Pass rate
84.3%
Around average — 3.6 pts behind the 87.9% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 70 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £45–£125
2018 Mitsubishi Pajero MOT pass rate
- 2018
- typical 78,123 mi
Only 70 tests of this exact model and year are in the DVSA data, below the 100 we ask for before a page goes in the index. The figures are still shown, because they are the only ones there are.
Most common fault
Brakes
24.2% of faults · 20.9% nationally
mostly worn pads and discs, corroded pipes and a handbrake that will not hold.
Which year to buy
- Best 2017 89.4% pass
- Avoid 2007 73.6% pass
Across the 14 years on record, a spread of 15.8 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 82.0%
- Typical mileage
- 78k mi
The 2018 Mitsubishi Pajero MOT pass rate is 84.3% of its MOT tests — 3.6 points behind what its age and mileage predict. Brakes is the biggest single reason it fails, at 24.2% of what testers record.
Check your postcode
MOT pass rates are national — type your postcode to see how Mitsubishi Pajero does in your corner of the country.
Expert verdict
Steering: 3.4× the national share
Steering accounts for 8.8% of everything recorded on the 2018 Mitsubishi Pajero, against 2.6% nationally — 6.2 points above. Brakes are still the single largest share at 24.2%, but at 20.9% nationally that one is ordinary. Ask for the steering to be checked for play with the wheels on the ground, not on a jack.
- Falls short of its own age and mileage. Like-for-like, cars this age and mileage expect about 87.9%; this one manages 84.3% — 3.6 points below. Age is a fair excuse; this is not age.
- When it fails, it costs. Only 25% 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 Mitsubishi Pajero? Get an email when these numbers change .
How does the 2018 Mitsubishi Pajero compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 87.9%, so this figure is 3.6 points behind what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 82.0%. The median 2018 Mitsubishi Pajero in this dataset had covered 78,123 mi.
Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 80.0% of the time, April–September 90.0%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated", noted on 4.29% of tests.
- 70 recorded tests behind this page.
- 84.3% overall pass rate, 82.0% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the Mitsubishi Pajero, the average is 76.9% — best year 2017 (89.4%), worst 2007 (73.6%).
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
- 70
- Typical mileage (median)
- 78,123 mi
- Make and model
- Mitsubishi Pajero
- Updated
- 2026-11-05
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 Pajero MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 67% so small gaps stay visible.
What fails a 2018 Pajero
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 2018 Pajero
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 4.3% of tests
“ball joint dust cover severely 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.
-
Check the lights 4.3% of tests
“headlamp lens slightly defective”
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 exhaust and emissions 2.9% of tests
“emissions not tested unable to be completed”
Listen for a blow at idle and have someone rev it gently. Then look at the tailpipe smoke: blue is oil, white when warm is coolant, black is over-fuelling. Any of those and the emissions test is the least of it.
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 2018 Pajero through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £45–£125 — and 25% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £45–£125
- Cheapest common item: registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the…
- £5–£20
- Dearest common item: steering rack gaiter damaged or deteriorated,
- £120–£300
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 60%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 25%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 70 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 Pajero, side by side
14 model years on record, from 2000 to 2018. Across them the pass rate runs from 73.6% to 89.4% — a spread of 15.8 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2000 76.1% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2001 73.7% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2002 74.4% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2003 77.2% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2004 76.5% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2005 78.2% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2006 76.8% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2007 73.6% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2008 73.9% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2011 74.5% ball joint dust cover severely…
- 2014 79.3% joints constant velocity boot…
- 2016 88.1% ball joint dust cover severely…
- 2017 89.4% headlamp lens slightly defective
- 2018 84.3%ball joint dust cover severely…
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 2018 Mitsubishi Pajero 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 2018 cars with a similar record
- SEAT Arona 84.3%
- Vauxhall Mokka 84.2%
- Vauxhall Adam 84.2%
- Peugeot 5008 84.2%
- Renault Megane 84.4%
- Vauxhall Corsa 84.5%
Closest pass rates among 2018 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 2018 Mitsubishi Pajero 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 90 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 | 22 | 24.20% | 20.89% | +3.31 |
| Suspension | 17 | 18.70% | 20.98% | −2.28 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 14 | 15.40% | 12.21% | +3.19 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 9 | 9.90% | 5.52% | +4.38 |
| Tyres | 8 | 8.80% | 19.76% | −10.96 |
| Steering | 8 | 8.80% | 2.57% | +6.23 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 7 | 7.70% | 5.57% | +2.13 |
| Non-component advisories | 3 | 3.30% | 4.18% | −0.88 |
| Visibility | 1 | 1.10% | 4.97% | −3.87 |
| Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | 1 | 1.10% | 0.82% | +0.28 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated Suspension | Minor | 4.3% | £18–45 |
| Headlamp lens slightly defective Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 4.3% | £5–25 |
| Emissions not tested unable to be completed Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 2.9% | £60–250 |
| Exhaust system has a major leak of exhaust gases Body, chassis, structure | Major | 2.9% | £45–120 |
| Lever has excessive movement indicating incorrect adjustment Brakes | Major | 2.9% | £45–110 |
| Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 2.9% | £5–20 |
| Steering rack gaiter damaged or deteriorated, but preventing the ingress of dirt Steering | Minor | 2.9% | £120–300 |
| Steering rack gaiter missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt Steering | Major | 2.9% | £120–300 |
| Ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt Suspension | Major | 1.4% | £18–45 |
| Ball joint excessively worn Suspension | Major | 1.4% | £18–45 |
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 | 7.1% | £45–110 |
| Brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick Brakes | Advisory | 7.1% | £18–45 |
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Advisory | 7.1% | £45–95 |
| Shock absorbers has a serious fluid leak Suspension | Advisory | 5.7% | £30–75 |
| Has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Tyres | Advisory | 4.3% | £45–95 |
| Ball joint excessively worn Suspension | Advisory | 2.9% | £18–45 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 4 | 100.0% | 25,392 mi |
| 30-60k | 8 | 75.0% | 54,934 mi |
| 60-90k | 31 | 80.6% | 71,888 mi |
| 90-120k | 15 | 100.0% | 107,062 mi |
| 120k+ | 12 | 75.0% | 137,802 mi |
Source: 70 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.
2018 Pajero MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2018 Mitsubishi Pajero?
84.3% of the 70 2018 Mitsubishi Pajero tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 87.9% for cars first used in 2018. First-attempt pass rate: 82.0%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2018 Mitsubishi Pajero?
The three most recorded items are ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated (4.29%), headlamp lens slightly defective (4.29%), emissions not tested unable to be completed (2.86%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2018 Mitsubishi Pajero MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 100.0% of the time, falling to 75.0% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2018 Mitsubishi Pajero in this dataset had covered 78,123 mi.
Does the season affect the 2018 Mitsubishi Pajero MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 80.0% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 90.0%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.