Common problems

Toyota Yaris common problems

What MOT testers find on the Toyota Yaris: the parts that fail or get advisories most often at each age, against all cars of the same age. From 1,812,318 DVSA MOT tests taken 2022 to 2025.

MOT data updated 28 September 2026

At 9 years, the most tested age

Lights and electrics fails per 100 MOTs (n=117,433)9.3

All cars at 9 years (n=9,949,012)9.2

Tyres advisories and minor defects per 100 MOTs (n=117,433)25.2

All cars, same age (n=9,949,012)25.8

What stands out

No part area of the Toyota Yaris fails more than 1 point per 100 MOTs above all cars at 9 years old (n=117,433; all cars n=9,949,012).
Brakes fails are less common: 3.4 per 100 MOTs against 5.6 for all cars at the same age.
The fail item testers record most often at 9 years: coil spring broken, on 3.7 per 100 MOTs (all cars 2.7).
The most common advisory or minor defect: tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge, on 14.0 per 100 MOTs.

Problems by part at 9 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 Yaris at 9 years (n=117,433) against all cars at 9 years (n=9,949,012). Per 100 MOTs.
Area	Fails	All cars	Advisories	All cars
Lights and electrics	9.3	9.2	5.4	4.5
Suspension	6.0	7.9	12.3	14.9
Tyres	4.8	6.7	25.2	25.8
Windscreen, wipers and mirrors	4.7	4.0	3.2	3.7
Brakes	3.4	5.6	18.1	20.3
Body and structure	0.6	2.3	0.9	2.9
Exhaust, emissions and leaks	0.4	2.4	0.5	3.1
Number plates and VIN	0.2	0.3	1.5	1.7
Seat belts and airbags	0.2	0.6	0.2	0.4
Steering	0.1	1.8	0.2	2.1
Road wheels	0.1	0.4	0.3	0.7

What testers fail most on the Yaris at 9 years

Fail items on the Toyota Yaris at 9 years (n=117,433), per 100 MOTs, with all cars at the same age (n=9,949,012).
Item	Area	Per 100 MOTs	All cars	Typical repair (estimate)
Coil spring broken	Suspension	3.7	2.7	£64 to £236 per spring (rough guide)
Wipers not clearing screen	Windscreen, wipers and mirrors	2.4	1.7	£15 to £30 per blade
Side/position light not working	Lights and electrics	2.1	1.7	£10 to £47 per lamp
Side repeaters: not working	Lights and electrics	2.0	0.4	£10 to £47 per lamp
Dipped headlight not working	Lights and electrics	1.8	1.5	£18 to £86 per lamp
Tyre tread below 1.6 mm	Tyres	1.7	2.5	£88 to £145 per tyre
Washers: provides insufficient washer liquid	Windscreen, wipers and mirrors	1.5	1.3	£2 to £14 per car (rough guide)
Brake pads under 1.5 mm	Brakes	1.2	2.0	£72 to £174 per axle (rough guide)
Tyre condition: has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords	Tyres	0.9	1.3	£88 to £145 per tyre
Headlamp aim: too low	Lights and electrics	0.9	1.1	£16 to £39 per car (rough guide)

Early warnings: advisories and minor defects at 9 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 Yaris at 9 years (n=117,433), per 100 MOTs, with all cars at the same age (n=9,949,012).
Item	Area	Per 100 MOTs	All cars	If it needs replacing (estimate)
Tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge	Tyres	14.0	16.4	£88 to £145 per tyre
Tyre condition: slightly damaged/cracking or perishing	Tyres	11.3	8.5	£88 to £145 per tyre
Brake discs: worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened	Brakes	9.5	9.2	£148 to £376 per axle (rough guide)
Suspension arm pins and bushes: pin or bush worn but not resulting in excessive movement	Suspension	5.7	4.9	£92 to £237 per arm (rough guide)
Brake pads: wearing thin	Brakes	5.6	8.3	£72 to £174 per axle (rough guide)
Brake discs: worn, but not excessively	Brakes	2.6	2.7	£148 to £376 per axle (rough guide)
Suspension arm: corroded but not seriously weakened	Suspension	2.1	0.6	£92 to £237 per arm (rough guide)
Child Seat fitted not allowing full inspection of adult belt	Other	2.0	2.3
Tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge	Tyres	1.9	2.1	£88 to £145 per tyre
Rigid brake pipes: corroded, covered in grease or other material	Brakes	1.9	2.1	£137 to £392 per car (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 9 years. Ages with fewer than 1,000 tests are not shown.
Age	Tests (n)	Lights and electrics	Suspension	Tyres
3 years	96,846	2.1	0.5	2.8
4 years	101,067	2.5	0.8	3.1
5 years	104,047	3.6	1.9	3.4
6 years	112,212	4.9	2.9	3.8
7 years	114,893	6.2	3.1	4.3
8 years	115,424	7.6	4.3	4.6
9 years	117,433	9.3	6.0	4.8
10 years	116,635	11.2	7.4	5.1
11 years	102,529	12.9	9.5	4.9
12 years	92,575	14.1	10.9	4.7
13 years	88,790	14.7	12.1	5.0
14 years	84,967	16.3	13.3	5.4
15 years	90,558	19.3	14.0	5.9
16 years	89,483	22.8	14.6	6.0
17 years	81,863	26.0	14.2	6.1
18 years	73,325	27.7	14.2	6.1
19 years	63,615	28.4	14.4	6.2
20 years	54,302	27.9	14.6	5.9
21 years	43,794	26.2	16.1	6.0
22 years	32,597	24.8	17.0	5.9
23 years	20,722	22.7	18.4	5.8
24 years	10,759	21.0	19.9	5.9
25 years	3,882	20.0	21.0	5.7

Mileage

At 9 years, Toyota Yaris cars showing under 30,000 miles failed 13.2% of MOTs (n=19,238); the band that failed most, 120,000 to 150,000 miles, failed 33.2% (n=1,883). For pass and fail rates by age, see Toyota Yaris MOT fail rates.

What to check on a viewing

On the Toyota Yaris, testers most often record coil spring broken; wipers not clearing screen; side/position 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.

Tyres

Check the tread across the full width of all four tyres, and the spare if there is one.
Look for cuts, bulges and cracking in the sidewalls.
Wear on one edge only can point to worn suspension or the tracking being out.

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 Yaris?

At 9 years, the age with the most MOT tests (117,433), the fail items testers record most often on the Toyota Yaris are coil spring broken (3.7 per 100 MOTs), wipers not clearing screen (2.4 per 100 MOTs), side/position light not working (2.1 per 100 MOTs). The most common advisories or minor defects are tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge (14.0) and tyre condition: slightly damaged/cracking or perishing (11.3).

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

None by more than 1 point per 100 MOTs at 9 years, compared with 9,949,012 MOTs of all cars the same age.

Toyota Yaris 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 Yaris?

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