Common problems

MG TF common problems

What MOT testers find on the MG TF: the parts that fail or get advisories most often at each age, against all cars of the same age. From 36,093 DVSA MOT tests taken 2022 to 2025.

MOT data updated 28 September 2026

At 20 years, the most tested age

Brakes fails per 100 MOTs (n=8,863)10.7

All cars at 20 years (n=1,845,952)13.5

Brakes advisories and minor defects per 100 MOTs (n=8,863)27.4

All cars, same age (n=1,845,952)33.7

What stands out

No part area of the MG TF fails more than 1 point per 100 MOTs above all cars at 20 years old (n=8,863; all cars n=1,845,952).
Lights and electrics fails are less common: 10.4 per 100 MOTs against 21.2 for all cars at the same age.
The fail item testers record most often at 20 years: handbrake too weak, on 4.9 per 100 MOTs (all cars 2.8).
The most common advisory or minor defect: brake discs: worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened, on 14.4 per 100 MOTs.

Problems by part at 20 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.

MG TF at 20 years (n=8,863) against all cars at 20 years (n=1,845,952). Per 100 MOTs.
Area	Fails	All cars	Advisories	All cars
Brakes	10.7	13.5	27.4	33.7
Lights and electrics	10.4	21.2	7.1	17.4
Suspension	10.1	16.5	26.7	35.2
Exhaust, emissions and leaks	7.9	7.0	7.9	15.6
Windscreen, wipers and mirrors	6.4	7.6	2.9	6.4
Body and structure	3.6	9.2	6.5	15.6
Tyres	3.5	6.4	15.1	26.1
Steering	3.0	4.2	5.9	6.5
Seat belts and airbags	2.3	3.1	0.9	1.5
Number plates and VIN	0.3	0.7	1.2	6.3
Road wheels	0.2	0.4	1.3	1.1

What testers fail most on the TF at 20 years

Fail items on the MG TF at 20 years (n=8,863), per 100 MOTs, with all cars at the same age (n=1,845,952).
Item	Area	Per 100 MOTs	All cars	Typical repair (estimate)
Handbrake too weak	Brakes	4.9	2.8
Horn: not working	Lights and electrics	2.9	0.7	£33 to £113 per car (rough guide)
Suspension arm: corroded and seriously weakened	Suspension	2.7	0.3	£92 to £237 per arm (rough guide)
Steering track rod end: ball joint play	Steering	2.5	2.0	£54 to £128 per side (rough guide)
Wipers not clearing screen	Windscreen, wipers and mirrors	2.3	3.4	£15 to £30 per blade
Catalyst emissions: Lambda reading after 2nd fast idle outside specified limits	Exhaust, emissions and leaks	2.3	1.5
Washers: provides insufficient washer liquid	Windscreen, wipers and mirrors	2.1	2.2	£2 to £14 per car (rough guide)
Malfunction indicator lamp: inoperative or indicates a malfunction	Exhaust, emissions and leaks	2.0	2.5	diagnosis from £39 (rough guide)
Component mounting prescribed areas: prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength	Suspension	1.9	2.9
Suspension ball joint worn	Suspension	1.8	2.3	£75 to £237 per side (rough guide)

Early warnings: advisories and minor defects at 20 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 MG TF at 20 years (n=8,863), per 100 MOTs, with all cars at the same age (n=1,845,952).
Item	Area	Per 100 MOTs	All cars	If it needs replacing (estimate)
Brake discs: worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened	Brakes	14.4	10.7	£148 to £376 per axle (rough guide)
Sub-frame: corroded but not seriously weakened	Suspension	9.2	4.8
Rigid brake pipes: corroded, covered in grease or other material	Brakes	8.2	15.2	£137 to £392 per car (rough guide)
Tyre condition: slightly damaged/cracking or perishing	Tyres	7.9	10.2	£88 to £145 per tyre
Engine oil leaks: leak, but not excessive	Exhaust, emissions and leaks	7.3	14.1
Tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge	Tyres	6.9	15.7	£88 to £145 per tyre
Suspension arm ball joint: ball joint has slight play	Suspension	5.7	2.7	£75 to £237 per side (rough guide)
Track rod end: ball joint has slight play	Steering	5.1	2.3	£54 to £128 per side (rough guide)
Suspension arm pins and bushes: pin or bush worn but not resulting in excessive movement	Suspension	4.2	7.7	£92 to £237 per arm (rough guide)
Play in steering rack inner joint(s)	Other	3.9	3.6

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 20 years. Ages with fewer than 1,000 tests are not shown.
Age	Tests (n)	Brakes	Lights and electrics	Suspension
17 years	1,897	8.2	9.1	11.2
18 years	4,733	9.6	9.0	10.7
19 years	7,588	9.9	10.9	10.9
20 years	8,863	10.7	10.4	10.1
21 years	7,018	11.5	10.0	9.8
22 years	4,337	12.7	11.4	9.7
23 years	1,657	11.0	9.5	8.6

Mileage

At 20 years, MG TF cars showing 30,000 to 60,000 miles failed 27.4% of MOTs (n=3,596); the band that failed most, 60,000 to 90,000 miles, failed 36.2% (n=3,282). For pass and fail rates by age, see MG TF MOT fail rates.

What to check on a viewing

On the MG TF, testers most often record handbrake too weak; horn: not working; suspension arm: corroded and seriously weakened. Look at these first, then the areas below.

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.

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.

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.

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 MG TF?

At 20 years, the age with the most MOT tests (8,863), the fail items testers record most often on the MG TF are handbrake too weak (4.9 per 100 MOTs), horn: not working (2.9 per 100 MOTs), suspension arm: corroded and seriously weakened (2.7 per 100 MOTs). The most common advisories or minor defects are brake discs: worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened (14.4) and sub-frame: corroded but not seriously weakened (9.2).

Which parts of the MG TF fail more often than on other cars?

None by more than 1 point per 100 MOTs at 20 years, compared with 1,845,952 MOTs of all cars the same age.

MG TF problems by area

Other MG models

All MG 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 MG TF?

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