Pass rate
91.5%
Above average — 3.6 pts ahead of the 87.9% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 258 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £83–£220
2018 Morgan Plus MOT pass rate
- 2018
- 2 trims combined
- typical 8,284 mi
Most common fault
Suspension
21.5% of faults · 21.0% nationally
mostly worn arm bushes, split ball-joint boots and broken coil springs.
Which year to buy
- Best 2010 96.3% pass
- Avoid 2003 82.2% pass
Across the 22 years on record, a spread of 14.1 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 91.3%
- Typical mileage
- 8k mi
The 2018 Morgan Plus MOT pass rate is 91.5% of its MOT tests — 3.6 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. Suspension is the biggest single reason it fails, at 21.5% of what testers record.
Check your postcode
MOT pass rates are national — type your postcode to see how Morgan Plus does in your corner of the country.
Expert verdict
Steering: 6.9× the national share
Steering accounts for 17.7% of everything recorded on the 2018 Morgan Plus, against 2.6% nationally — 15.1 points above. Suspension is still the single largest share at 21.5%, but at 21.0% nationally that one is ordinary. Ask for the steering to be checked for play with the wheels on the ground, not on a jack.
- 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 87.9% and this one manages 91.5% — 3.6 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict.
- When it fails, it costs. Only 8% 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 Morgan Plus? Get an email when these numbers change .
Every Morgan Plus first registered in 2018 is combined here — 2 trim and body variants in total — so the sample is as large as the DVSA data allows.
How does the 2018 Morgan Plus compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 87.9%, so this figure is 3.6 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 91.3%. The median 2018 Morgan Plus in this dataset had covered 8,284 mi.
Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 91.3% of the time, April–September 91.6%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Steering rack gaiter missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt", noted on 3.49% of tests.
- 258 recorded tests behind this page.
- 91.5% overall pass rate, 91.3% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the Morgan Plus, the average is 92.3% — best year 2010 (96.3%), worst 2003 (82.2%).
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
- 258
- Typical mileage (median)
- 8,284 mi
- Make and model
- Morgan Plus
- Updated
- 2026-11-05
Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data (2023–2025), OGL v3.0.
Top part to budget for
Steering Rack
Typically a garage job — get quotes before committing.
Does mileage affect the Plus MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 76% so small gaps stay visible.
Regional pass rates for the Plus
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South East | 103 | 82.5% |
| South West | 43 | 95.3% |
| East of England | 31 | 93.5% |
| West Midlands | 25 | 100.0% |
| Yorkshire | 16 | 100.0% |
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 2018 Plus
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 Plus
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 steering 3.5% of tests
“steering rack gaiter missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt”
With the wheels straight, rock the steering wheel gently with the engine off — more than about an inch of free play before the wheels move is worth investigating. Split rack gaiters are cheap to replace and commonly recorded.
-
Check the exhaust and emissions 0.8% of tests
“catalyst emissions Lambda reading after 2nd fast idle outside specified limits”
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.
-
Check the lights 0.8% of tests
“registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources”
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.
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 Plus through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £83–£220 — and 8% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £83–£220
- Cheapest common item: registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the…
- £5–£20
- Dearest common item: steering rack gaiter missing or no longer…
- £120–£300
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 30%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 8%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 258 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 Plus, side by side
22 model years on record, from 2000 to 2021. Across them the pass rate runs from 82.2% to 96.3% — a spread of 14.1 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2000 90.0% service brake imbalance across an…
- 2001 91.6% steering rack gaiter missing or…
- 2002 89.2% catalyst emissions lambda reading…
- 2003 82.2% steering rack gaiter missing or…
- 2004 92.9% steering rack gaiter missing or…
- 2005 94.6% hose chafing
- 2006 90.8% malfunction indicator lamp…
- 2007 95.7% headlamp aim projected beam image…
- 2008 92.7% wipers blade defective
- 2009 91.4% service brake performance…
- 2010 96.3% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2011 93.0% service brake imbalance across an…
- 2012 92.0% catalyst emissions carbon…
- 2013 93.2% catalyst emissions carbon…
- 2014 92.3% direction indicator tell-tale…
- 2015 95.9% service brake performance…
- 2016 89.5% service brake performance…
- 2017 92.6% service brake performance…
- 2018 91.5%steering rack gaiter missing or…
- 2019 93.6% steering rack gaiter missing or…
- 2020 90.4% steering rack gaiter missing or…
- 2021 92.6% parking brake performance…
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 Morgan Plus 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
- Subaru Xv 91.5%
- BMW I3 91.6%
- BMW M3 91.4%
- Porsche Panamera 91.4%
- Mazda Cx-3 91.8%
- Mercedes-Benz Slc 91.2%
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 Morgan Plus 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 77 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Suspension | 17 | 21.50% | 20.98% | +0.52 |
| Brakes | 17 | 21.50% | 20.89% | +0.61 |
| Steering | 14 | 17.70% | 2.57% | +15.13 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 8 | 10.10% | 12.21% | −2.11 |
| Tyres | 7 | 8.90% | 19.76% | −10.86 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 4 | 5.10% | 5.52% | −0.42 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 3 | 3.80% | 5.57% | −1.77 |
| Visibility | 3 | 3.80% | 4.97% | −1.17 |
| Non-component advisories | 2 | 2.50% | 4.18% | −1.68 |
| Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | 2 | 2.50% | 0.82% | +1.68 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steering rack gaiter missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt Steering | Major | 3.5% | £120–300 |
| Service brake performance excessively binding Brakes | Major | 1.2% | £60–150 |
| Catalyst emissions Lambda reading after 2nd fast idle outside specified limits Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 0.78% | £60–250 |
| Pedal anti-slip provision missing Brakes | Rectified | 0.78% | £45–110 |
| Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 0.78% | £5–20 |
| Service brake imbalance across an axle Brakes | Major | 0.78% | £45–110 |
| Steering rack gaiter damaged or deteriorated, but preventing the ingress of dirt Steering | Minor | 0.78% | £120–300 |
| Steering rack gaiter missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt Steering | Rectified | 0.78% | £120–300 |
| Brake performance not tested unable to be tested Brakes | Major | 0.39% | £60–150 |
| Catalyst emissions carbon monoxide content after 2nd fast idle exceeds default limits Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 0.39% | £60–250 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn Suspension | Advisory | 1.9% | £40–150 |
| Shock absorbers has an excessively worn bush Suspension | Advisory | 1.6% | £30–75 |
| Service brake performance excessively binding Brakes | Advisory | 1.2% | £60–150 |
| Swivel pins and bushes swivel pin and/or bush excessively worn Suspension | Advisory | 1.2% | £40–150 |
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Advisory | 1.2% | £45–95 |
| Wheel bearings has excessive play Suspension | Advisory | 1.2% | £20–55 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 243 | 91.8% | 9,711 mi |
| 30-60k | 13 | 84.6% | 38,614 mi |
| 60-90k | 1 | 100.0% | 66,262 mi |
Source: 258 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 Plus MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2018 Morgan Plus?
91.5% of the 258 2018 Morgan Plus tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 87.9% for cars first used in 2018. First-attempt pass rate: 91.3%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2018 Morgan Plus?
The three most recorded items are steering rack gaiter missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt (3.49%), service brake performance excessively binding (1.16%), catalyst emissions lambda reading after 2nd fast idle outside specified limits (0.78%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2018 Morgan Plus MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 91.8% of the time, falling to 100.0% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2018 Morgan Plus in this dataset had covered 8,284 mi.
Does the season affect the 2018 Morgan Plus MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 91.3% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 91.6%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.