Common problems

Toyota Avensis common problems

What MOT testers find on the Toyota Avensis: the parts that fail or get advisories most often at each age, against all cars of the same age. From 270,911 DVSA MOT tests taken 2022 to 2025.

MOT data updated 28 September 2026

At 15 years, the most tested age

Lights and electrics fails per 100 MOTs (n=23,744)21.6

All cars at 15 years (n=5,591,675)19.5

Suspension advisories and minor defects per 100 MOTs (n=23,744)33.9

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

What stands out

Lights and electrics fails show up on 21.6 of every 100 MOTs of a Toyota Avensis at 15 years old (n=23,744), against 19.5 for all cars of that age (n=5,591,675).
Suspension fails are less common: 12.4 per 100 MOTs against 16.7 for all cars at the same age.
The fail item testers record most often at 15 years: side/position light not working, on 9.0 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 18.0 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.

Toyota Avensis at 15 years (n=23,744) against all cars at 15 years (n=5,591,675). Per 100 MOTs.
Area	Fails	All cars	Advisories	All cars
Lights and electrics	21.6	19.5	16.2	13.7
Suspension	12.4	16.7	33.9	32.3
Brakes	11.3	10.7	31.2	27.8
Tyres	6.5	7.5	27.2	28.5
Windscreen, wipers and mirrors	6.1	6.5	4.8	5.4
Exhaust, emissions and leaks	3.3	5.7	5.3	11.0
Body and structure	2.8	6.7	8.0	11.2
Steering	1.2	3.3	3.9	4.3
Seat belts and airbags	1.0	1.7	0.4	1.0
Number plates and VIN	0.5	0.5	6.1	4.3
Road wheels	0.4	0.6	0.4	1.5

What testers fail most on the Avensis at 15 years

Fail items on the Toyota Avensis at 15 years (n=23,744), 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	9.0	5.8	£10 to £47 per lamp
Coil spring broken	Suspension	5.2	4.1	£64 to £236 per spring (rough guide)
Brake light not working	Lights and electrics	3.1	3.7	£10 to £47 per lamp
Tyre tread below 1.6 mm	Tyres	2.8	3.1	£88 to £145 per tyre
Wipers not clearing screen	Windscreen, wipers and mirrors	2.7	2.4	£15 to £30 per blade
Dipped headlight not working	Lights and electrics	2.6	2.4	£18 to £86 per lamp
Brake pads under 1.5 mm	Brakes	2.5	2.0	£72 to £174 per axle (rough guide)
Side repeaters: not working	Lights and electrics	2.4	0.6	£10 to £47 per lamp
Rigid brake pipes: excessively corroded	Brakes	2.4	1.3	£137 to £392 per car (rough guide)
Headlamp aim: projected beam image is obviously incorrect	Lights and electrics	2.2	2.5	£16 to £39 per car (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 Toyota Avensis at 15 years (n=23,744), 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	18.0	18.4	£88 to £145 per tyre
Brake discs: worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened	Brakes	10.9	11.1	£148 to £376 per axle (rough guide)
Rigid brake pipes: corroded, covered in grease or other material	Brakes	10.6	7.2	£137 to £392 per car (rough guide)
Suspension arm: corroded but not seriously weakened	Suspension	9.9	2.6	£92 to £237 per arm (rough guide)
Brake pads: wearing thin	Brakes	9.4	6.9	£72 to £174 per axle (rough guide)
Coil spring: corroded	Suspension	8.5	7.0
Tyre condition: slightly damaged/cracking or perishing	Tyres	8.2	9.4	£88 to £145 per tyre
Sub-frame: corroded but not seriously weakened	Suspension	8.0	5.0
Suspension arm pins and bushes: pin or bush worn but not resulting in excessive movement	Suspension	7.6	8.5	£92 to £237 per arm (rough guide)
Registration plate lamp(s): inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources	Lights and electrics	6.5	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 15 years. Ages with fewer than 1,000 tests are not shown.
Age	Tests (n)	Lights and electrics	Suspension	Brakes
4 years	1,231	5.2	0.7	2.3
5 years	3,786	5.6	1.6	3.7
6 years	7,536	5.8	1.8	3.4
7 years	11,017	6.8	2.4	4.6
8 years	12,963	8.2	3.1	4.8
9 years	13,599	10.0	4.2	5.5
10 years	15,078	11.9	5.4	6.5
11 years	16,609	14.1	6.4	7.1
12 years	19,365	16.2	8.1	7.8
13 years	21,590	17.2	9.0	8.6
14 years	22,560	19.6	11.3	9.8
15 years	23,744	21.6	12.4	11.3
16 years	23,032	22.2	12.4	11.9
17 years	20,974	23.4	12.6	12.8
18 years	17,800	23.1	13.2	12.8
19 years	13,949	23.6	11.8	11.5
20 years	9,684	23.4	11.9	11.8
21 years	6,362	22.2	11.1	11.1
22 years	4,156	21.0	12.3	11.5
23 years	2,665	17.2	11.6	11.0
24 years	2,047	16.0	11.7	12.1
25 years	1,164	14.7	12.7	11.6

Mileage

At 15 years, Toyota Avensis cars showing 30,000 to 60,000 miles failed 22.6% of MOTs (n=1,382); the band that failed most, over 150,000 miles, failed 44.9% (n=6,726). For pass and fail rates by age, see Toyota Avensis MOT fail rates.

What to check on a viewing

On the Toyota Avensis, testers most often record side/position light not working; coil spring broken; brake light not working. Look at these first, then the areas below.

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.

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 Toyota Avensis?

At 15 years, the age with the most MOT tests (23,744), the fail items testers record most often on the Toyota Avensis are side/position light not working (9.0 per 100 MOTs), coil spring broken (5.2 per 100 MOTs), brake light not working (3.1 per 100 MOTs). The most common advisories or minor defects are tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge (18.0) and brake discs: worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened (10.9).

Which parts of the Toyota Avensis fail more often than on other cars?

At 15 years: lights and electrics (21.6 per 100 MOTs against 19.5 for all cars). Compared with 5,591,675 MOTs of all cars the same age.

Toyota Avensis problems by area

Other Toyota models

All Toyota 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 Toyota Avensis?

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