MINI Countryman COOPER MOT Pass Rate & Official DVSA Failure Statistics

MINI Countryman COOPER MOT History and Failure Rates vs UK National Average

The MINI Countryman COOPER passed on its first attempt in 80.7%, and its overall record sits +2.6 percentage points above the national average for all cars. These figures come from every recorded DVSA MOT test for the MINI Countryman COOPER in the 2023–2025 data: 5,238 tests across 7 model years (2010–2022). A test still carries exactly one pass or fail verdict.

Figures are computed from every recorded DVSA test for this model in the 2023–2025 data.

Most Common MINI Countryman COOPER MOT Problems by Failure Category

Every MOT failure a tester records belongs to one inspection section of the DVSA manual. For the MINI Countryman COOPER, the Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment section leads the record — the breakdown below shows where the recorded failures cluster, then the exact strings behind the three biggest sections.

Shares are over the MINI Countryman COOPER's recorded defect strings, merged across its year pages.

Top Recorded MINI Countryman COOPER DVSA MOT Test Statistics & Defect Descriptions

The descriptions below are the exact DVSA failure strings testers recorded most often for the MINI Countryman COOPER, each with how many of the model's 5,238 tests it was noted on.

• "Position lamp not working" (Rectified) — noted on about 261 MINI Countryman COOPER tests, 5.0% of the model's MOT record.
• "Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources" (Minor) — noted on about 248 MINI Countryman COOPER tests, 4.7% of the model's MOT record.
• "Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view" (Minor) — noted on about 175 MINI Countryman COOPER tests, 3.3% of the model's MOT record.
• "Malfunction indicator lamp inoperative or indicates a malfunction" (Major) — noted on about 94 MINI Countryman COOPER tests, 1.8% of the model's MOT record.
• "Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm" (Major) — noted on about 56 MINI Countryman COOPER tests, 1.1% of the model's MOT record.
• "Catalyst emissions Lambda reading after 2nd fast idle outside specified limits" (Major) — noted on about 51 MINI Countryman COOPER tests, 1.0% of the model's MOT record.

Best and Worst MINI Countryman COOPER Model Years by Pass Rate

The strongest MINI Countryman COOPER model year on record is 2022 (94.0% across 50 tests), and the weakest is 2010 (82.4%). The gap between them is 11.6 points. Years with fewer than 50 recorded tests are excluded, so these are the years with enough MOT history to mean something.

MINI Countryman COOPER reliability is improving in the DVSA data — the pass rate moves about 2.2 points a year across the most recent model years shown above.

Newest model year first. Only years with at least 50 recorded tests are listed.

Pre-MOT Inspection Checklist for MINI Countryman COOPER Owners

These checks follow this MINI Countryman COOPER's own most-recorded failure strings, starting with what a tester is most likely to flag on a MINI Countryman COOPER.

• the lights — “position lamp not working”

  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.

• the windscreen — “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.

• the tyre tread — “tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm”

  Check all four tyres cold, including the inner shoulder where wear hides — 1.6mm across the central three-quarters is the legal limit, and most testers fail at 1.6mm without argument.

Derived from the DVSA failure strings testers recorded for the MINI Countryman COOPER. A check that finds nothing means the item is likely fine, not that the test is guaranteed.

Where the MINI Countryman COOPER is most common

Across every Countryman COOPER model year on record (2010–2022): 2,399 MINI Countryman COOPER cars tested in a recordable postcode area, across 5,238 tests. Birmingham (B) has the most, with 90 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.

The twenty areas with the most MINI Countryman COOPER 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 →

Frequently Asked Questions: MINI Countryman COOPER MOT & Reliability