Common problems

Mazda MX-5 common problems

What MOT testers find on the Mazda MX-5: the parts that fail or get advisories most often at each age, against all cars of the same age. From 348,258 DVSA MOT tests taken 2022 to 2025.

MOT data updated 28 September 2026

At 16 years, the most tested age

Suspension fails per 100 MOTs (n=24,545)15.0

All cars at 16 years (n=4,858,625)17.1

Suspension advisories and minor defects per 100 MOTs (n=24,545)25.9

All cars, same age (n=4,858,625)33.7

What stands out

No part area of the Mazda MX-5 fails more than 1 point per 100 MOTs above all cars at 16 years old (n=24,545; all cars n=4,858,625).
Lights and electrics fails are less common: 8.4 per 100 MOTs against 20.4 for all cars at the same age.
The fail item testers record most often at 16 years: coil spring broken, on 5.7 per 100 MOTs (all cars 3.9).
The most common advisory or minor defect: brake discs: worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened, on 10.2 per 100 MOTs.

Problems by part at 16 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 MX-5 at 16 years (n=24,545) against all cars at 16 years (n=4,858,625). Per 100 MOTs.
Area	Fails	All cars	Advisories	All cars
Suspension	15.0	17.1	25.9	33.7
Lights and electrics	8.4	20.4	6.9	15.3
Brakes	7.2	11.6	23.3	29.5
Windscreen, wipers and mirrors	4.9	6.8	3.6	5.7
Exhaust, emissions and leaks	4.1	6.2	2.0	12.0
Tyres	3.4	7.5	17.9	28.4
Body and structure	3.3	7.6	5.4	12.6
Seat belts and airbags	1.3	2.1	0.5	1.1
Number plates and VIN	0.4	0.6	2.0	4.8
Steering	0.2	3.4	0.4	4.6
Road wheels	0.2	0.6	0.9	1.5

What testers fail most on the MX-5 at 16 years

Fail items on the Mazda MX-5 at 16 years (n=24,545), per 100 MOTs, with all cars at the same age (n=4,858,625).
Item	Area	Per 100 MOTs	All cars	Typical repair (estimate)
Coil spring broken	Suspension	5.7	3.9	£64 to £236 per spring (rough guide)
Component mounting prescribed areas: prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength	Suspension	3.6	1.5
Service brake performance: excessively binding	Brakes	2.8	1.4	£55 to £267 per wheel (rough guide)
Wipers not clearing screen	Windscreen, wipers and mirrors	2.4	2.6	£15 to £30 per blade
Side/position light not working	Lights and electrics	2.4	5.9	£10 to £47 per lamp
Washers: provides insufficient washer liquid	Windscreen, wipers and mirrors	1.8	2.3	£2 to £14 per car (rough guide)
Catalyst emissions: Lambda reading after 2nd fast idle outside specified limits	Exhaust, emissions and leaks	1.6	1.2
Linkage ball joint dust cover: ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt	Suspension	1.5	1.8	£33 to £102 per link (rough guide)
Dipped headlight not working	Lights and electrics	1.5	2.4	£18 to £86 per lamp
Brake pads under 1.5 mm	Brakes	1.4	2.0	£72 to £174 per axle (rough guide)

Early warnings: advisories and minor defects at 16 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 MX-5 at 16 years (n=24,545), per 100 MOTs, with all cars at the same age (n=4,858,625).
Item	Area	Per 100 MOTs	All cars	If it needs replacing (estimate)
Brake discs: worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened	Brakes	10.2	11.2	£148 to £376 per axle (rough guide)
Tyre condition: slightly damaged/cracking or perishing	Tyres	8.6	9.5	£88 to £145 per tyre
Sub-frame: corroded but not seriously weakened	Suspension	8.4	5.3
Tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge	Tyres	8.4	18.2	£88 to £145 per tyre
Brake pads: wearing thin	Brakes	7.0	6.8	£72 to £174 per axle (rough guide)
Service brake performance: binding but not excessively	Brakes	5.5	2.4	£55 to £267 per wheel (rough guide)
Linkage ball joints: ball joint has slight play	Suspension	4.9	2.7	£33 to £102 per link (rough guide)
Suspension arm pins and bushes: pin or bush worn but not resulting in excessive movement	Suspension	3.8	8.7	£92 to £237 per arm (rough guide)
Coil spring: corroded	Suspension	2.8	7.4
Registration plate lamp(s): inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources	Lights and electrics	2.5	5.9

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 16 years. Ages with fewer than 1,000 tests are not shown.
Age	Tests (n)	Suspension	Lights and electrics	Brakes
3 years	8,032	0.2	1.8	1.1
4 years	10,933	0.2	1.5	1.2
5 years	13,996	0.4	1.8	2.2
6 years	17,006	0.7	1.7	2.8
7 years	15,956	1.3	2.1	3.6
8 years	14,570	2.1	2.6	4.4
9 years	13,087	3.7	3.7	4.8
10 years	12,116	5.3	4.4	4.6
11 years	12,545	7.6	5.4	4.7
12 years	14,455	9.3	6.3	5.7
13 years	15,540	10.2	6.4	5.8
14 years	17,924	12.3	7.3	6.7
15 years	22,503	13.4	7.8	7.0
16 years	24,545	15.0	8.4	7.2
17 years	23,640	14.7	9.3	8.1
18 years	21,375	14.2	9.8	9.6
19 years	18,187	14.3	11.2	11.1
20 years	14,809	12.2	11.8	12.7
21 years	12,900	11.6	11.9	13.1
22 years	12,285	11.6	12.6	12.9
23 years	11,279	10.4	14.2	13.2
24 years	10,570	9.4	14.3	12.5
25 years	10,005	10.0	13.7	12.7

Mileage

At 16 years, Mazda MX-5 cars showing under 30,000 miles failed 16.9% of MOTs (n=1,440); the band that failed most, 120,000 to 150,000 miles, failed 44.6% (n=1,218). For pass and fail rates by age, see Mazda MX-5 MOT fail rates.

What to check on a viewing

On the Mazda MX-5, testers most often record coil spring broken; component mounting prescribed areas: prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength; service brake performance: excessively binding. 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.

Brakes

On the test drive the car should stop in a straight line without pulling, juddering or grinding.
Look at the discs through the wheels for a deep lip, heavy rust or scoring.
Check that the handbrake or electronic parking brake holds the car on a slope.
Ask when the pads, discs and brake fluid were last changed, and for the receipts.

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 MX-5?

At 16 years, the age with the most MOT tests (24,545), the fail items testers record most often on the Mazda MX-5 are coil spring broken (5.7 per 100 MOTs), component mounting prescribed areas: prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength (3.6 per 100 MOTs), service brake performance: excessively binding (2.8 per 100 MOTs). The most common advisories or minor defects are brake discs: worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened (10.2) and tyre condition: slightly damaged/cracking or perishing (8.6).

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

None by more than 1 point per 100 MOTs at 16 years, compared with 4,858,625 MOTs of all cars the same age.

Mazda MX-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 MX-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