Pass rate
81.6%
Around average — 4.4 pts ahead of the 77.2% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 158 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £20–£54
2012 Jeep Wrangler MOT pass rate
- 2012
- typical 75,737 mi
Check your postcode
Most common fault
Brakes
31.1% 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 2020 94.1% pass
- Avoid 2008 70.7% pass
Across the 23 years on record, a spread of 23.4 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 78.4%
- Typical mileage
- 76k mi
The 2012 Jeep Wrangler MOT pass rate is 81.6% of its MOT tests — 4.4 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. Brakes is the biggest single reason it fails, at 31.1% of what testers record.
Expert verdict
Brakes: 1.5× the national share
Brakes make up 31.1% of everything recorded on the 2012 Jeep Wrangler, against 20.9% nationally — 10.2 points above. Have the discs and pads measured rather than glanced at, and ask whether the handbrake holds on a slope.
- Beats its own age and mileage. Once you allow for how old and how far these cars have been driven, the expected pass rate is 77.2% and this one manages 81.6% — 4.4 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict.
- Failures here tend to be cheap ones. 58% of the repairs this model fails on cost under £30 in parts. The pass rate matters less than what a bad afternoon at the test centre actually costs you.
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 Jeep Wrangler? Get an email when these numbers change .
How does the 2012 Jeep Wrangler compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 77.2%, so this figure is 4.4 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 78.4%. The median 2012 Jeep Wrangler in this dataset had covered 75,737 mi.
60% of the tests on this vehicle ran on Petrol, which passed 81.1% of the time. Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 81.0% of the time, April–September 82.4%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Anti-lock braking system warning lamp indicates an ABS fault", noted on 3.16% of tests.
- 158 recorded tests behind this page.
- 81.6% overall pass rate, 78.4% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the Jeep Wrangler, the average is 84.6% — best year 2020 (94.1%), worst 2008 (70.7%).
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
- 158
- Typical mileage (median)
- 75,737 mi
- Make and model
- Jeep Wrangler
- Updated
- 2026-11-07
Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data (2023–2025), OGL v3.0.
Top part to budget for
Bulb
Usually a DIY or independent-garage job.
Does mileage affect the Wrangler MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 61% so small gaps stay visible.
Fuel type and reliability
Pass rate by fuel type. Petrol is the most common here (60% of tests).
Where the Jeep Wrangler is most common
Across all Wrangler model years on record (2000–2022): 8,257 Jeep Wrangler cars tested in a recordable postcode area, across 15,780 tests. Ashford (TN) has the most, with 223 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 | Ashford (TN) | 223 | 83.3% |
| 2 | High Wycombe (HP) | 198 | 87.4% |
| 3 | Guildford (GU) | 181 | 79.9% |
| 4 | Slough (SL) | 172 | 87.3% |
| 5 | Chelmsford (CM) | 164 | 89.0% |
| 6 | Kingston upon Thames (KT) | 161 | 88.5% |
| 7 | Ipswich (IP) | 159 | 81.4% |
| 8 | Derby (DE) | 155 | 84.7% |
| 9 | Northampton (NN) | 152 | 88.7% |
| 10 | Crawley (RH) | 144 | 83.2% |
| 11 | Peterborough (PE) | 136 | 81.6% |
| 12 | Birmingham (B) | 134 | 84.4% |
| 13 | Reading (RG) | 132 | 87.2% |
| 14 | Exeter (EX) | 130 | 79.8% |
| 15 | Coventry (CV) | 126 | 87.8% |
| 16 | Sheffield (S) | 124 | 88.9% |
| 17 | Warrington (WA) | 121 | 86.1% |
| 18 | Bradford (BD) | 120 | 90.6% |
| 19 | Portsmouth (PO) | 113 | 83.1% |
| 20 | Norwich (NR) | 111 | 84.2% |
The twenty areas with the most Jeep Wrangler 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 Wrangler
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| East of England | 46 | 76.1% |
| South East | 30 | 83.3% |
| South West | 17 | 76.5% |
| North West | 16 | 87.5% |
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 2012 Wrangler
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 2012 Wrangler
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 lights 3.2% of tests
“anti-lock braking system warning lamp indicates an ABS fault”
Switch everything on and walk round the car: both headlamps on dip and main, every indicator, both brake lights, reverse, fog and the two number-plate lamps. A bulb is a few pounds and a five-minute job.
-
Check the brakes 3.2% 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 windscreen 2.5% of tests
“windscreen damaged”
Check the driver’s side of the screen within the swept area for chips and cracks; anything larger than 10mm in the driver’s central view is a fail. Most chips can be resin-repaired for far less than a new screen.
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 2012 Wrangler through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £20–£54 — and 58% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £20–£54
- Cheapest common item: individual direction indicators with a…
- £3–£12
- Dearest common item: windscreen damaged
- £80–£200
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 80%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 58%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 158 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 Wrangler, side by side
23 model years on record, from 2000 to 2022. Across them the pass rate runs from 70.7% to 94.1% — a spread of 23.4 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2000 77.7% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2001 72.7% service brake imbalance across an…
- 2002 75.8% service brake imbalance across an…
- 2003 79.0% rear fog lamp not working
- 2004 79.8% rear fog lamp not working
- 2005 84.9% linkage ball joint dust cover…
- 2006 81.4% headlamp aim projected beam image…
- 2007 77.6% position lamp not working
- 2008 70.7% headlamp aim projected beam image…
- 2009 73.2% side repeaters not working
- 2010 78.2% position lamp not working
- 2011 83.3% rear fog lamp not working
- 2012 81.6%anti-lock braking system warning…
- 2013 77.2% position lamp not working
- 2014 80.2% position lamp not working
- 2015 82.0% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2016 82.4% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2017 83.0% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2018 86.8% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2019 91.6% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2020 94.1% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2021 92.9% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2022 90.6% shock absorbers has a serious…
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 2012 Jeep Wrangler 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 2012 cars with a similar record
- SEAT Mii 81.6%
- MINI COOPER Sd 81.5%
- BMW 5 Series 81.7%
- Land Rover Freelander 81.4%
- Land Rover Defender 81.4%
- Suzuki Jimny 81.4%
Closest pass rates among 2012 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 2012 Jeep Wrangler 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 208 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 | 65 | 31.10% | 20.89% | +10.21 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 40 | 19.10% | 12.21% | +6.89 |
| Suspension | 33 | 15.80% | 20.98% | −5.18 |
| Tyres | 23 | 11.00% | 19.76% | −8.76 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 14 | 6.70% | 5.57% | +1.13 |
| Visibility | 10 | 4.80% | 4.97% | −0.17 |
| Non-component advisories | 9 | 4.30% | 4.18% | +0.12 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 8 | 3.80% | 5.52% | −1.72 |
| Steering | 5 | 2.40% | 2.57% | −0.17 |
| Identification of the vehicle | 1 | 0.50% | 1.76% | −1.26 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anti-lock braking system warning lamp indicates an ABS fault Brakes | Major | 3.2% | £3–15 |
| Brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick Brakes | Major | 3.2% | £18–45 |
| Rbt (sp) efficiency below requirements Brakes | Major | 3.2% | £45–110 |
| Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 3.2% | £5–20 |
| Rear fog lamp not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 2.5% | £3–15 |
| Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view Visibility | Minor | 2.5% | £80–200 |
| Electronic stability control warning lamp indicates a fault Brakes | Major | 1.9% | £3–15 |
| Headlamp aim projected beam image is obviously incorrect Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 1.9% | £30–80 |
| Individual direction indicators with a multiple light source up to 1/2 not functioning Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 1.9% | £3–12 |
| Malfunction indicator lamp inoperative or indicates a malfunction Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 1.9% | £3–12 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ball joint excessively worn Suspension | Advisory | 10.8% | £18–45 |
| Brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick Brakes | Advisory | 10.8% | £18–45 |
| Brake discs in such a condition that it is seriously weakened Brakes | Advisory | 7.0% | £45–110 |
| Has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Tyres | Advisory | 5.7% | £45–95 |
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Advisory | 5.1% | £45–95 |
| Chassis condition corroded to the extent that the rigidity of the assembly is significantly reduced Body, chassis, structure | Advisory | 3.2% | £180–450 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 13 | 92.3% | 20,418 mi |
| 30-60k | 36 | 88.9% | 48,513 mi |
| 60-90k | 52 | 84.6% | 73,408 mi |
| 90-120k | 28 | 75.0% | 102,573 mi |
| 120k+ | 29 | 69.0% | 148,070 mi |
Source: 158 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.
2012 Wrangler MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2012 Jeep Wrangler?
81.6% of the 158 2012 Jeep Wrangler tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 77.2% for cars first used in 2012. First-attempt pass rate: 78.4%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2012 Jeep Wrangler?
The three most recorded items are anti-lock braking system warning lamp indicates an abs fault (3.16%), brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick (3.16%), rbt (sp) efficiency below requirements (3.16%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2012 Jeep Wrangler MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 92.3% of the time, falling to 69.0% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2012 Jeep Wrangler in this dataset had covered 75,737 mi.
Which fuel type is most reliable for a 2012 Jeep Wrangler?
Petrol: 81.1% pass rate across 95 tests. Diesel: 82.5% pass rate across 63 tests. Shares are of the tests on this vehicle that recorded each fuel type.
Does the season affect the 2012 Jeep Wrangler MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 81.0% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 82.4%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.