Pass rate
96.8%
Above average — 14.7 pts ahead of the 82.1% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 283 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £38–£101
2015 Lotus Elise MOT pass rate
- 2015
- typical 21,654 mi
Most common fault
Brakes
33.0% of faults · 20.9% nationally
mostly worn pads and discs, corroded pipes and a handbrake that will not hold.
Which year to buy
- Best 2015 96.8% pass · this year
- Avoid 2000 87.4% pass
Across the 22 years on record, a spread of 9.4 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 96.7%
- Typical mileage
- 22k mi
The 2015 Lotus Elise MOT pass rate is 96.8% of its MOT tests — 14.7 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. Brakes is the biggest single reason it fails, at 33.0% of what testers record.
Check your postcode
MOT pass rates are national — type your postcode to see how Lotus Elise does in your corner of the country.
Expert verdict
Brakes: 1.6× the national share
Brakes make up 33.0% of everything recorded on the 2015 Lotus Elise, against 20.9% nationally — 12.1 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 82.1% and this one manages 96.8% — 14.7 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict.
- 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 Lotus Elise? Get an email when these numbers change .
How does the 2015 Lotus Elise compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 82.1%, so this figure is 14.7 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 96.7%. The median 2015 Lotus Elise in this dataset had covered 21,654 mi.
Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 96.2% of the time, April–September 97.2%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view", noted on 1.77% of tests.
- 283 recorded tests behind this page.
- 96.8% overall pass rate, 96.7% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the Lotus Elise, the average is 90.1% — best year 2015 (96.8%), worst 2000 (87.4%).
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
- 283
- Typical mileage (median)
- 21,654 mi
- Make and model
- Lotus Elise
- Updated
- 2026-11-05
Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data (2023–2025), OGL v3.0.
Top part to budget for
Windscreen
Typically a garage job — get quotes before committing.
Does mileage affect the Elise MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 87% so small gaps stay visible.
Regional pass rates for the Elise
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South East | 89 | 95.5% |
| Yorkshire | 38 | 97.4% |
| East of England | 37 | 97.3% |
| East Midlands | 32 | 100.0% |
| North West | 27 | 96.3% |
| Scotland | 21 | 95.2% |
| South West | 20 | 100.0% |
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 2015 Elise
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 2015 Elise
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 windscreen 1.8% 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.
-
Check the lights 1.1% of tests
“headlamp aim too low”
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 suspension joints 1.1% of tests
“track rod end ball joint dust cover damaged or deteriorated,”
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 2015 Elise through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £38–£101 — and 32% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £38–£101
- Cheapest common item: stop lamp with a multiple light source up to…
- £3–£12
- Dearest common item: door condition cannot be opened from outside…
- £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 283 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 Elise, side by side
22 model years on record, from 2000 to 2021. Across them the pass rate runs from 87.4% to 96.8% — a spread of 9.4 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2000 87.4% catalyst emissions lambda reading…
- 2001 88.7% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2002 87.4% catalyst emissions lambda reading…
- 2003 89.2% track rod end ball joint dust…
- 2004 88.7% track rod end ball joint dust…
- 2005 91.6% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2006 90.0% position lamp with a multiple…
- 2007 89.9% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2008 90.6% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2009 92.4% catalyst emissions lambda reading…
- 2010 89.0% headlamp aim too low
- 2011 88.5% ball joint dust cover severely…
- 2012 93.9% headlamp lens slightly defective
- 2013 90.6% headlamp aim projected beam image…
- 2014 91.9% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2015 96.8%windscreen damaged but not…
- 2016 93.6% headlamp aim too low
- 2017 94.6% headlamp aim too low
- 2018 91.7% headlamp aim too low
- 2019 96.2% headlamp aim too low
- 2020 95.7% headlamp aim too low
- 2021 96.2% headlamp aim too low
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 2015 Lotus Elise 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 2015 cars with a similar record
- Bentley Continental 95.6%
- Porsche 911 95.5%
- Porsche Cayman 94.7%
- Porsche Boxster 94.4%
- Jaguar F-Type 92.9%
- Audi A8 92.7%
Closest pass rates among 2015 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 2015 Lotus Elise 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 103 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 | 34 | 33.00% | 20.89% | +12.11 |
| Tyres | 21 | 20.40% | 19.76% | +0.64 |
| Suspension | 15 | 14.60% | 20.98% | −6.38 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 11 | 10.70% | 12.21% | −1.51 |
| Visibility | 11 | 10.70% | 4.97% | +5.73 |
| Non-component advisories | 4 | 3.90% | 4.18% | −0.28 |
| Steering | 3 | 2.90% | 2.57% | +0.33 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 2 | 1.90% | 5.57% | −3.67 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 1 | 1.00% | 5.52% | −4.52 |
| Road Wheels | 1 | 1.00% | 0.75% | +0.25 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view Visibility | Minor | 1.8% | £80–200 |
| Headlamp aim too low Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 1.1% | £30–80 |
| Stop lamp with a multiple light source up to 1/2 not functioning Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 1.1% | £3–12 |
| Track rod end ball joint dust cover damaged or deteriorated, but preventing the ingress of dirt Steering | Minor | 1.1% | £18–45 |
| Washers provides insufficient washer liquid Visibility | Rectified | 1.1% | £5–15 |
| Anti-lock braking system warning lamp indicates an ABS fault Brakes | Major | 0.35% | £3–15 |
| Battery(ies) insecure and likely to fall from carrier Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Rectified | 0.35% | £60–140 |
| Cable insecure Brakes | Rectified | 0.35% | £45–110 |
| Door condition cannot be opened from outside the vehicle Body, chassis, structure | Major | 0.35% | £80–250 |
| Driver's seat fore and aft adjustment mechanism not functioning as intended. Body, chassis, structure | Major | 0.35% | £80–250 |
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 | 5.0% | £45–110 |
| Brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick Brakes | Advisory | 3.9% | £18–45 |
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Advisory | 3.2% | £45–95 |
| Has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Tyres | Advisory | 2.1% | £45–95 |
| Coil spring corroded so that its cross sectional area is reduced and seriously weakened Suspension | Advisory | 1.4% | £25–65 |
| Suspension arm corroded and seriously weakened Suspension | Advisory | 1.4% | £35–85 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 210 | 97.1% | 18,347 mi |
| 30-60k | 69 | 95.7% | 39,187 mi |
| 60-90k | 4 | 100.0% | 62,537 mi |
Source: 283 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.
2015 Elise MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2015 Lotus Elise?
96.8% of the 283 2015 Lotus Elise tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 82.1% for cars first used in 2015. First-attempt pass rate: 96.7%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2015 Lotus Elise?
The three most recorded items are windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view (1.77%), headlamp aim too low (1.06%), stop lamp with a multiple light source up to 1/2 not functioning (1.06%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2015 Lotus Elise MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 97.1% of the time, falling to 100.0% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2015 Lotus Elise in this dataset had covered 21,654 mi.
Does the season affect the 2015 Lotus Elise MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 96.2% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 97.2%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.