Pass rate
92.9%
Above average — 1.9 pts behind the 94.8% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 212 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £21–£57
2023 MG 3 MOT pass rate
- 2023
- typical 21,654 mi
Check your postcode
Most common fault
Lamps & electrics
36.2% of faults · 12.2% nationally
Which year to buy
- Best 2023 92.9% pass · this year
- Avoid 2013 84.3% pass
Across the 5 years on record, a spread of 8.6 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 92.5%
- Typical mileage
- 22k mi
The 2023 MG 3 MOT pass rate is 92.9% of its MOT tests — 1.9 points behind what its age and mileage predict. Lamps & electrics is the biggest single reason it fails, at 36.2% of what testers record.
Expert verdict
Lamps & electrics: 3.0× the national share
Lamps & electrics make up 36.2% of everything recorded on the 2023 MG 3, against 12.2% nationally — 24.0 points above. Walk round the car with the lights on before the test: bulbs, indicators and number-plate lamps are the cheapest failures to prevent and among the most common.
- Based on a small sample. 212 tests back this page. That is enough to publish and to index, not enough to treat the decimal places as precise — read the pattern, not the second digit.
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 MG 3? Get an email when these numbers change .
How does the 2023 MG 3 compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 94.8%, so this figure is 1.9 points behind what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 92.5%. The median 2023 MG 3 in this dataset had covered 21,654 mi.
Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 93.7% of the time, April–September 90.7%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Headlamp aim too low", noted on 3.30% of tests.
- 212 recorded tests behind this page.
- 92.9% overall pass rate, 92.5% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the MG 3, the average is 91.2% — best year 2023 (92.9%), worst 2013 (84.3%).
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
- 212
- Typical mileage (median)
- 21,654 mi
- Make and model
- MG 3
- Updated
- 2026-11-07
Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data (2023–2025), OGL v3.0.
Top part to budget for
Headlight Alignment
Typically a garage job — get quotes before committing.
Does mileage affect the 3 MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 84% so small gaps stay visible.
Where the MG 3 is most common
Across all 3 model years on record (2013–2023): 5,734 MG 3 cars tested in a recordable postcode area, across 8,542 tests. Cardiff (CF) has the most, with 258 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 | Cardiff (CF) | 258 | 90.4% |
| 2 | Swansea (SA) | 196 | 88.2% |
| 3 | Newcastle upon Tyne (NE) | 171 | 91.4% |
| 4 | Sheffield (S) | 151 | 96.0% |
| 5 | Glasgow (G) | 140 | 92.1% |
| 6 | Warrington (WA) | 130 | 90.3% |
| 7 | Birmingham (B) | 127 | 91.1% |
| 8 | Bristol (BS) | 105 | 91.2% |
| 9 | Preston (PR) | 98 | 90.9% |
| 10 | Liverpool (L) | 96 | 89.7% |
| 11 | Doncaster (DN) | 96 | 91.9% |
| 12 | Portsmouth (PO) | 95 | 93.1% |
| 13 | Basildon (SS) | 93 | 95.3% |
| 14 | Ipswich (IP) | 92 | 90.0% |
| 15 | Northampton (NN) | 86 | 90.5% |
| 16 | Leeds (LS) | 85 | 87.5% |
| 17 | Peterborough (PE) | 83 | 90.8% |
| 18 | Hull (HU) | 83 | 93.7% |
| 19 | Gloucester (GL) | 79 | 94.9% |
| 20 | Newport (NP) | 78 | 91.2% |
The twenty areas with the most MG 3 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 3
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| North West | 38 | 92.1% |
| Yorkshire | 36 | 94.4% |
| South West | 25 | 88.0% |
| Scotland | 23 | 91.3% |
| Wales | 22 | 95.5% |
| West Midlands | 19 | 89.5% |
| South East | 15 | 93.3% |
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 2023 3
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 2023 3
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 3.3% 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 wipers and washers 0.9% 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.
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 2023 3 through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £21–£57 — and 43% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £21–£57
- Cheapest common item: daytime running lamps not working
- £3–£15
- Dearest common item: has a cut in excess of the requirements deep…
- £45–£95
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 70%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 43%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 212 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 3, side by side
5 model years on record, from 2013 to 2023. Across them the pass rate runs from 84.3% to 92.9% — a spread of 8.6 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2013 84.3% rigid brake pipes excessively…
- 2020 90.1% headlamp aim too low
- 2021 91.3% headlamp aim too low
- 2022 91.9% headlamp aim too low
- 2023 92.9%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 2023 MG 3 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 2023 cars with a similar record
- Tesla Model Y 92.9%
- Polestar Polestar 94.6%
- Kia Niro 95.5%
- Toyota Corolla 95.7%
- Mercedes-Benz Eqe 96.5%
- Ford Puma 96.5%
Closest pass rates among 2023 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 2023 MG 3 10 failure items · 6 advisories · 5 inspection categories · mileage brackets · all of it in the page, none of it above the fold
Every inspection category
Shares of the 69 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 25 | 36.20% | 12.21% | +23.99 |
| Tyres | 22 | 31.90% | 19.76% | +12.14 |
| Brakes | 9 | 13.00% | 20.89% | −7.89 |
| Visibility | 8 | 11.60% | 4.97% | +6.63 |
| Non-component advisories | 5 | 7.20% | 4.18% | +3.02 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Headlamp aim too low Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Rectified | 3.3% | £30–80 |
| Position lamp not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 1.9% | £5–25 |
| Daytime running lamps not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 1.4% | £3–15 |
| Has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords Tyres | Major | 1.4% | £45–95 |
| Headlamp aim too low Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 1.4% | £30–80 |
| Headlamp aim too high Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Rectified | 0.94% | £30–80 |
| Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of a single lamp or all lamps Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 0.94% | £5–20 |
| Wipers does not clear the windscreen effectively Visibility | Rectified | 0.94% | £8–22 |
| Daytime running lamps adversely affected by the operation of another lamp Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 0.47% | £3–15 |
| Has ply or cords exposed Tyres | Major | 0.47% | £45–95 |
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 | 3.3% | £45–110 |
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Advisory | 3.3% | £45–95 |
| Has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Tyres | Advisory | 2.8% | £45–95 |
| Non-component advisories Nail in tyre Non-component advisories | Advisory | 1.9% | £45–95 |
| Tread depth tread pattern not visible over the whole tread area when minimum depth required is 1.0mm Tyres | Advisory | 1.4% | £45–95 |
| Brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick Brakes | Advisory | 0.94% | £18–45 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 146 | 92.5% | 16,669 mi |
| 30-60k | 65 | 93.8% | 37,251 mi |
Source: 212 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.
2023 3 MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2023 MG 3?
92.9% of the 212 2023 MG 3 tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 94.8% for cars first used in 2023. First-attempt pass rate: 92.5%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2023 MG 3?
The three most recorded items are headlamp aim too low (3.30%), position lamp not working (1.89%), daytime running lamps not working (1.42%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2023 MG 3 MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 92.5% of the time, falling to 93.8% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2023 MG 3 in this dataset had covered 21,654 mi.
Does the season affect the 2023 MG 3 MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 93.7% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 90.7%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.