Pass rate
84.4%
Around average — 3.5 pts behind the 87.9% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 1,578 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £37–£110
2018 DS DS7 MOT pass rate
- 2018
- typical 45,683 mi
Check your postcode
Most common fault
Brakes
32.8% 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 →
Which year to buy
- Best 2021 90.2% pass
- Avoid 2018 84.4% pass · this year
Across the 4 years on record, a spread of 5.8 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 81.9%
- Typical mileage
- 46k mi
The 2018 DS DS7 MOT pass rate is 84.4% of its MOT tests — 3.5 points behind what its age and mileage predict. Brakes is the biggest single reason it fails, at 32.8% of what testers record.
Expert verdict
Brakes: 1.6× the national share
Brakes make up 32.8% of everything recorded on the 2018 DS Ds7, against 20.9% nationally — 11.9 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 87.9%; this one manages 84.4% — 3.5 points below. Age is a fair excuse; this is not age.
- When it fails, it costs. Only 32% of this model’s typical repairs come in under £30 in parts — the failures here tend to be the kind that need a garage rather than a bulb.
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 DS7? Get an email when these numbers change .
How does the 2018 DS DS7 compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 87.9%, 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 81.9%. The median 2018 DS DS7 in this dataset had covered 45,683 mi.
The most common fuel recorded here is Petrol — 68% of tests, with a 86.3% pass rate. Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 84.8% of the time, April–September 84.0%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm", noted on 2.34% of tests.
- 1,578 recorded tests behind this page.
- 84.4% overall pass rate, 81.9% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the DS DS7, the average is 86.6% — best year 2021 (90.2%), worst 2018 (84.4%).
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
- 1,578
- Typical mileage (median)
- 45,683 mi
- Make and model
- DS DS7
- Updated
- 2026-11-07
Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data (2023–2025), OGL v3.0.
Top part to budget for
Tyres
Usually a DIY or independent-garage job.
Does mileage affect the DS7 MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 62% so small gaps stay visible.
Fuel type and reliability
Pass rate by fuel type. Petrol is the most common here (68% of tests).
Where the DS DS7 is most common
Across all DS7 model years on record (2018–2021): 3,162 DS DS7 cars tested in a recordable postcode area, across 5,886 tests. Glasgow (G) has the most, with 136 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 | Glasgow (G) | 136 | 84.3% |
| 2 | Birmingham (B) | 118 | 86.3% |
| 3 | Manchester (M) | 98 | 91.6% |
| 4 | Stirling (FK) | 83 | 78.6% |
| 5 | Edinburgh (EH) | 81 | 83.1% |
| 6 | Stoke On Trent (ST) | 70 | 82.1% |
| 7 | Basildon (SS) | 69 | 90.8% |
| 8 | Leicester (LE) | 69 | 82.2% |
| 9 | Romford (RM) | 68 | 91.4% |
| 10 | Sheffield (S) | 63 | 89.9% |
| 11 | Derby (DE) | 63 | 83.7% |
| 12 | Hamilton (ML) | 62 | 79.4% |
| 13 | Newcastle upon Tyne (NE) | 61 | 87.8% |
| 14 | London (E) | 60 | 92.1% |
| 15 | Bristol (BS) | 59 | 91.5% |
| 16 | Paisley (PA) | 51 | 83.0% |
| 17 | Nottingham (NG) | 50 | 87.1% |
| 18 | London (W) | 49 | 79.8% |
| 19 | Warrington (WA) | 49 | 84.6% |
| 20 | Peterborough (PE) | 45 | 85.7% |
The twenty areas with the most DS DS7 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 DS7
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| Scotland | 283 | 76.3% |
| South East | 268 | 88.1% |
| North West | 182 | 89.0% |
| West Midlands | 165 | 83.6% |
| East of England | 133 | 87.2% |
| Yorkshire | 126 | 84.9% |
| East Midlands | 119 | 79.8% |
| London | 116 | 91.4% |
| South West | 93 | 84.9% |
| North East | 54 | 81.5% |
| Wales | 39 | 84.6% |
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 2018 DS7
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 2018 DS7
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 tyre tread 2.3% of tests
“tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm”
Check all four tyres cold, including the inner shoulder where wear hides — 1.6mm across the central three-quarters is the legal limit, and most testers fail at 1.6mm without argument.
-
Check the brakes 2.0% 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.
-
Check the suspension joints 2.0% of tests
“pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn”
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.
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 2018 DS7 through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £37–£110 — and 32% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £37–£110
- Cheapest common item: daytime running lamps not working
- £3–£15
- Dearest common item: joints constant velocity boot severely…
- £80–£250
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 60%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 32%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 1,578 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 DS7, side by side
4 model years on record, from 2018 to 2021. Across them the pass rate runs from 84.4% to 90.2% — a spread of 5.8 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2018 84.4%tread depth below requirements of…
- 2019 86.8% joints constant velocity boot…
- 2020 89.8% joints constant velocity boot…
- 2021 90.2% windscreen damaged but not…
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 2018 DS DS7 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 2018 cars with a similar record
- Renault Megane 84.4%
- Vauxhall Corsa 84.5%
- SEAT Arona 84.3%
- Citroen C4 84.6%
- Vauxhall Mokka 84.2%
- Vauxhall Adam 84.2%
Closest pass rates among 2018 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 2018 DS DS7 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 1,501 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 | 495 | 32.80% | 20.89% | +11.91 |
| Tyres | 458 | 30.40% | 19.76% | +10.64 |
| Suspension | 124 | 8.20% | 20.98% | −12.78 |
| Non-component advisories | 100 | 6.60% | 4.18% | +2.42 |
| Visibility | 83 | 5.50% | 4.97% | +0.53 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 76 | 5.00% | 5.57% | −0.57 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 74 | 4.90% | 12.21% | −7.31 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 61 | 4.00% | 5.52% | −1.52 |
| Steering | 22 | 1.50% | 2.57% | −1.07 |
| Identification of the vehicle | 8 | 0.50% | 1.76% | −1.26 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Major | 2.3% | £45–95 |
| Brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick Brakes | Major | 2.0% | £18–45 |
| Joints constant velocity boot severely deteriorated Body, chassis, structure | Minor | 2.0% | £80–250 |
| Pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn Suspension | Major | 2.0% | £40–150 |
| Position lamp not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 1.5% | £5–25 |
| Wipers blade defective Visibility | Minor | 1.3% | £8–22 |
| Wipers does not clear the windscreen effectively Visibility | Major | 1.3% | £8–22 |
| Joints constant velocity boot split or insecure, no longer prevents the ingress of dirt Body, chassis, structure | Major | 1.1% | £80–250 |
| Daytime running lamps not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 0.89% | £3–15 |
| Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view Visibility | Minor | 0.89% | £80–200 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Advisory | 16.4% | £45–95 |
| Brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick Brakes | Advisory | 14.0% | £18–45 |
| Brake discs in such a condition that it is seriously weakened Brakes | Advisory | 9.8% | £45–110 |
| Non-component advisories Child Seat fitted not allowing full inspection of adult belt Non-component advisories | Advisory | 3.6% | £20–80 |
| Has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Tyres | Advisory | 3.5% | £45–95 |
| Brake discs significantly and obviously worn Brakes | Advisory | 3.3% | £45–110 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 271 | 87.5% | 21,949 mi |
| 30-60k | 964 | 84.5% | 44,862 mi |
| 60-90k | 323 | 82.0% | 70,031 mi |
| 90-120k | 17 | 70.6% | 97,473 mi |
| 120k+ | 2 | 100.0% | 138,175 mi |
Source: 1,578 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.
2018 DS7 MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2018 DS DS7?
84.4% of the 1,578 2018 DS DS7 tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 87.9% for cars first used in 2018. First-attempt pass rate: 81.9%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2018 DS DS7?
The three most recorded items are tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm (2.34%), brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick (2.03%), joints constant velocity boot severely deteriorated (2.03%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2018 DS DS7 MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 87.5% of the time, falling to 100.0% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2018 DS DS7 in this dataset had covered 45,683 mi.
Which fuel type is most reliable for a 2018 DS DS7?
Petrol: 86.3% pass rate across 1,066 tests. Diesel: 80.5% pass rate across 512 tests. Shares are of the tests on this vehicle that recorded each fuel type.
Does the season affect the 2018 DS DS7 MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 84.8% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 84.0%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.