Pass rate
88.7%
Above average — 11.5 pts ahead of the 77.2% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 97 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £39–£131
2012 Smart Fortwo Brabus MOT pass rate
- 2012
- typical 45,582 mi
Only 97 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
25.6% of faults · 20.9% nationally
mostly worn pads and discs, corroded pipes and a handbrake that will not hold.
Which year to buy
- Best 2012 88.7% pass · this year
- Avoid 2010 76.1% pass
Across the 5 years on record, a spread of 12.6 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 87.2%
- Typical mileage
- 46k mi
The 2012 Smart Fortwo Brabus MOT pass rate is 88.7% of its MOT tests — 11.5 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. Brakes is the biggest single reason it fails, at 25.6% of what testers record.
Check your postcode
MOT pass rates are national — type your postcode to see how Smart Fortwo Brabus does in your corner of the country.
Expert verdict
Road wheels: 9.3× the national share
Road wheels make up 7.0% of everything recorded on the 2012 Smart Fortwo Brabus, against 0.8% nationally — 6.3 points above. Brakes are still the single largest share at 25.6%, but at 20.9% nationally that one is ordinary. Check for buckled rims and missing wheel bolts; kerbing is the usual cause and it is visible.
- 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 77.2% and this one manages 88.7% — 11.5 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict.
- When it fails, it costs. Only 14% 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 Smart Fortwo Brabus? Get an email when these numbers change .
How does the 2012 Smart Fortwo Brabus compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 77.2%, so this figure is 11.5 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 87.2%. The median 2012 Smart Fortwo Brabus in this dataset had covered 45,582 mi.
Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 88.0% of the time, April–September 89.4%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Catalyst emissions Lambda reading after 2nd fast idle outside specified limits", noted on 3.09% of tests.
- 97 recorded tests behind this page.
- 88.7% overall pass rate, 87.2% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the Smart Fortwo Brabus, the average is 83.8% — best year 2012 (88.7%), worst 2010 (76.1%).
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
- 97
- Typical mileage (median)
- 45,582 mi
- Make and model
- Smart Fortwo Brabus
- Updated
- 2026-11-05
Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data (2023–2025), OGL v3.0.
Top part to budget for
Emissions Repair
Typically a garage job — get quotes before committing.
Does mileage affect the Fortwo Brabus MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 70% so small gaps stay visible.
Regional pass rates for the Fortwo Brabus
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South East | 35 | 94.3% |
| London | 15 | 86.7% |
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 2012 Fortwo Brabus
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 2012 Fortwo Brabus
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 exhaust and emissions 3.1% 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 2.1% of tests
“headlamp aim projected beam image is obviously incorrect”
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 steering 1.0% of tests
“attachment bracket and mounting attachment bracket/mounting insecure”
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.
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 2012 Fortwo Brabus through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £39–£131 — and 14% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £39–£131
- Cheapest common item: srs malfunction indicator lamp warning lamp…
- £3–£12
- Dearest common item: catalyst emissions lambda reading after 2nd…
- £60–£250
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 20%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 14%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 97 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 Fortwo Brabus, side by side
5 model years on record, from 2007 to 2013. Across them the pass rate runs from 76.1% to 88.7% — a spread of 12.6 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2007 76.2% ball joint excessively worn
- 2010 76.1% ball joint excessively worn
- 2011 83.8% position lamp not working
- 2012 88.7%catalyst emissions lambda reading…
- 2013 85.9% windscreen damaged but not…
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 2012 Smart Fortwo Brabus 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 2012 cars with a similar record
Closest pass rates among 2012 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 2012 Smart Fortwo Brabus 10 failure items · 6 advisories · 9 inspection categories · mileage brackets · all of it in the page, none of it above the fold
Every inspection category
Shares of the 86 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 | 25.60% | 20.89% | +4.71 |
| Tyres | 20 | 23.30% | 19.76% | +3.54 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 11 | 12.80% | 12.21% | +0.59 |
| Suspension | 9 | 10.50% | 20.98% | −10.48 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 8 | 9.30% | 5.52% | +3.78 |
| Road Wheels | 6 | 7.00% | 0.75% | +6.25 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 4 | 4.70% | 5.57% | −0.87 |
| Visibility | 4 | 4.70% | 4.97% | −0.27 |
| Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | 2 | 2.30% | 0.82% | +1.48 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Catalyst emissions Lambda reading after 2nd fast idle outside specified limits Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 3.1% | £60–250 |
| Headlamp aim projected beam image is obviously incorrect Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 2.1% | £30–80 |
| Srs malfunction indicator lamp warning lamp indicates a fault Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | Major | 2.1% | £3–12 |
| Attachment bracket and mounting attachment bracket/mounting insecure Suspension | Major | 1.0% | £40–150 |
| Catalyst emissions emissions likely to be affected by an exhaust leak Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 1.0% | £60–250 |
| Exhaust system has a major leak of exhaust gases Body, chassis, structure | Major | 1.0% | £45–120 |
| Exhaust system silencer likely to become detached Body, chassis, structure | Major | 1.0% | £45–120 |
| Has a bulge, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Tyres | Major | 1.0% | £45–95 |
| Headlamp aim too high Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Rectified | 1.0% | £30–80 |
| Headlamp aim too high Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 1.0% | £30–80 |
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 | 12.4% | £80–180 |
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Advisory | 10.3% | £45–95 |
| Badly distorted Road Wheels | Advisory | 6.2% | £20–55 |
| Coil spring corroded so that its cross sectional area is reduced and seriously weakened Suspension | Advisory | 6.2% | £25–65 |
| Has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Tyres | Advisory | 5.2% | £45–95 |
| Brake discs in such a condition that it is seriously weakened Brakes | Advisory | 3.1% | £45–110 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 18 | 83.3% | 23,818 mi |
| 30-60k | 48 | 93.8% | 42,461 mi |
| 60-90k | 17 | 88.2% | 76,700 mi |
| 90-120k | 14 | 78.6% | 98,837 mi |
Source: 97 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.
2012 Fortwo Brabus MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2012 Smart Fortwo Brabus?
88.7% of the 97 2012 Smart Fortwo Brabus tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 77.2% for cars first used in 2012. First-attempt pass rate: 87.2%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2012 Smart Fortwo Brabus?
The three most recorded items are catalyst emissions lambda reading after 2nd fast idle outside specified limits (3.09%), headlamp aim projected beam image is obviously incorrect (2.06%), srs malfunction indicator lamp warning lamp indicates a fault (2.06%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2012 Smart Fortwo Brabus MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 83.3% of the time, falling to 78.6% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2012 Smart Fortwo Brabus in this dataset had covered 45,582 mi.
Does the season affect the 2012 Smart Fortwo Brabus MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 88.0% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 89.4%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.