Common problems

Toyota Previa common problems

What MOT testers find on the Toyota Previa: the parts that fail or get advisories most often at each age, against all cars of the same age. From 14,722 DVSA MOT tests taken 2022 to 2025.

MOT data updated 28 September 2026

At 19 years, the most tested age

Lights and electrics fails per 100 MOTs (n=2,817)26.2

All cars at 19 years (n=2,479,858)21.5

Suspension advisories and minor defects per 100 MOTs (n=2,817)54.0

All cars, same age (n=2,479,858)35.4

What stands out

Lights and electrics fails show up on 26.2 of every 100 MOTs of a Toyota Previa at 19 years old (n=2,817), against 21.5 for all cars of that age (n=2,479,858).
Suspension fails are less common: 14.0 per 100 MOTs against 16.9 for all cars at the same age.
The fail item testers record most often at 19 years: brake light not working, on 7.2 per 100 MOTs (all cars 4.0).
The most common advisory or minor defect: coil spring: corroded, on 27.9 per 100 MOTs.

Problems by part at 19 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 Previa at 19 years (n=2,817) against all cars at 19 years (n=2,479,858). Per 100 MOTs.
Area	Fails	All cars	Advisories	All cars
Lights and electrics	26.2	21.5	28.5	17.9
Suspension	14.0	16.9	54.0	35.4
Brakes	12.6	13.3	37.4	33.3
Body and structure	11.1	9.0	19.9	15.2
Exhaust, emissions and leaks	10.0	7.0	24.7	14.7
Windscreen, wipers and mirrors	7.8	7.5	6.0	6.3
Tyres	7.2	6.8	25.2	26.9
Seat belts and airbags	2.3	2.9	1.2	1.4
Steering	2.2	4.1	4.9	6.0
Number plates and VIN	1.1	0.7	8.9	5.9
Road wheels	0.8	0.5	0.1	1.2

What testers fail most on the Previa at 19 years

Fail items on the Toyota Previa at 19 years (n=2,817), per 100 MOTs, with all cars at the same age (n=2,479,858).
Item	Area	Per 100 MOTs	All cars	Typical repair (estimate)
Brake light not working	Lights and electrics	7.2	4.0	£10 to £47 per lamp
Side/position light not working	Lights and electrics	6.6	5.4	£10 to £47 per lamp
Headlamp aim: projected beam image is obviously incorrect	Lights and electrics	5.4	4.1	£16 to £39 per car (rough guide)
Wipers not clearing screen	Windscreen, wipers and mirrors	5.4	3.3	£15 to £30 per blade
Malfunction indicator lamp: inoperative or indicates a malfunction	Exhaust, emissions and leaks	4.7	2.6	diagnosis from £39 (rough guide)
Component mounting prescribed areas: prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength	Suspension	4.1	2.6
Exhaust system: has a major leak of exhaust gases	Body and structure	3.8	2.1	£182 to £263 per section
Dipped headlight not working	Lights and electrics	3.6	2.0	£18 to £86 per lamp
Catalyst emissions: Lambda reading after 2nd fast idle outside specified limits	Exhaust, emissions and leaks	3.2	1.4
Brake pads under 1.5 mm	Brakes	3.2	1.7	£72 to £174 per axle (rough guide)

Early warnings: advisories and minor defects at 19 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 Previa at 19 years (n=2,817), per 100 MOTs, with all cars at the same age (n=2,479,858).
Item	Area	Per 100 MOTs	All cars	If it needs replacing (estimate)
Coil spring: corroded	Suspension	27.9	7.9
Suspension arm pins and bushes: pin or bush worn but not resulting in excessive movement	Suspension	23.4	8.1	£92 to £237 per arm (rough guide)
Engine oil leaks: leak, but not excessive	Exhaust, emissions and leaks	23.1	13.2
Rigid brake pipes: corroded, covered in grease or other material	Brakes	20.3	14.1	£137 to £392 per car (rough guide)
Tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge	Tyres	17.2	16.6	£88 to £145 per tyre
Headlamp: has a product on the lens but not seriously reducing light output	Lights and electrics	11.3	3.9	£28 to £98 per lamp (rough guide)
Brake pads: wearing thin	Brakes	10.3	6.0	£72 to £174 per axle (rough guide)
Exhaust system: has a minor leak of exhaust gases	Body and structure	9.1	5.3	£182 to £263 per section
Registration plates: deteriorated but not likely to be misread	Number plates and VIN	8.6	5.8	£23 to £63 per plate (rough guide)
Swivel pins and bushes: swivel pin and/or bush slightly worn	Suspension	8.4	0.9	£157 to £384 per side (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 19 years. Ages with fewer than 1,000 tests are not shown.
Age	Tests (n)	Lights and electrics	Suspension	Brakes
17 years	1,508	25.7	13.3	12.4
18 years	2,242	26.4	12.8	10.7
19 years	2,817	26.2	14.0	12.6
20 years	2,726	27.2	14.5	13.1
21 years	2,465	28.1	16.4	13.3
22 years	1,828	27.0	15.3	14.3
23 years	1,136	23.4	16.5	15.8

What to check on a viewing

On the Toyota Previa, testers most often record brake light not working; side/position light not working; headlamp aim: projected beam image is obviously incorrect. 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 Previa?

At 19 years, the age with the most MOT tests (2,817), the fail items testers record most often on the Toyota Previa are brake light not working (7.2 per 100 MOTs), side/position light not working (6.6 per 100 MOTs), headlamp aim: projected beam image is obviously incorrect (5.4 per 100 MOTs). The most common advisories or minor defects are coil spring: corroded (27.9) and suspension arm pins and bushes: pin or bush worn but not resulting in excessive movement (23.4).

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

At 19 years: lights and electrics (26.2 per 100 MOTs against 21.5 for all cars); exhaust, emissions and leaks (10.0 per 100 MOTs against 7.0 for all cars); body and structure (11.1 per 100 MOTs against 9.0 for all cars). Compared with 2,479,858 MOTs of all cars the same age.

Toyota Previa 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 Previa?

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