005 tests), 1.3 points below the 36.3% average.
  • The gap is widest at 13 years: 14.4 points below all cars.
  • Its most common structural or mechanical fail item at 16 years: Coil spring broken, at 6.7 per 100 MOTs.

MOT fail rate by age

3 years 25 years 47.6%

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

Mazda MX-5: 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 years5.9%8,03212.1%−6.1 pts11,539 miles
4 years6.4%10,93313.4%−6.9 pts15,586 miles
5 years8.8%13,99615.3%−6.5 pts19,522 miles
6 years9.5%17,00617.8%−8.3 pts24,190 miles
7 years11.0%15,95620.6%−9.6 pts28,604 miles
8 years12.6%14,57023.8%−11.2 pts32,603 miles
9 years15.3%13,08727.1%−11.9 pts37,181 miles
10 years17.2%12,11630.3%−13.1 pts40,369 miles
11 years20.1%12,54533.3%−13.1 pts44,241 miles
12 years22.9%14,45536.0%−13.1 pts49,487 miles
13 years23.8%15,54038.3%−14.4 pts54,081 miles
14 years26.2%17,92440.3%−14.1 pts59,189 miles
15 years28.7%22,50341.6%−12.9 pts64,755 miles
16 years30.9%24,54542.6%−11.6 pts69,518 miles
17 years32.3%23,64043.1%−10.8 pts72,517 miles
18 years33.9%21,37543.3%−9.4 pts75,206 miles
19 years35.7%18,18743.2%−7.5 pts76,513 miles
20 years35.5%14,80942.8%−7.3 pts78,312 miles
21 years34.7%12,90042.1%−7.3 pts80,581 miles
22 years35.8%12,28541.0%−5.2 pts83,611 miles
23 years36.0%11,27939.6%−3.6 pts87,520 miles
24 years34.5%10,57037.8%−3.3 pts90,115 miles
25 years35.0%10,00536.3%−1.3 pts91,056 miles

Most common fail items at 16 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
Coil spring broken Major6.7
Component mounting prescribed areas: prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength Major5.9
Service brake performance: excessively binding Major3.2
Linkage ball joint dust cover: ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt Major2.5
Catalyst emissions: Lambda reading after 2nd fast idle outside specified limits Major1.7

Out of 24,545 MOTs. A test with two faults counts twice.

Wear and upkeep

Fail itemPer 100 MOTs
Wipers not clearing screen Major3.2
Side/position light not working Major2.7
Headlamp aim: projected beam image is obviously incorrect Major1.9
Washers: provides insufficient washer liquid Major1.8
Brake pads under 1.5 mm Dangerous1.6

Out of 24,545 MOTs. A test with two faults counts twice.

Other models at 16 years

ModelMOT fail rateTests (n)All cars
Mazda 346.9%24,54042.6%
Mazda 245.8%23,71442.6%
Mazda 644.9%11,67142.6%

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 .

Latest MOT age with at least 1,000 tests for each first-use year.
First usedAge at testMOT fail rateTests (n)All cars
199825 years in 202333.5%2,83536.3%
199925 years in 202436.3%2,65136.3%
200025 years in 202536.2%2,41836.3%
200124 years in 202532.6%1,75637.8%
200223 years in 202533.9%2,83339.6%
200322 years in 202536.2%3,57541.0%
200421 years in 202534.7%2,78642.1%
200520 years in 202533.5%2,97742.8%
200619 years in 202532.6%5,91843.2%
200718 years in 202530.2%7,34643.3%
200817 years in 202531.0%5,21943.1%
200916 years in 202528.5%4,08642.6%
201015 years in 202526.6%4,61441.6%
201114 years in 202523.8%3,37040.3%
201213 years in 202520.3%3,11938.3%
201312 years in 202520.7%3,10736.0%
201411 years in 202519.5%2,84533.3%
201510 years in 202514.7%2,98930.3%
20169 years in 202513.8%4,11027.1%
20178 years in 202510.9%4,58023.8%
20187 years in 202510.8%4,26320.6%
20196 years in 20258.6%4,02217.8%
20205 years in 20258.2%1,06215.3%
20214 years in 20255.4%1,47413.4%

More on the Mazda MX-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 MX-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