Common problems

Toyota Corolla (before 2019) windscreen and wiper problems

How often MOT testers find windscreen, wiper and mirror faults on the Toyota Corolla (before 2019) at each age, against all cars of the same age, and which items come up most. 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

Windscreen, wipers and mirrors fails per 100 MOTs (n=39,864)7.8

All cars at 18 years (n=3,261,622)7.3

Windscreen, wipers and mirrors advisories and minor defects per 100 MOTs (n=39,864)6.3

All cars, same age (n=3,261,622)6.2

What stands out

At 18 years, 7.8 of every 100 MOTs of the Toyota Corolla (before 2019) found a windscreen, wiper and mirror fail (n=39,864), against 7.3 for all cars of that age (n=3,261,622).
It is above the all-car rate at 11 of the 13 ages with at least 1,000 tests.
The gap is widest at 14 years: 7.3 per 100 MOTs against 6.1 for all cars.
The windscreen, wiper and mirror fail item recorded most often at 18 years: wipers not clearing screen, on 4.6 per 100 MOTs.
The most common windscreen, wiper and mirror advisory or minor defect: windscreen: damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view, on 2.5 per 100 MOTs.

Windscreen, wipers and mirrors fails by age

Solid line: this model. Dashed line: all cars at the same age.

Toyota Corolla (before 2019): windscreen, wipers and mirrors fails and advisories per 100 MOTs, by age, against all cars. Ages with fewer than 1,000 tests are not shown.
Age	Tests (n)	Fails	All cars	Advisories	All cars
13 years	1,660	6.4	5.6	7.7	4.7
14 years	5,812	7.3	6.1	6.8	5.1
15 years	11,233	7.7	6.5	6.7	5.4
16 years	25,937	7.6	6.8	6.1	5.7
17 years	36,928	7.5	7.1	6.1	6.0
18 years	39,864	7.8	7.3	6.3	6.2
19 years	38,839	7.7	7.5	6.4	6.3
20 years	28,873	8.3	7.6	6.3	6.4
21 years	18,833	8.2	7.5	6.5	6.5
22 years	12,428	7.7	7.4	6.5	6.4
23 years	8,203	7.3	7.3	6.7	6.2
24 years	5,730	6.5	6.9	6.1	5.9
25 years	3,994	7.5	6.7	5.5	5.6

Windscreen, wipers and mirrors fail items at 18 years

Windscreen, wipers and mirrors 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	Per 100 MOTs	All cars	Typical repair (estimate)
Wipers not clearing screen	4.6	3.0	£15 to £30 per blade
Washers: provides insufficient washer liquid	1.6	2.3	£2 to £14 per car (rough guide)
Washers: not working	1.2	1.3	£28 to £118 per car (rough guide)

Windscreen, wipers and mirrors 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).

Windscreen, wipers and mirrors 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	Per 100 MOTs	All cars
Windscreen: damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view	2.5	3.7
Wipers: blade defective	2.5	1.5

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.

What to check on a viewing

On the Toyota Corolla (before 2019), the windscreen, wiper and mirror items testers fail most are wipers not clearing screen; washers: provides insufficient washer liquid; washers: not working.

Look for chips or cracks in the windscreen, above all in front of the driver.
Run the wipers and washers: they should clear the screen without smearing.
Check that the mirrors are present, secure and not cracked.

Ask for the car's MOT history: a windscreen, wiper and mirror advisory that repeats from year to year has not been fixed. GOV.UK MOT history.

Questions

What are the common windscreen and wiper problems on the Toyota Corolla (before 2019)?

At 18 years (39,864 MOTs), the windscreen, wiper and mirror fail items testers record most often are wipers not clearing screen (4.6 per 100 MOTs), washers: provides insufficient washer liquid (1.6 per 100 MOTs), washers: not working (1.2 per 100 MOTs). The most common windscreen, wiper and mirror advisories or minor defects are windscreen: damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view (2.5) and wipers: blade defective (2.5).

Does the Toyota Corolla (before 2019) have more windscreen and wiper problems than other cars?

At 18 years it has 7.8 windscreen, wiper and mirror fails per 100 MOTs against 7.3 for all cars of the same age (about the same). It is above the all-car rate at 11 of the 13 ages with enough tests.

What does a windscreen, wiper and mirror repair cost on the Toyota Corolla (before 2019)?

For wipers not clearing screen, an independent garage estimate is £15 to £30 per blade. This is a guide built from the national median garage labour rate and estimated labour hours, not a quote.

Windscreen and wiper problems on other Toyota models

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