Common problems

Mazda 5 common problems

What MOT testers find on the Mazda 5: the parts that fail or get advisories most often at each age, against all cars of the same age. From 44,929 DVSA MOT tests taken 2022 to 2025.

MOT data updated 28 September 2026

At 15 years, the most tested age

Suspension fails per 100 MOTs (n=7,427)27.0

All cars at 15 years (n=5,591,675)16.7

Suspension advisories and minor defects per 100 MOTs (n=7,427)48.3

All cars, same age (n=5,591,675)32.3

What stands out

Suspension fails show up on 27.0 of every 100 MOTs of a Mazda 5 at 15 years old (n=7,427), against 16.7 for all cars of that age (n=5,591,675).
Steering fails are less common: 1.8 per 100 MOTs against 3.3 for all cars at the same age.
The fail item testers record most often at 15 years: side/position light not working, on 9.2 per 100 MOTs (all cars 5.8).
The most common advisory or minor defect: tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge, on 23.2 per 100 MOTs.

Problems by part at 15 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 5 at 15 years (n=7,427) against all cars at 15 years (n=5,591,675). Per 100 MOTs.
Area	Fails	All cars	Advisories	All cars
Suspension	27.0	16.7	48.3	32.3
Lights and electrics	23.8	19.5	17.0	13.7
Body and structure	12.8	6.7	25.3	11.2
Exhaust, emissions and leaks	12.3	5.7	9.3	11.0
Brakes	11.7	10.7	27.1	27.8
Tyres	10.9	7.5	32.1	28.5
Windscreen, wipers and mirrors	7.9	6.5	4.6	5.4
Seat belts and airbags	2.9	1.7	1.4	1.0
Steering	1.8	3.3	3.6	4.3
Number plates and VIN	0.8	0.5	6.9	4.3
Road wheels	0.8	0.6	1.0	1.5

What testers fail most on the 5 at 15 years

Fail items on the Mazda 5 at 15 years (n=7,427), per 100 MOTs, with all cars at the same age (n=5,591,675).
Item	Area	Per 100 MOTs	All cars	Typical repair (estimate)
Side/position light not working	Lights and electrics	9.2	5.8	£10 to £47 per lamp
Suspension ball joint worn	Suspension	7.0	2.5	£75 to £237 per side (rough guide)
Driveshaft CV boot split	Body and structure	6.0	2.6	£88 to £196 per boot (rough guide)
Suspension arm bush worn	Suspension	5.8	2.1	£92 to £237 per arm (rough guide)
Dipped headlight not working	Lights and electrics	5.4	2.4	£18 to £86 per lamp
Exhaust system: has a major leak of exhaust gases	Body and structure	4.9	1.6	£182 to £263 per section
Catalyst emissions: Lambda reading after 2nd fast idle outside specified limits	Exhaust, emissions and leaks	4.5	1.1
Anti-roll bar link worn	Suspension	4.3	1.5	£33 to £102 per link (rough guide)
Headlamp aim: projected beam image is obviously incorrect	Lights and electrics	4.3	2.5	£16 to £39 per car (rough guide)
Brake pads under 1.5 mm	Brakes	4.3	2.0	£72 to £174 per axle (rough guide)

Early warnings: advisories and minor defects at 15 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 5 at 15 years (n=7,427), per 100 MOTs, with all cars at the same age (n=5,591,675).
Item	Area	Per 100 MOTs	All cars	If it needs replacing (estimate)
Tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge	Tyres	23.2	18.4	£88 to £145 per tyre
Brake discs: worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened	Brakes	14.1	11.1	£148 to £376 per axle (rough guide)
Sub-frame: corroded but not seriously weakened	Suspension	13.6	5.0
Suspension arm pins and bushes: pin or bush worn but not resulting in excessive movement	Suspension	12.9	8.5	£92 to £237 per arm (rough guide)
Brake pads: wearing thin	Brakes	11.4	6.9	£72 to £174 per axle (rough guide)
Exhaust system: has a minor leak of exhaust gases	Body and structure	9.9	4.2	£182 to £263 per section
Linkage ball joints: ball joint has slight play	Suspension	8.6	2.6	£33 to £102 per link (rough guide)
Drive shaft joints: constant velocity boot severely deteriorated	Body and structure	8.1	3.0
Suspension arm: corroded but not seriously weakened	Suspension	7.8	2.6	£92 to £237 per arm (rough guide)
Engine oil leaks: leak, but not excessive	Exhaust, emissions and leaks	7.4	9.8

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 15 years. Ages with fewer than 1,000 tests are not shown.
Age	Tests (n)	Suspension	Lights and electrics	Body and structure
8 years	1,323	10.6	6.6	2.5
9 years	2,078	15.1	9.5	2.8
10 years	2,927	16.7	9.9	3.5
11 years	3,116	18.8	12.1	5.3
12 years	4,110	22.0	16.9	7.6
13 years	4,960	24.3	18.3	9.7
14 years	6,570	26.2	22.6	11.9
15 years	7,427	27.0	23.8	12.8
16 years	6,217	29.2	26.1	14.4
17 years	4,183	28.1	25.7	15.4
18 years	2,018	28.1	26.0	15.0

Mileage

At 15 years, Mazda 5 cars showing 60,000 to 90,000 miles failed 48.6% of MOTs (n=1,626); the band that failed most, 120,000 to 150,000 miles, failed 55.2% (n=1,775). For pass and fail rates by age, see Mazda 5 MOT fail rates.

What to check on a viewing

On the Mazda 5, testers most often record side/position light not working; suspension ball joint worn; driveshaft CV boot split. 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.

Body and structure

Look underneath at the sills, floor, subframes and jacking points for corrosion, or for fresh underseal that may hide it.
Check that doors, bonnet and boot open, close and latch properly.
Look for loose trim, sharp edges or damage around the bumpers and wheel arches.

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 5?

At 15 years, the age with the most MOT tests (7,427), the fail items testers record most often on the Mazda 5 are side/position light not working (9.2 per 100 MOTs), suspension ball joint worn (7.0 per 100 MOTs), driveshaft CV boot split (6.0 per 100 MOTs). The most common advisories or minor defects are tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge (23.2) and brake discs: worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened (14.1).

Which parts of the Mazda 5 fail more often than on other cars?

At 15 years: suspension (27.0 per 100 MOTs against 16.7 for all cars); exhaust, emissions and leaks (12.3 per 100 MOTs against 5.7 for all cars); body and structure (12.8 per 100 MOTs against 6.7 for all cars). Compared with 5,591,675 MOTs of all cars the same age.

Mazda 5 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 5?

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