Pass rate
80.8%
Around average — 6.8 pts ahead of the 74.0% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 1,018 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £43–£107
2009 MG Tf MOT pass rate
- 2009
- 4 trims combined
- typical 39,161 mi
Check your postcode
Most common fault
Brakes
33.8% of faults · 20.9% nationally
mostly worn pads and discs, corroded pipes and a handbrake that will not hold.
Part only £25–£55 for Rigid brake pipes excessively corroded. What fitting it takes →
4.4 pts up across model years — 6.9% in 2002, 11.3% in 2009.
Which year to buy
- Best 2010 83.1% pass
- Avoid 2003 76.5% pass
Across the 10 years on record, a spread of 6.6 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 77.3%
- Typical mileage
- 39k mi
The 2009 MG Tf MOT pass rate is 80.8% of its MOT tests — 6.8 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. Brakes is the biggest single reason it fails, at 33.8% of what testers record.
Expert verdict
Brakes: 1.6× the national share
Brakes make up 33.8% of everything recorded on the 2009 MG Tf, against 20.9% nationally — 12.9 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 74.0% and this one manages 80.8% — 6.8 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict.
- When it fails, it costs. Only 31% 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 MG Tf? Get an email when these numbers change .
Every MG Tf first registered in 2009 is combined here — 4 trim and body variants in total — so the sample is as large as the DVSA data allows.
How does the 2009 MG Tf compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 74.0%, so this figure is 6.8 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 77.3%. The median 2009 MG Tf in this dataset had covered 39,161 mi.
Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 81.4% of the time, April–September 80.5%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Track rod end ball joint has excessive play", noted on 2.75% of tests.
- 1,018 recorded tests behind this page.
- 80.8% overall pass rate, 77.3% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the MG Tf, the average is 77.8% — best year 2010 (83.1%), worst 2003 (76.5%).
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
- 1,018
- Typical mileage (median)
- 39,161 mi
- Make and model
- MG Tf
- Updated
- 2026-11-07
Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data (2023–2025), OGL v3.0.
Top part to budget for
Ball Joint
Usually a DIY or independent-garage job.
Does mileage affect the Tf MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 58% so small gaps stay visible.
Where the MG Tf is most common
Across all Tf model years on record (2002–2011): 13,955 MG Tf cars tested in a recordable postcode area, across 32,916 tests. Peterborough (PE) has the most, with 543 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 | Peterborough (PE) | 543 | 80.5% |
| 2 | Birmingham (B) | 496 | 81.7% |
| 3 | Nottingham (NG) | 428 | 77.2% |
| 4 | Derby (DE) | 345 | 81.6% |
| 5 | Sheffield (S) | 290 | 81.9% |
| 6 | Norwich (NR) | 281 | 75.6% |
| 7 | Leicester (LE) | 252 | 79.6% |
| 8 | Coventry (CV) | 244 | 80.8% |
| 9 | Ipswich (IP) | 237 | 76.8% |
| 10 | Northampton (NN) | 237 | 75.8% |
| 11 | Ashford (TN) | 236 | 77.0% |
| 12 | Portsmouth (PO) | 225 | 72.2% |
| 13 | Oxford (OX) | 221 | 78.5% |
| 14 | Doncaster (DN) | 210 | 78.8% |
| 15 | Stevenage (SG) | 199 | 80.4% |
| 16 | Guildford (GU) | 198 | 74.7% |
| 17 | Cambridge (CB) | 195 | 82.1% |
| 18 | York (YO) | 194 | 79.1% |
| 19 | Chelmsford (CM) | 191 | 77.1% |
| 20 | Bristol (BS) | 188 | 74.0% |
The twenty areas with the most MG Tf 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 Tf
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South East | 199 | 81.9% |
| East of England | 191 | 78.5% |
| West Midlands | 155 | 85.2% |
| South West | 100 | 80.0% |
| East Midlands | 99 | 82.8% |
| Yorkshire | 92 | 78.3% |
| North West | 59 | 83.1% |
| Wales | 50 | 78.0% |
| Scotland | 35 | 60.0% |
| North East | 31 | 90.3% |
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 2009 Tf
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 2009 Tf
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 suspension joints 2.8% of tests
“track rod end ball joint has excessive play”
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.
-
Check the lights 2.2% of tests
“srs malfunction indicator lamp warning lamp indicates a 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 brake pipes 2.0% of tests
“rigid brake pipes excessively corroded”
Brake pipes run under the car, usually in front of the rear wheels. Flaking or crusty metal is what fails; a light dusting of surface rust does not. Worth asking a garage to look while it is on a ramp.
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 2009 Tf through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £43–£107 — and 31% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £43–£107
- Cheapest common item: srs malfunction indicator lamp warning lamp…
- £3–£12
- Dearest common item: sub-frame corroded
- £180–£450
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 70%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 31%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 1,018 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 Tf, side by side
10 model years on record, from 2002 to 2011. Across them the pass rate runs from 76.5% to 83.1% — a spread of 6.6 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2002 77.1% rbt (sp) efficiency below…
- 2003 76.5% rbt (sp) efficiency below…
- 2004 77.9% rbt (sp) efficiency below…
- 2005 78.9% rbt (sp) efficiency below…
- 2006 81.0% rbt (sp) efficiency below…
- 2007 81.8% ball joint excessively worn
- 2008 78.6% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2009 80.8%track rod end ball joint has…
- 2010 83.1% track rod end ball joint has…
- 2011 80.1% track rod end ball joint has…
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 2009 MG Tf 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 2009 cars with a similar record
- BMW X5 80.8%
- Subaru Impreza 80.8%
- BMW 5 Series 80.8%
- BMW 525 80.9%
- Mercedes-Benz S-Class 80.9%
- Toyota Prius 80.6%
Closest pass rates among 2009 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 2009 MG Tf 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 1,484 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 | 512 | 33.80% | 20.89% | +12.91 |
| Suspension | 344 | 22.70% | 20.98% | +1.72 |
| Tyres | 135 | 8.90% | 19.76% | −10.86 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 131 | 8.60% | 12.21% | −3.61 |
| Steering | 95 | 6.30% | 2.57% | +3.73 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 85 | 5.60% | 5.52% | +0.08 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 65 | 4.30% | 5.57% | −1.27 |
| Visibility | 63 | 4.20% | 4.97% | −0.77 |
| Non-component advisories | 28 | 1.80% | 4.18% | −2.38 |
| Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | 26 | 1.70% | 0.82% | +0.88 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Track rod end ball joint has excessive play Steering | Major | 2.8% | £18–45 |
| Srs malfunction indicator lamp warning lamp indicates a fault Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | Major | 2.2% | £3–12 |
| Rigid brake pipes excessively corroded Brakes | Major | 2.0% | £80–180 |
| Malfunction indicator lamp inoperative or indicates a malfunction Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 1.8% | £3–12 |
| Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view Visibility | Minor | 1.7% | £80–200 |
| Sub-frame corroded and seriously weakened Suspension | Major | 1.5% | £180–450 |
| Ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated Suspension | Minor | 1.2% | £18–45 |
| Ball joint excessively worn Suspension | Major | 1.2% | £18–45 |
| Suspension arm corroded and seriously weakened Suspension | Major | 1.2% | £35–85 |
| Horn not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 1.1% | £8–25 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rigid brake pipes excessively corroded Brakes | Advisory | 20.5% | £80–180 |
| Brake discs in such a condition that it is seriously weakened Brakes | Advisory | 12.3% | £45–110 |
| Sub-frame corroded and seriously weakened Suspension | Advisory | 7.0% | £180–450 |
| Has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Tyres | Advisory | 6.0% | £45–95 |
| Track rod end ball joint has excessive play Steering | Advisory | 5.3% | £18–45 |
| Pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn Suspension | Advisory | 5.2% | £40–150 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 281 | 88.6% | 21,843 mi |
| 30-60k | 548 | 79.4% | 42,526 mi |
| 60-90k | 142 | 73.2% | 70,631 mi |
| 90-120k | 41 | 75.6% | 104,115 mi |
| 120k+ | 6 | 66.7% | 122,895 mi |
Source: 1,018 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.
2009 Tf MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2009 MG Tf?
80.8% of the 1,018 2009 MG Tf tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 74.0% for cars first used in 2009. First-attempt pass rate: 77.3%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2009 MG Tf?
The three most recorded items are track rod end ball joint has excessive play (2.75%), srs malfunction indicator lamp warning lamp indicates a fault (2.16%), rigid brake pipes excessively corroded (1.96%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2009 MG Tf MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 88.6% of the time, falling to 66.7% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2009 MG Tf in this dataset had covered 39,161 mi.
Does the season affect the 2009 MG Tf MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 81.4% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 80.5%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.