Common problems

Mazda 2 common problems

What MOT testers find on the Mazda 2: the parts that fail or get advisories most often at each age, against all cars of the same age. From 509,644 DVSA MOT tests taken 2022 to 2025.

MOT data updated 28 September 2026

At 13 years, the most tested age

Suspension fails per 100 MOTs (n=45,716)20.0

All cars at 13 years (n=6,612,160)14.9

Tyres advisories and minor defects per 100 MOTs (n=45,716)28.4

All cars, same age (n=6,612,160)28.1

What stands out

Suspension fails show up on 20.0 of every 100 MOTs of a Mazda 2 at 13 years old (n=45,716), against 14.9 for all cars of that age (n=6,612,160).
Brakes fails are less common: 5.6 per 100 MOTs against 9.1 for all cars at the same age.
The fail item testers record most often at 13 years: suspension ball joint worn, on 9.0 per 100 MOTs (all cars 2.5).
The most common advisory or minor defect: tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge, on 15.0 per 100 MOTs.

Problems by part at 13 years

How many of every 100 MOTs found a fail, or an advisory or minor defect, in each area. A test with faults in two areas counts in both.

Mazda 2 at 13 years (n=45,716) against all cars at 13 years (n=6,612,160). Per 100 MOTs.
Area	Fails	All cars	Advisories	All cars
Suspension	20.0	14.9	26.8	27.9
Lights and electrics	16.9	17.0	14.7	10.8
Tyres	8.0	7.3	28.4	28.1
Windscreen, wipers and mirrors	7.3	5.6	4.4	4.7
Steering	6.7	2.9	8.0	3.5
Brakes	5.6	9.1	24.9	25.0
Exhaust, emissions and leaks	2.9	4.3	5.8	8.2
Body and structure	2.2	5.0	4.8	8.0
Seat belts and airbags	0.6	1.2	0.4	0.7
Number plates and VIN	0.3	0.4	2.4	3.4
Road wheels	0.3	0.5	2.8	1.3

What testers fail most on the 2 at 13 years

Fail items on the Mazda 2 at 13 years (n=45,716), per 100 MOTs, with all cars at the same age (n=6,612,160).
Item	Area	Per 100 MOTs	All cars	Typical repair (estimate)
Suspension ball joint worn	Suspension	9.0	2.5	£75 to £237 per side (rough guide)
Side/position light not working	Lights and electrics	6.4	4.8	£10 to £47 per lamp
Coil spring broken	Suspension	6.1	4.1	£64 to £236 per spring (rough guide)
Steering track rod end: ball joint play	Steering	5.3	1.9	£54 to £128 per side (rough guide)
Wipers not clearing screen	Windscreen, wipers and mirrors	3.9	2.1	£15 to £30 per blade
Headlamp aim: projected beam image is obviously incorrect	Lights and electrics	3.4	1.8	£16 to £39 per car (rough guide)
Shock absorber leaking	Suspension	2.8	1.5	£122 to £484 per axle (pair) (rough guide)
Dipped headlight not working	Lights and electrics	2.6	2.2	£18 to £86 per lamp
Tyre tread below 1.6 mm	Tyres	2.4	3.0	£88 to £145 per tyre
Rigid brake pipes: excessively corroded	Brakes	2.2	0.9	£137 to £392 per car (rough guide)

Early warnings: advisories and minor defects at 13 years

Advisories and minor defects are recorded, but the car still passes. Across all cars, a part with an advisory or minor defect failed at the next MOT 5.5 times in 100 (n=88,666,940 pairs of consecutive MOTs), against 0.3 times in 100 when the same part had none (n=12,936,860,350).

Advisories and minor defects on the Mazda 2 at 13 years (n=45,716), per 100 MOTs, with all cars at the same age (n=6,612,160).
Item	Area	Per 100 MOTs	All cars	If it needs replacing (estimate)
Tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge	Tyres	15.0	18.2	£88 to £145 per tyre
Rigid brake pipes: corroded, covered in grease or other material	Brakes	13.1	5.1	£137 to £392 per car (rough guide)
Tyre condition: slightly damaged/cracking or perishing	Tyres	12.3	9.1	£88 to £145 per tyre
Sub-frame: corroded but not seriously weakened	Suspension	8.1	3.8
Brake discs: worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened	Brakes	7.0	10.6	£148 to £376 per axle (rough guide)
Coil spring: corroded	Suspension	6.0	5.6
Play in steering rack inner joint(s)	Other	5.7	2.1
Headlamp: lens slightly defective	Lights and electrics	5.5	0.9
Engine oil leaks: leak, but not excessive	Exhaust, emissions and leaks	5.5	7.2
Suspension arm ball joint: ball joint has slight play	Suspension	5.5	2.0	£75 to £237 per side (rough guide)

Repair estimates are a guide for an independent garage: labour at the national median local garage rate (median £78 an hour from 65 garages, ONS price quotes) times estimated labour hours, plus a parts band. Labour hours and most parts bands are estimates, not quotes, and prices vary by model, engine and region. A warning light fault shows the cost of the diagnosis only.

How problems change with age

Fails per 100 MOTs in the three most common areas at 13 years. Ages with fewer than 1,000 tests are not shown.
Age	Tests (n)	Suspension	Lights and electrics	Tyres
3 years	21,809	0.2	2.4	2.2
4 years	24,468	0.3	2.1	2.7
5 years	28,486	1.1	2.3	3.3
6 years	34,491	2.1	2.4	3.8
7 years	35,998	3.4	2.7	4.4
8 years	36,306	6.0	3.5	5.1
9 years	37,296	10.0	4.8	5.7
10 years	36,199	14.5	6.8	6.6
11 years	37,032	18.8	9.5	7.3
12 years	41,502	19.6	13.1	7.7
13 years	45,716	20.0	16.9	8.0
14 years	44,992	20.7	19.6	8.1
15 years	35,817	20.9	22.5	8.3
16 years	23,714	20.4	23.0	8.6
17 years	12,663	19.6	23.1	8.4
18 years	6,123	15.3	20.0	7.9
19 years	3,777	15.0	20.4	7.0
20 years	2,214	14.6	21.9	7.5
21 years	1,041	13.5	20.9	6.2

Mileage

At 13 years, Mazda 2 cars showing under 30,000 miles failed 20.4% of MOTs (n=1,990); the band that failed most, 120,000 to 150,000 miles, failed 53.5% (n=3,283). For pass and fail rates by age, see Mazda 2 MOT fail rates.

What to check on a viewing

On the Mazda 2, testers most often record suspension ball joint worn; side/position light not working; coil spring broken. Look at these first, then the areas below.

Suspension

Listen for knocks or clonks over speed bumps and rough roads on the test drive.
Push down hard on each corner: the car should settle at once rather than keep bouncing.
Look behind the wheels for broken or heavily rusted coil springs and split rubber bushes.
Check that the car sits level and that no tyre is worn on one edge only.

Lights and electrics

With someone outside, try every light: dipped and main beam, indicators, brake lights, fog lights and number plate lamps.
Check that the warning lights come on with the ignition and go out once the engine runs.
Look for misted, cracked or yellowed headlamp lenses.

Tyres

Check the tread across the full width of all four tyres, and the spare if there is one.
Look for cuts, bulges and cracking in the sidewalls.
Wear on one edge only can point to worn suspension or the tracking being out.

Ask for the car's MOT history and service record: advisories that repeat from one year to the next show what has been left. GOV.UK MOT history.

Questions

What are the most common problems on the Mazda 2?

At 13 years, the age with the most MOT tests (45,716), the fail items testers record most often on the Mazda 2 are suspension ball joint worn (9.0 per 100 MOTs), side/position light not working (6.4 per 100 MOTs), coil spring broken (6.1 per 100 MOTs). The most common advisories or minor defects are tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge (15.0) and rigid brake pipes: corroded, covered in grease or other material (13.1).

Which parts of the Mazda 2 fail more often than on other cars?

At 13 years: suspension (20.0 per 100 MOTs against 14.9 for all cars); steering (6.7 per 100 MOTs against 2.9 for all cars); windscreen, wipers and mirrors (7.3 per 100 MOTs against 5.6 for all cars). Compared with 6,612,160 MOTs of all cars the same age.

Mazda 2 problems by area

Other Mazda models

All Mazda models · Common problems by make

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.

The all cars figures cover all class 4 vehicles (cars and light vans) tested at the same age.

Looking at a Mazda 2?

These figures describe the model, not the car in front of you. Found one you might buy? See what the VetTheCar Buying Report covers, or use the tools that work without a registration.

See a sample report Car tools · MOT fail rates by model · Compare models by MOT record

Repair estimates: ONS consumer price quotes for local garage labour (09/2025 to 08/2026), the MOT inspection manual for defect wording, and estimated labour hours and parts bands. Not affiliated with or endorsed by ONS.

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 28 September 2026.

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