Pass rate
96.4%
Above average — 19.2 pts ahead of the 77.2% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 224 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £29–£81
2012 McLaren MP4-12C MOT pass rate
- 2012
- 3 trims combined
- typical 21,069 mi
Most common fault
Tyres
26.3% of faults · 19.8% nationally
mostly tread below the limit, cuts and sidewall bulges.
Which year to buy
- Best 2012 96.4% pass · this year
- Avoid 2013 95.6% pass
Across the 3 years on record, a spread of 0.8 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 96.3%
- Typical mileage
- 21k mi
The 2012 McLaren MP4-12C MOT pass rate is 96.4% of its MOT tests — 19.2 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. Tyres is the biggest single reason it fails, at 26.3% of what testers record.
Check your postcode
MOT pass rates are national — type your postcode to see how McLaren MP4-12C does in your corner of the country.
Expert verdict
Visibility: 3.7× the national share
Visibility accounts for 18.4% of everything recorded on the 2012 McLaren Mp4-12c, against 5.0% nationally — 13.4 points above. Tyres are still the single largest share at 26.3%, but at 19.8% nationally that one is ordinary. Wipers, washers and a chip in the driver’s eyeline are the three quickest ways to fail a test that the car otherwise deserves to pass.
- 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 96.4% — 19.2 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict.
- When it fails, it costs. Only 33% 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 McLaren MP4-12C? Get an email when these numbers change .
Every McLaren MP4-12C first registered in 2012 is combined here — 3 trim and body variants in total — so the sample is as large as the DVSA data allows.
How does the 2012 McLaren MP4-12C compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 77.2%, so this figure is 19.2 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 96.3%. The median 2012 McLaren MP4-12C in this dataset had covered 21,069 mi.
Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 95.9% of the time, April–September 96.7%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Washers not working", noted on 1.34% of tests.
- 224 recorded tests behind this page.
- 96.4% overall pass rate, 96.3% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the McLaren MP4-12C, the average is 96.2% — best year 2012 (96.4%), worst 2013 (95.6%).
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
- 224
- Typical mileage (median)
- 21,069 mi
- Make and model
- McLaren MP4-12C
- Updated
- 2026-11-05
Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data (2023–2025), OGL v3.0.
Top part to budget for
Windscreen Washer
Usually a DIY or independent-garage job.
Does mileage affect the MP4-12C MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 87% so small gaps stay visible.
Regional pass rates for the MP4-12C
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South East | 105 | 95.2% |
| West Midlands | 22 | 95.5% |
| East of England | 21 | 100.0% |
| Yorkshire | 17 | 100.0% |
| East Midlands | 16 | 93.8% |
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 MP4-12C
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 MP4-12C
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 1.3% of tests
“washers not working”
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 coil springs 0.9% of tests
“coil spring fractured or broken”
Look up inside each wheel arch with a torch, all the way round the spring. A snapped spring usually breaks at the very bottom coil, where a quick glance will not reach.
-
Check the windscreen 0.9% 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 MP4-12C through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £29–£81 — and 33% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £29–£81
- Cheapest common item: washers not working
- £5–£15
- Dearest common item: catalyst emissions lambda reading after 2nd…
- £60–£250
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 50%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 33%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 224 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 MP4-12C, side by side
3 model years on record, from 2011 to 2013. Across them the pass rate runs from 95.6% to 96.4% — a spread of 0.8 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2011 96.1% ball joint dust cover severely…
- 2012 96.4%washers not working
- 2013 95.6% washers not working
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 McLaren MP4-12C 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
- Porsche 911 93.4%
- Bentley Continental 93.4%
- Porsche Boxster 91.6%
- Audi A8 90.2%
- Honda Fit 89.3%
- Toyota Estima 88.3%
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 McLaren MP4-12C 10 failure items · 6 advisories · 7 inspection categories · mileage brackets · all of it in the page, none of it above the fold
Every inspection category
Shares of the 38 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tyres | 10 | 26.30% | 19.76% | +6.54 |
| Suspension | 7 | 18.40% | 20.98% | −2.58 |
| Brakes | 7 | 18.40% | 20.89% | −2.49 |
| Visibility | 7 | 18.40% | 4.97% | +13.43 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 5 | 13.20% | 12.21% | +0.99 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 1 | 2.60% | 5.52% | −2.92 |
| Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | 1 | 2.60% | 0.82% | +1.78 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Washers not working Visibility | Major | 1.3% | £5–15 |
| Coil spring fractured or broken Suspension | Major | 0.89% | £25–65 |
| Washers provides insufficient washer liquid Visibility | Major | 0.89% | £5–15 |
| Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view Visibility | Minor | 0.89% | £80–200 |
| Ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated Suspension | Minor | 0.45% | £18–45 |
| Catalyst emissions Lambda reading after 2nd fast idle outside specified limits Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 0.45% | £60–250 |
| Electronic parking brake control defective so that it cannot be satisfactorily operated Brakes | Major | 0.45% | £25–80 |
| Headlamp aim projected beam image is obviously incorrect Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 0.45% | £30–80 |
| Headlamp aim too high Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 0.45% | £30–80 |
| Headlamp aim too low Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 0.45% | £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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Tyres | Advisory | 2.2% | £45–95 |
| Ball joint excessively worn Suspension | Advisory | 0.89% | £18–45 |
| Flexible brake hoses excessively deteriorated Brakes | Advisory | 0.89% | £25–70 |
| Flexible brake hoses ferrule excessively corroded Brakes | Advisory | 0.89% | £25–70 |
| Has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords Tyres | Advisory | 0.89% | £45–95 |
| Shock absorbers has a serious fluid leak Suspension | Advisory | 0.89% | £30–75 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 171 | 95.3% | 17,827 mi |
| 30-60k | 51 | 100.0% | 40,830 mi |
| 60-90k | 2 | 100.0% | 65,389 mi |
Source: 224 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 MP4-12C MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2012 McLaren MP4-12C?
96.4% of the 224 2012 McLaren MP4-12C tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 77.2% for cars first used in 2012. First-attempt pass rate: 96.3%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2012 McLaren MP4-12C?
The three most recorded items are washers not working (1.34%), coil spring fractured or broken (0.89%), washers provides insufficient washer liquid (0.89%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2012 McLaren MP4-12C MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 95.3% of the time, falling to 100.0% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2012 McLaren MP4-12C in this dataset had covered 21,069 mi.
Does the season affect the 2012 McLaren MP4-12C MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 95.9% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 96.7%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.