Toyota Corolla
From 121,077 MOT tests. Average for its class.
Common MOT failure categories
Pass rate by registration year
Newer Corollas fare better: 2022 models pass at 92.2% vs 69.7% for 1997.
Pass rate by fuel type
What goes wrong?
The most common MOT failure reasons are the aim of a headlamp is not within limits laid down in the requirements, wiper blade missing or obviously not clearing the windscreen, a lamp missing and inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning. The top issue, the aim of a headlamp is not within limits laid down in the requirements, caused 4,768 failures in 2024. Checking tread depth (1.6mm legal minimum, 3mm recommended) before your test can save an unnecessary fail. You can check prices at Black Circles if you need replacements. If you need repairs before retesting, sites like BookMyGarage let you compare local prices.
| the aim of a headlamp is not within limits laid down in the requirements | 4,768 |
| wiper blade missing or obviously not clearing the windscreen | 2,898 |
| a lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning | 2,724 |
| significant brake effort recorded with no brake applied indicating a binding brake | 2,450 |
| the strength or continuity of the load bearing structure within 30cm of any sub-frame, spring or suspension component mounting (a 'prescribed area') is significantly reduced or inadequately repaired | 2,350 |
| tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements | 2,169 |
| a rear registration plate lamp or light source missing or inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources | 2,161 |
| a brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm | 2,120 |
| a tyre seriously damaged | 1,996 |
| a suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn | 1,979 |
How serious are these failures?
Not all MOT failures are equal. 42.5% of failures are serious: 33.4% are safety issues (brakes, steering, tyre damage) and 9.2% could actually leave you stranded. That's close to the 44.4% average across all models. When it does fail, the average repair bill is around £81.
Fuel type matters
Hybrid versions pass at 89.9% while Diesel versions pass at 66.5%, a 23 percentage point gap.
Toyota Corolla on UK roads
The fleet is growing: 14,904 newly registered in the past year with 9,436 leaving, a net gain of 5,468.
Quarterly breakdown
| Quarter | On road | SORN | New | Gone | Net |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 Q3 | 154,142 | 21,068 | +3,772 | -2,014 | +1,758 |
| 2025 Q2 | 151,949 | 21,503 | +3,748 | -1,814 | +1,934 |
| 2025 Q1 | 150,261 | 21,257 | +3,648 | -2,335 | +1,313 |
| 2024 Q4 | 149,066 | 21,139 | +3,736 | -3,273 | +463 |
| 2024 Q3 | 148,701 | 21,041 | +3,745 | -2,867 | +878 |
| 2024 Q2 | 147,923 | 20,941 | +3,446 | -1,903 | +1,543 |
| 2024 Q1 | 146,623 | 20,698 | +4,056 | -2,411 | +1,645 |
| 2023 Q4 | 145,344 | 20,332 | +5,907 | -2,067 | +3,840 |
20 variants on the road
| Variant | Fuel | Licensed | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Corolla Icon Hev Cvt | Hybrid Electric (Petrol) | 24,652 | 18% |
| Corolla Icon Tech Hev Cvt | Hybrid Electric (Petrol) | 17,509 | 13% |
| Corolla Design Hev Cvt | Hybrid Electric (Petrol) | 16,275 | 12% |
| Corolla Gr Sport Hev Cvt | Hybrid Electric (Petrol) | 13,894 | 10% |
| Corolla Excel Hev Cvt | Hybrid Electric (Petrol) | 13,486 | 10% |
| Corolla Colour Col-N Vvti | Gas | 6,979 | 5% |
| Corolla T3 Vvti | Gas | 6,092 | 5% |
| Corolla Active Hev Cvt | Hybrid Electric (Petrol) | 5,515 | 4% |
| Corolla Icon Tech Vvti Hev Cvt | Hybrid Electric (Petrol) | 4,478 | 3% |
| Corolla Excel Vvt-I Hev Cvt | Hybrid Electric (Petrol) | 4,169 | 3% |
| Corolla Design Vvt-I Hev Cvt | Hybrid Electric (Petrol) | 3,474 | 3% |
| Corolla Icon Vvt-I Hev Cvt | Hybrid Electric (Petrol) | 2,490 | 2% |
| Corolla Col-R Coln Vvti A | Petrol | 2,480 | 2% |
| Corolla T3 Vvti Auto | Petrol | 2,299 | 2% |
| Corolla Tspirit Vvti | Petrol | 2,200 | 2% |
| Corolla T2 Vvti | Petrol | 1,716 | 1% |
| Corolla Verso Vvt-I T3 | Gas | 1,707 | 1% |
| Corolla Verso Sr D-4D | Diesel | 1,507 | 1% |
| Corolla Verso Vvt-I T2 | Gas | 1,482 | 1% |
| Corolla Tspirit Vvti Auto | Gas | 1,424 | 1% |
Source: DfT vehicle licensing statistics, 2025 Q3. Crown copyright, OGL v3.0.
By registration year
| Year | Pass rate | Top failures |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 92.2% | a tyre seriously damaged, a rear registration plate lamp or light source missing or inoperative in the case of a single lamp or all lamps |
| 2021 | 91.3% | tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements, a tyre seriously damaged |
| 2020 | 91.6% | a tyre seriously damaged, wiper blade missing or obviously not clearing the windscreen |
| 2019 | 89.7% | a tyre seriously damaged, wiper blade missing or obviously not clearing the windscreen |
22 earlier years
| 2010 | 68.6% | a lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning, warning device shows system malfunction |
| 2009 | 69.3% | a lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning, wiper blade missing or obviously not clearing the windscreen |
| 2008 | 68.7% | a lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning, a rear registration plate lamp or light source missing or inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources |
| 2007 | 66.9% | a lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning, the aim of a headlamp is not within limits laid down in the requirements |
| 2006 | 67.8% | the aim of a headlamp is not within limits laid down in the requirements, a lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning |
| 2005 | 67.8% | the aim of a headlamp is not within limits laid down in the requirements, significant brake effort recorded with no brake applied indicating a binding brake |
| 2004 | 66.1% | the aim of a headlamp is not within limits laid down in the requirements, the strength or continuity of the load bearing structure within 30cm of any sub-frame, spring or suspension component mounting (a 'prescribed area') is significantly reduced or inadequately repaired |
| 2003 | 66.1% | the aim of a headlamp is not within limits laid down in the requirements, the strength or continuity of the load bearing structure within 30cm of any sub-frame, spring or suspension component mounting (a 'prescribed area') is significantly reduced or inadequately repaired |
| 2002 | 65.8% | the aim of a headlamp is not within limits laid down in the requirements, significant brake effort recorded with no brake applied indicating a binding brake |
| 2001 | 68.7% | the strength or continuity of the load bearing structure within 30cm of any sub-frame, spring or suspension component mounting (a 'prescribed area') is significantly reduced or inadequately repaired, significant brake effort recorded with no brake applied indicating a binding brake |
| 2000 | 69.7% | the strength or continuity of the load bearing structure within 30cm of any sub-frame, spring or suspension component mounting (a 'prescribed area') is significantly reduced or inadequately repaired, a suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn |
| 1999 | 67.1% | a suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn, the strength or continuity of the load bearing structure within 30cm of any sub-frame, spring or suspension component mounting (a 'prescribed area') is significantly reduced or inadequately repaired |
| 1998 | 67.7% | a suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn, the strength or continuity of the load bearing structure within 30cm of any sub-frame, spring or suspension component mounting (a 'prescribed area') is significantly reduced or inadequately repaired |
| 1997 | 69.7% | the strength or continuity of the load bearing structure within 30cm of any sub-frame, spring or suspension component mounting (a 'prescribed area') is significantly reduced or inadequately repaired, a transmission shaft constant velocity joint boot missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt etc |
| 1996 | 73.7% | tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements, the strength or continuity of the load bearing structure within 30cm of any sub-frame, spring or suspension component mounting (a 'prescribed area') is significantly reduced or inadequately repaired |
| 1995 | 65.6% | a transmission shaft constant velocity joint boot missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt etc, the strength or continuity of the load bearing structure within 30cm of any sub-frame, spring or suspension component mounting (a 'prescribed area') is significantly reduced or inadequately repaired |
| 1994 | 70.2% | the strength or continuity of the load bearing structure within 30cm of any sub-frame, spring or suspension component mounting (a 'prescribed area') is significantly reduced or inadequately repaired, a suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn |
| 1993 | 72.4% | the strength or continuity of the load bearing structure within 30cm of any sub-frame, spring or suspension component mounting (a 'prescribed area') is significantly reduced or inadequately repaired, a tyre seriously damaged |
| 1992 | 76% | the strength or continuity of the load bearing structure within 30cm of any sub-frame, spring or suspension component mounting (a 'prescribed area') is significantly reduced or inadequately repaired, emissions levels exceed default limits |
| 1991 | 77.9% | the strength or continuity of the load bearing structure within 30cm of any sub-frame, spring or suspension component mounting (a 'prescribed area') is significantly reduced or inadequately repaired, tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements |
| 1990 | 79.8% | the strength or continuity of the load bearing structure within 30cm of any seat belt anchorage (a 'prescribed area') is significantly reduced or inadequately repaired, a transmission shaft constant velocity joint boot missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt etc |
| 1987 | 76.2% | vehicle structure corroded to the extent that the rigidity of the assembly is seriously reduced, a tyre seriously damaged |
Typical mileage
Half of all Corollas tested had between 35,484 and 123,674 miles on the clock. A significant number are high-mileage vehicles.
At 88,360 median miles, the Corolla has 0.031 failures per 10,000 miles driven.
Other Toyota models
| Toyota Yaris | 76% |
| Toyota Aygo | 78.9% |
| Toyota Prius | 82.4% |
| Toyota Auris | 76.7% |
| Toyota Rav4 | 82.8% |
Common questions
What is the Toyota Corolla MOT pass rate?
The Toyota Corolla has a 72.2% MOT pass rate based on 121,077 real MOT tests. This is around the national average.
What are common MOT failures on a Toyota Corolla?
The most common MOT failure on the Toyota Corolla is the aim of a headlamp is not within limits laid down in the requirements, which caused 4,768 failures. Other common issues include wiper blade missing or obviously not clearing the windscreen.
How many Toyota Corollas are on UK roads?
There are 154,142 Toyota Corollas currently licensed on UK roads, with 21,068 on SORN.
What is the typical mileage of a Toyota Corolla at MOT?
The median mileage at MOT for a Toyota Corolla is 88,360 miles. The middle 50% of vehicles tested have between 35,484 and 123,674 miles.
Buying a used Corolla?
Start with the free tools. Look up the specific vehicle's MOT history on GOV.UK The mileage at each test will show if it's been wound back, and the advisory history tells you what's wearing. Cross-reference that against the typical failures above to see if anything looks unusual for this model.
The free data won't tell you about outstanding finance, theft markers, or write-off history. For that, you need a vehicle history check This is especially important on a private sale where you have fewer legal protections.
With a 72.2% pass rate and an average repair bill of £81 when things go wrong, budget accordingly.
Some links are to services we may earn from. Disclosure.
MOT data from DVSA anonymised test results, 2024 test year. Fleet data from DfT vehicle licensing statistics. Crown copyright, OGL v3.0. MOT pass rates are statistical summaries of test outcomes, not assessments of individual vehicle safety or condition. Always inspect a vehicle and check its full MOT history before purchasing. See terms of use.