Morgan Roadster MOT Pass Rate & Official DVSA Failure Statistics

Morgan Roadster MOT History and Failure Rates vs UK National Average

The Morgan Roadster passed on its first attempt in 91.9%, and its overall record sits +11.2 percentage points above the national average for all cars. These figures come from every recorded DVSA MOT test for the Morgan Roadster in the 2023–2025 data: 1,764 tests across 16 model years (2004–2019). 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 Morgan Roadster MOT Problems by Failure Category

Every MOT failure a tester records belongs to one inspection section of the DVSA manual. For the Morgan Roadster, 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 Morgan Roadster's recorded defect strings, merged across its year pages.

Top Recorded Morgan Roadster DVSA MOT Test Statistics & Defect Descriptions

The descriptions below are the exact DVSA failure strings testers recorded most often for the Morgan Roadster, each with how many of the model's 1,764 tests it was noted on.

• "Steering rack gaiter missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt" (Major) — noted on about 14 Morgan Roadster tests, 0.8% of the model's MOT record.
• "Headlamp aim too high" (Major) — noted on about 12 Morgan Roadster tests, 0.7% of the model's MOT record.
• "Service brake performance excessively binding" (Major) — noted on about 11 Morgan Roadster tests, 0.6% of the model's MOT record.
• "Steering rack gaiter damaged or deteriorated, but preventing the ingress of dirt" (Minor) — noted on about 11 Morgan Roadster tests, 0.6% of the model's MOT record.
• "Washers not working" (Major) — noted on about 10 Morgan Roadster tests, 0.6% of the model's MOT record.
• "Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view" (Minor) — noted on about 9 Morgan Roadster tests, 0.5% of the model's MOT record.

Best and Worst Morgan Roadster Model Years by Pass Rate

The strongest Morgan Roadster model year on record is 2013 (97.8% across 92 tests), and the weakest is 2014 (87.4%). The gap between them is 10.4 points. Years with fewer than 50 recorded tests are excluded, so these are the years with enough MOT history to mean something.

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

Pre-MOT Inspection Checklist for Morgan Roadster Owners

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

• the steering — “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.

• the lights — “headlamp aim too high”

  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 wipers and washers — “washers not working”

  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.

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

Frequently Asked Questions: Morgan Roadster MOT & Reliability