Pass rate
87.2%
Above average — 3.5 pts behind the 90.7% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 3,871 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £25–£68
2020 DS DS3 MOT pass rate
- 2020
- typical 27,429 mi
Check your postcode
Most common fault
Brakes
35.4% of faults · 20.9% nationally
mostly worn pads and discs, corroded pipes and a handbrake that will not hold.
Part only £25–£40 for Brake pads under 1.5 mm. What fitting it takes →
0.5 pts up across model years — 2.5% in 2015, 3.0% in 2021.
Which year to buy
- Best 2022 90.3% pass
- Avoid 2015 74.4% pass
Across the 8 years on record, a spread of 15.9 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 85.6%
- Typical mileage
- 27k mi
The 2020 DS DS3 MOT pass rate is 87.2% of its MOT tests — 3.5 points behind what its age and mileage predict. Brakes is the biggest single reason it fails, at 35.4% of what testers record.
Expert verdict
Brakes: 1.7× the national share
Brakes make up 35.4% of everything recorded on the 2020 DS Ds3, against 20.9% nationally — 14.5 points above. Have the discs and pads measured rather than glanced at, and ask whether the handbrake holds on a slope.
- Falls short of its own age and mileage. Like-for-like, cars this age and mileage expect about 90.7%; this one manages 87.2% — 3.5 points below. Age is a fair excuse; this is not age.
Written from this page's own figures: fault shares against the national composition, the like-for-like pass rate, and the priced repair list. How these are worked out
Watching a DS DS3? Get an email when these numbers change .
How does the 2020 DS DS3 compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 90.7%, so this figure is 3.5 points behind what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 85.6%. The median 2020 DS DS3 in this dataset had covered 27,429 mi.
80% of the tests on this vehicle ran on Petrol, which passed 87.5% of the time. Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 87.7% of the time, April–September 86.7%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Wipers does not clear the windscreen effectively", noted on 3.93% of tests.
- 3,871 recorded tests behind this page.
- 87.2% overall pass rate, 85.6% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the DS DS3, the average is 79.5% — best year 2022 (90.3%), worst 2015 (74.4%).
Figures count every completed test on this vehicle-year in the dataset, including retests. See methodology for the exact definition.
This page's data
- Tests analysed
- 3,871
- Typical mileage (median)
- 27,429 mi
- Make and model
- DS DS3
- Updated
- 2026-11-07
Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data (2023–2025), OGL v3.0.
Top part to budget for
Wiper Blade
Usually a DIY or independent-garage job.
Does mileage affect the DS3 MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 76% so small gaps stay visible.
Fuel type and reliability
Pass rate by fuel type. Petrol is the most common here (80% of tests).
Where the DS DS3 is most common
Across all DS3 model years on record (2015–2022): 51,484 DS DS3 cars tested in a recordable postcode area, across 118,672 tests. Birmingham (B) has the most, with 1,947 cars tested there. Cars are counted by the postcode area of the MOT station, so this is where they were tested, not necessarily where their owners live.
| # | Postcode area | Cars | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Birmingham (B) | 1,947 | 82.7% |
| 2 | Sheffield (S) | 1,441 | 80.4% |
| 3 | Cardiff (CF) | 1,248 | 76.7% |
| 4 | Newcastle upon Tyne (NE) | 1,151 | 77.8% |
| 5 | Nottingham (NG) | 1,117 | 76.6% |
| 6 | Glasgow (G) | 1,103 | 76.3% |
| 7 | Coventry (CV) | 1,030 | 80.6% |
| 8 | Peterborough (PE) | 1,005 | 82.3% |
| 9 | Manchester (M) | 988 | 80.7% |
| 10 | Leicester (LE) | 970 | 80.6% |
| 11 | Swansea (SA) | 967 | 77.7% |
| 12 | Doncaster (DN) | 922 | 79.3% |
| 13 | Derby (DE) | 906 | 81.4% |
| 14 | Bristol (BS) | 813 | 79.2% |
| 15 | Northampton (NN) | 781 | 78.1% |
| 16 | Newport (NP) | 776 | 78.5% |
| 17 | Preston (PR) | 756 | 78.3% |
| 18 | Stoke On Trent (ST) | 720 | 77.2% |
| 19 | Edinburgh (EH) | 694 | 74.4% |
| 20 | Warrington (WA) | 646 | 78.1% |
The twenty areas with the most DS DS3 cars in the record, sorted by car count — sort the columns for a different question. Cars tested at a station whose postcode area could not be resolved are counted in the model's total but in no area, so the shares add up to slightly under 100% even across every area, and an area's cars are a subset of the model's. Pass rate is blank below 30 tests in an area, where a percentage is noise rather than a finding. How this model's pass rate varies by postcode →
Regional pass rates for the DS3
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| West Midlands | 559 | 86.4% |
| North West | 491 | 88.4% |
| Scotland | 476 | 85.1% |
| South East | 442 | 88.7% |
| North East | 389 | 91.0% |
| Yorkshire | 343 | 88.0% |
| South West | 281 | 85.1% |
| East Midlands | 266 | 85.3% |
| East of England | 255 | 87.5% |
| Wales | 230 | 87.0% |
| London | 139 | 84.2% |
Regions come from the postcode area recorded at the test station. Areas on region borders are assigned to the region with the majority of their population.
What fails a 2020 DS3
Everything a tester recorded on this vehicle, grouped into the inspection sections that produced it. The notch on each bar is the national share, so you can see at a glance whether this car is unusual or just ordinary.
A test can record several items, so these percentages do not add up to 100%. The exact strings, with prices, are in the full DVSA record at the bottom of this page.
Before your test
Three checks worth doing on a 2020 DS3
These are not generic tips — they are the faults recorded most often on this exact model, rewritten as things you can check yourself. All three take about ten minutes and cost nothing.
-
Check the wipers and washers 3.9% of tests
“wipers does not clear the windscreen effectively”
Run the wipers with the screen wet: they should clear it in one sweep without smearing or juddering. Top the washer bottle up and check both jets hit the screen.
-
Check the suspension joints 2.1% of tests
“linkage ball joint dust cover ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt”
With the car parked on level ground, rock the top of each front wheel in and out while someone watches the suspension arm. Clunks, or rubber boots split and greasy, are what testers record here.
-
Check the brakes 1.5% of tests
“brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick”
Look through the spokes of each wheel at the pad — less than 3mm of friction material, or a lip on the disc edge, is the usual failure. Check the handbrake holds on a slope with a few clicks, not at the top of its travel.
Shares are the proportion of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item, so they overlap: one test can record several.
What it costs to get a 2020 DS3 through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £25–£68 — and 47% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £25–£68
- Cheapest common item: wipers does not clear the windscreen…
- £8–£22
- Dearest common item: joints constant velocity boot severely…
- £80–£250
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 70%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 47%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 3,871 MOT tests on this vehicle. They exclude diagnostics, retest fees and garage labour where the part is a DIY fit, and they are not figures from the DVSA dataset. Older and higher-mileage examples cost more than the average. How these estimates are built → · All MOT repair costs → · Cheapest cars to put through a test →
Every year of the DS3, side by side
8 model years on record, from 2015 to 2022. Across them the pass rate runs from 74.4% to 90.3% — a spread of 15.9 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2015 74.4% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2016 77.6% joints constant velocity boot…
- 2017 81.3% coil spring fractured or broken
- 2018 83.7% wipers does not clear the…
- 2019 88.4% wipers does not clear the…
- 2020 87.2%wipers does not clear the…
- 2021 87.9% wipers does not clear the…
- 2022 90.3% tread depth below requirements of…
Colour is the pass rate on a fixed scale, so a block means the same thing on any model. Each year links to its own page with the full fault breakdown.
Compare the 2020 DS DS3 with another year
The raw pass rate mostly measures age. The year comparison adds the like-for-like figure, the mileage bands and the repair bill.
Other 2020 cars with a similar record
- Volvo V90 Momentum + 87.2%
- Ford Allied 87.3%
- Peugeot 5008 87.1%
- Ford S-Max 87.1%
- Mercedes-Benz V 87.1%
- Audi A3 E-Tron 87.4%
Closest pass rates among 2020 cars with at least 2,000 tests, so a small sample cannot flatter itself into the list. See the full rankings: best and worst MOT pass rates.
The full DVSA record for the 2020 DS DS3 10 failure items · 6 advisories · 10 inspection categories · mileage brackets · all of it in the page, none of it above the fold
Every inspection category
Shares of the 3,668 individual items recorded on this vehicle, and the same share across all cars nationally. A single test can record several items, so a row is not a percentage of tests.
| Category | Items | This car | Nationally | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brakes | 1,304 | 35.40% | 20.89% | +14.51 |
| Tyres | 1,076 | 29.20% | 19.76% | +9.44 |
| Visibility | 416 | 11.30% | 4.97% | +6.33 |
| Suspension | 282 | 7.70% | 20.98% | −13.28 |
| Non-component advisories | 254 | 6.90% | 4.18% | +2.72 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 133 | 3.60% | 12.21% | −8.61 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 112 | 3.00% | 5.57% | −2.57 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 60 | 1.60% | 5.52% | −3.92 |
| Identification of the vehicle | 20 | 0.50% | 1.76% | −1.26 |
| Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | 11 | 0.30% | 0.82% | −0.52 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wipers does not clear the windscreen effectively Visibility | Major | 3.9% | £8–22 |
| Wipers blade defective Visibility | Minor | 2.3% | £8–22 |
| Linkage ball joint dust cover ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt Suspension | Major | 2.1% | £18–45 |
| Wipers does not clear the windscreen effectively Visibility | Rectified | 1.9% | £8–22 |
| Brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick Brakes | Major | 1.5% | £18–45 |
| Joints constant velocity boot severely deteriorated Body, chassis, structure | Minor | 1.4% | £80–250 |
| Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view Visibility | Minor | 1.4% | £80–200 |
| Ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt Suspension | Major | 0.96% | £18–45 |
| Has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords Tyres | Major | 0.96% | £45–95 |
| Headlamp aim too high Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Rectified | 0.88% | £30–80 |
Severity is as recorded: Major and Dangerous fail the test outright; Minor and Advisory do not. Costs are estimates from typical UK parts prices — see how they are built.
What testers noted without failing the car
Advisories are the early warnings — the same parts a year or two before they fail. Reading them is how you tell a car that has been maintained from one that has been patched.
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brake discs in such a condition that it is seriously weakened Brakes | Advisory | 15.4% | £45–110 |
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Advisory | 14.2% | £45–95 |
| Brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick Brakes | Advisory | 9.7% | £18–45 |
| Has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Tyres | Advisory | 6.7% | £45–95 |
| Brake discs significantly and obviously worn Brakes | Advisory | 3.8% | £45–110 |
| Tread depth tread pattern not visible over the whole tread area when minimum depth required is 1.0mm Tyres | Advisory | 2.6% | £45–95 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 2,234 | 89.4% | 19,700 mi |
| 30-60k | 1,509 | 84.0% | 40,621 mi |
| 60-90k | 121 | 86.0% | 68,832 mi |
| 90-120k | 7 | 85.7% | 104,926 mi |
Source: 3,871 recorded tests on this vehicle-year. Every row above is recomputed from the same DVSA extract as the rest of the page — see the methodology.
2020 DS3 MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2020 DS DS3?
87.2% of the 3,871 2020 DS DS3 tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 90.7% for cars first used in 2020. First-attempt pass rate: 85.6%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2020 DS DS3?
The three most recorded items are wipers does not clear the windscreen effectively (3.93%), wipers blade defective (2.27%), linkage ball joint dust cover ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt (2.09%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2020 DS DS3 MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 89.4% of the time, falling to 85.7% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2020 DS DS3 in this dataset had covered 27,429 mi.
Which fuel type is most reliable for a 2020 DS DS3?
Petrol: 87.5% pass rate across 3,116 tests. Diesel: 86.2% pass rate across 751 tests. Shares are of the tests on this vehicle that recorded each fuel type.
Does the season affect the 2020 DS DS3 MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 87.7% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 86.7%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.