Common problems

Toyota Corolla (before 2019) common problems

What MOT testers find on the Toyota Corolla (before 2019): the parts that fail or get advisories most often at each age, against all cars of the same age. From 238,334 DVSA MOT tests taken 2022 to 2025. These figures cover cars first used before 2019. Later cars sold under the same name are not included; see Toyota Corolla cars first used 2019 or later.

MOT data updated 28 September 2026

At 18 years, the most tested age

Lights and electrics fails per 100 MOTs (n=39,864)23.4

All cars at 18 years (n=3,261,622)21.4

Brakes advisories and minor defects per 100 MOTs (n=39,864)38.8

All cars, same age (n=3,261,622)32.3

What stands out

Lights and electrics fails show up on 23.4 of every 100 MOTs of a Toyota Corolla (before 2019) at 18 years old (n=39,864), against 21.4 for all cars of that age (n=3,261,622).
Suspension fails are less common: 7.9 per 100 MOTs against 17.2 for all cars at the same age.
The fail item testers record most often at 18 years: headlamp aim: projected beam image is obviously incorrect, on 5.9 per 100 MOTs (all cars 4.0).
The most common advisory or minor defect: rigid brake pipes: corroded, covered in grease or other material, on 16.2 per 100 MOTs.

Problems by part at 18 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 Corolla (before 2019) at 18 years (n=39,864) against all cars at 18 years (n=3,261,622). Per 100 MOTs.
Area	Fails	All cars	Advisories	All cars
Lights and electrics	23.4	21.4	23.9	17.8
Brakes	14.4	12.9	38.8	32.3
Suspension	7.9	17.2	35.4	35.3
Windscreen, wipers and mirrors	7.8	7.3	6.3	6.2
Tyres	5.6	7.0	26.5	27.6
Body and structure	4.9	8.7	13.4	14.7
Exhaust, emissions and leaks	4.8	6.8	9.1	14.1
Seat belts and airbags	1.5	2.7	1.0	1.3
Steering	0.9	3.9	2.5	5.6
Number plates and VIN	0.7	0.6	8.8	5.5
Road wheels	0.5	0.5	0.4	1.3

What testers fail most on the Corolla (before 2019) at 18 years

Fail items on the Toyota Corolla (before 2019) at 18 years (n=39,864), per 100 MOTs, with all cars at the same age (n=3,261,622).
Item	Area	Per 100 MOTs	All cars	Typical repair (estimate)
Headlamp aim: projected beam image is obviously incorrect	Lights and electrics	5.9	4.0	£16 to £39 per car (rough guide)
Side/position light not working	Lights and electrics	5.8	5.6	£10 to £47 per lamp
Brake light not working	Lights and electrics	5.1	4.0	£10 to £47 per lamp
Wipers not clearing screen	Windscreen, wipers and mirrors	4.6	3.0	£15 to £30 per blade
Dipped headlight not working	Lights and electrics	3.7	2.1	£18 to £86 per lamp
Brake pads under 1.5 mm	Brakes	3.4	1.8	£72 to £174 per axle (rough guide)
Service brake performance: excessively binding	Brakes	2.5	1.5	£55 to £267 per wheel (rough guide)
Handbrake too weak	Brakes	2.4	2.8
Tyre tread below 1.6 mm	Tyres	2.3	2.9	£88 to £145 per tyre
Registration plate lamp(s): inoperative in the case of a single lamp or all lamps	Lights and electrics	2.1	1.9	£10 to £47 per lamp

Early warnings: advisories and minor defects at 18 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 Corolla (before 2019) at 18 years (n=39,864), per 100 MOTs, with all cars at the same age (n=3,261,622).
Item	Area	Per 100 MOTs	All cars	If it needs replacing (estimate)
Rigid brake pipes: corroded, covered in grease or other material	Brakes	16.2	12.3	£137 to £392 per car (rough guide)
Tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge	Tyres	14.2	17.4	£88 to £145 per tyre
Coil spring: corroded	Suspension	12.6	7.7
Tyre condition: slightly damaged/cracking or perishing	Tyres	12.3	9.8	£88 to £145 per tyre
Brake pads: wearing thin	Brakes	9.8	6.4	£72 to £174 per axle (rough guide)
Brake discs: worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened	Brakes	9.2	11.1	£148 to £376 per axle (rough guide)
Registration plates: deteriorated but not likely to be misread	Number plates and VIN	8.6	5.4	£23 to £63 per plate (rough guide)
Suspension arm: corroded but not seriously weakened	Suspension	8.4	2.9	£92 to £237 per arm (rough guide)
Engine oil leaks: leak, but not excessive	Exhaust, emissions and leaks	8.1	12.6
Headlamp: has a product on the lens but not seriously reducing light output	Lights and electrics	8.0	3.8	£28 to £98 per lamp (rough guide)

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 18 years. Ages with fewer than 1,000 tests are not shown.
Age	Tests (n)	Lights and electrics	Brakes	Suspension
13 years	1,660	19.6	7.0	4.3
14 years	5,812	21.2	8.3	4.6
15 years	11,233	21.7	9.4	5.3
16 years	25,937	23.5	11.3	6.3
17 years	36,928	23.1	13.0	6.6
18 years	39,864	23.4	14.4	7.9
19 years	38,839	23.4	15.2	8.8
20 years	28,873	23.4	16.0	9.4
21 years	18,833	22.6	15.7	9.8
22 years	12,428	20.4	15.3	9.9
23 years	8,203	17.7	13.4	8.9
24 years	5,730	14.2	12.7	11.8
25 years	3,994	14.8	12.7	13.4

Mileage

At 18 years, Toyota Corolla (before 2019) cars showing 30,000 to 60,000 miles failed 26.4% of MOTs (n=4,391); the band that failed most, over 150,000 miles, failed 50.0% (n=4,996). For pass and fail rates by age, see Toyota Corolla MOT fail rates.

What to check on a viewing

On the Toyota Corolla (before 2019), testers most often record headlamp aim: projected beam image is obviously incorrect; side/position light not working; 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.

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.

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 Toyota Corolla (before 2019)?

At 18 years, the age with the most MOT tests (39,864), the fail items testers record most often on the Toyota Corolla (before 2019) are headlamp aim: projected beam image is obviously incorrect (5.9 per 100 MOTs), side/position light not working (5.8 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 (16.2) and tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge (14.2).

Which parts of the Toyota Corolla (before 2019) fail more often than on other cars?

At 18 years: lights and electrics (23.4 per 100 MOTs against 21.4 for all cars); brakes (14.4 per 100 MOTs against 12.9 for all cars). Compared with 3,261,622 MOTs of all cars the same age.

Toyota Corolla (before 2019) 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 Corolla (before 2019)?

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