Common problems

Rover 45 common problems

What MOT testers find on the Rover 45: the parts that fail or get advisories most often at each age, against all cars of the same age. From 7,621 DVSA MOT tests taken 2022 to 2025.

MOT data updated 28 September 2026

At 20 years, the most tested age

Body and structure fails per 100 MOTs (n=1,773)16.4

All cars at 20 years (n=1,845,952)9.2

Suspension advisories and minor defects per 100 MOTs (n=1,773)32.5

All cars, same age (n=1,845,952)35.2

What stands out

Body and structure fails show up on 16.4 of every 100 MOTs of a Rover 45 at 20 years old (n=1,773), against 9.2 for all cars of that age (n=1,845,952).
Lights and electrics fails are less common: 15.6 per 100 MOTs against 21.2 for all cars at the same age.
The fail item testers record most often at 20 years: component mounting prescribed areas: prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength, on 9.2 per 100 MOTs (all cars 2.9).
The most common advisory or minor defect: rigid brake pipes: corroded, covered in grease or other material, on 14.8 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.

Rover 45 at 20 years (n=1,773) against all cars at 20 years (n=1,845,952). Per 100 MOTs.
Area	Fails	All cars	Advisories	All cars
Body and structure	16.4	9.2	22.8	15.6
Suspension	15.9	16.5	32.5	35.2
Lights and electrics	15.6	21.2	8.0	17.4
Brakes	13.4	13.5	30.6	33.7
Windscreen, wipers and mirrors	7.7	7.6	4.3	6.4
Exhaust, emissions and leaks	7.4	7.0	11.3	15.6
Tyres	6.4	6.4	24.6	26.1
Seat belts and airbags	4.5	3.1	2.0	1.5
Steering	2.1	4.2	3.4	6.5
Number plates and VIN	0.7	0.7	6.7	6.3
Road wheels	0.2	0.4	1.6	1.1

What testers fail most on the 45 at 20 years

Fail items on the Rover 45 at 20 years (n=1,773), per 100 MOTs, with all cars at the same age (n=1,845,952).
Item	Area	Per 100 MOTs	All cars	Typical repair (estimate)
Component mounting prescribed areas: prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength	Suspension	9.2	2.9
Driveshaft CV boot split	Body and structure	7.8	3.1	£88 to £196 per boot (rough guide)
Brake light not working	Lights and electrics	5.1	3.9	£10 to £47 per lamp
Exhaust system: has a major leak of exhaust gases	Body and structure	4.3	2.2	£182 to £263 per section
Wipers not clearing screen	Windscreen, wipers and mirrors	4.3	3.4	£15 to £30 per blade
Rigid brake pipes: excessively corroded	Brakes	3.5	2.5	£137 to £392 per car (rough guide)
Service brake performance: excessively binding	Brakes	3.3	1.5	£55 to £267 per wheel (rough guide)
Side/position light not working	Lights and electrics	3.1	5.2	£10 to £47 per lamp
Airbag (SRS) warning light on	Seat belts and airbags	3.0	1.4	diagnosis from £39 (rough guide)
Handbrake too weak	Brakes	2.9	2.8

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 Rover 45 at 20 years (n=1,773), 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)
Rigid brake pipes: corroded, covered in grease or other material	Brakes	14.8	15.2	£137 to £392 per car (rough guide)
Tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge	Tyres	13.8	15.7	£88 to £145 per tyre
Suspension arm pins and bushes: pin or bush worn but not resulting in excessive movement	Suspension	12.9	7.7	£92 to £237 per arm (rough guide)
Tyre condition: slightly damaged/cracking or perishing	Tyres	11.2	10.2	£88 to £145 per tyre
Component mounting prescribed areas: prescribed area is corroded but not considered excessive	Suspension	10.1	3.4
Engine oil leaks: leak, but not excessive	Exhaust, emissions and leaks	9.6	14.1
Brake discs: worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened	Brakes	7.3	10.7	£148 to £376 per axle (rough guide)
Exhaust system: has a minor leak of exhaust gases	Body and structure	6.9	5.4	£182 to £263 per section
Registration plates: deteriorated but not likely to be misread	Number plates and VIN	6.6	6.2	£23 to £63 per plate (rough guide)
Drive shaft joints: constant velocity boot severely deteriorated	Body and structure	6.6	3.8

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 20 years. Ages with fewer than 1,000 tests are not shown.
Age	Tests (n)	Body and structure	Suspension	Lights and electrics
18 years	1,069	16.9	13.3	19.1
19 years	1,529	15.5	15.6	16.9
20 years	1,773	16.4	15.9	15.6
21 years	1,770	16.1	15.0	14.1
22 years	1,480	16.0	15.5	13.9

What to check on a viewing

On the Rover 45, testers most often record component mounting prescribed areas: prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength; driveshaft CV boot split; brake light not working. Look at these first, then the areas below.

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.

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.

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 Rover 45?

At 20 years, the age with the most MOT tests (1,773), the fail items testers record most often on the Rover 45 are component mounting prescribed areas: prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength (9.2 per 100 MOTs), driveshaft CV boot split (7.8 per 100 MOTs), brake light not working (5.1 per 100 MOTs). The most common advisories or minor defects are rigid brake pipes: corroded, covered in grease or other material (14.8) and tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge (13.8).

Which parts of the Rover 45 fail more often than on other cars?

At 20 years: body and structure (16.4 per 100 MOTs against 9.2 for all cars); seat belts and airbags (4.5 per 100 MOTs against 3.1 for all cars). Compared with 1,845,952 MOTs of all cars the same age.

Rover 45 problems by area

Other Rover models

All Rover 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 Rover 45?

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