Pass rate
80.8%
Around average — 2.2 pts ahead of the 78.6% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 991 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £46–£121
2013 Smart Fortwo Pulse Mhd MOT pass rate
- 2013
- typical 45,985 mi
Most common fault
Brakes
29.3% of faults · 20.9% nationally
mostly worn pads and discs, corroded pipes and a handbrake that will not hold.
Part only £25–£55 for Rigid brake pipes excessively corroded. What fitting it takes →
Which year to buy
- Best 2012 82.1% pass
- Avoid 2009 77.4% pass
Across the 5 years on record, a spread of 4.7 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 76.5%
- Typical mileage
- 46k mi
The 2013 Smart Fortwo Pulse Mhd MOT pass rate is 80.8% of its MOT tests — 2.2 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. Brakes is the biggest single reason it fails, at 29.3% of what testers record.
Check your postcode
MOT pass rates are national — type your postcode to see how Smart Fortwo Pulse Mhd does in your corner of the country.
Expert verdict
Brakes: 1.4× the national share
Brakes make up 29.3% of everything recorded on the 2013 Smart Fortwo Pulse Mhd, against 20.9% nationally — 8.4 points above. Have the discs and pads measured rather than glanced at, and ask whether the handbrake holds on a slope.
- When it fails, it costs. Only 21% 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 Pulse Mhd? Get an email when these numbers change .
How does the 2013 Smart Fortwo Pulse Mhd compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 78.6%, so this figure is 2.2 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 76.5%. The median 2013 Smart Fortwo Pulse Mhd in this dataset had covered 45,985 mi.
Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 80.0% of the time, April–September 81.6%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Service brake performance excessively binding", noted on 3.94% of tests.
- 991 recorded tests behind this page.
- 80.8% overall pass rate, 76.5% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the Smart Fortwo Pulse Mhd, the average is 80.4% — best year 2012 (82.1%), worst 2009 (77.4%).
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
- 991
- Typical mileage (median)
- 45,985 mi
- Make and model
- Smart Fortwo Pulse Mhd
- Updated
- 2026-11-05
Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data (2023–2025), OGL v3.0.
Top part to budget for
Brake Servicing
Typically a garage job — get quotes before committing.
Does mileage affect the Fortwo Pulse Mhd MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 64% so small gaps stay visible.
Regional pass rates for the Fortwo Pulse Mhd
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South East | 297 | 81.8% |
| East of England | 140 | 84.3% |
| South West | 128 | 79.7% |
| London | 104 | 83.7% |
| Yorkshire | 79 | 78.5% |
| West Midlands | 78 | 80.8% |
| North West | 62 | 80.6% |
| Wales | 37 | 75.7% |
| East Midlands | 37 | 70.3% |
| Scotland | 17 | 76.5% |
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 2013 Fortwo Pulse Mhd
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 2013 Fortwo Pulse Mhd
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 windscreen 3.2% of tests
“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.
-
Check the coil springs 2.9% of tests
“coil spring fractured or broken”
Look up inside each wheel arch with a torch, all the way round the spring. A snapped spring usually breaks at the very bottom coil, where a quick glance will not reach.
-
Check the brake pipes 1.9% of tests
“rigid brake pipes excessively corroded”
Brake pipes run under the car, usually in front of the rear wheels. Flaking or crusty metal is what fails; a light dusting of surface rust does not. Worth asking a garage to look while it is on a ramp.
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 2013 Fortwo Pulse Mhd through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £46–£121 — and 21% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £46–£121
- Cheapest common item: stop lamp not working
- £3–£12
- Dearest common item: catalyst emissions lambda reading after 2nd…
- £60–£250
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 50%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 21%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 991 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 Pulse Mhd, side by side
5 model years on record, from 2009 to 2013. Across them the pass rate runs from 77.4% to 82.1% — a spread of 4.7 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2009 77.4% service brake performance…
- 2010 80.2% coil spring fractured or broken
- 2011 79.4% coil spring fractured or broken
- 2012 82.1% coil spring fractured or broken
- 2013 80.8%service 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 2013 Smart Fortwo Pulse Mhd 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 2013 cars with a similar record
- Volkswagen Tiguan 80.7%
- Audi Q3 80.7%
- Jaguar Xf 80.7%
- Citroen C1 80.9%
- Vauxhall Cascada 80.9%
- Mercedes-Benz B-Class 81.0%
Closest pass rates among 2013 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 2013 Smart Fortwo Pulse Mhd 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 1,220 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 | 359 | 29.30% | 20.89% | +8.41 |
| Tyres | 320 | 26.10% | 19.76% | +6.34 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 149 | 12.20% | 12.21% | −0.01 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 99 | 8.10% | 5.52% | +2.58 |
| Suspension | 89 | 7.30% | 20.98% | −13.68 |
| Visibility | 87 | 7.10% | 4.97% | +2.13 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 51 | 4.20% | 5.57% | −1.37 |
| Non-component advisories | 38 | 3.10% | 4.18% | −1.08 |
| Road Wheels | 16 | 1.30% | 0.75% | +0.55 |
| Identification of the vehicle | 12 | 1.00% | 1.76% | −0.76 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Service brake performance excessively binding Brakes | Major | 3.9% | £60–150 |
| Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view Visibility | Minor | 3.2% | £80–200 |
| Coil spring fractured or broken Suspension | Major | 2.9% | £25–65 |
| Rigid brake pipes excessively corroded Brakes | Major | 1.9% | £80–180 |
| Stop lamp not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 1.8% | £3–12 |
| Exhaust system has a major leak of exhaust gases Body, chassis, structure | Major | 1.6% | £45–120 |
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Major | 1.6% | £45–95 |
| Wipers does not clear the windscreen effectively Visibility | Major | 1.5% | £8–22 |
| Catalyst emissions Lambda reading after 2nd fast idle outside specified limits Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 1.4% | £60–250 |
| Headlamp not working on dipped beam Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 1.2% | £5–25 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Advisory | 13.3% | £45–95 |
| Has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Tyres | Advisory | 12.2% | £45–95 |
| Rigid brake pipes excessively corroded Brakes | Advisory | 11.1% | £80–180 |
| Brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick Brakes | Advisory | 6.3% | £18–45 |
| Engine oil leaks leaking excessively from engine Noise, emissions and leaks | Advisory | 5.3% | £200–700 |
| Service brake performance excessively binding Brakes | Advisory | 4.0% | £60–150 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 183 | 87.4% | 21,556 mi |
| 30-60k | 508 | 79.7% | 43,593 mi |
| 60-90k | 244 | 79.9% | 71,490 mi |
| 90-120k | 44 | 72.7% | 99,307 mi |
| 120k+ | 12 | 75.0% | 132,585 mi |
Source: 991 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.
2013 Fortwo Pulse Mhd MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2013 Smart Fortwo Pulse Mhd?
80.8% of the 991 2013 Smart Fortwo Pulse Mhd tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 78.6% for cars first used in 2013. First-attempt pass rate: 76.5%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2013 Smart Fortwo Pulse Mhd?
The three most recorded items are service brake performance excessively binding (3.94%), windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view (3.23%), coil spring fractured or broken (2.93%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2013 Smart Fortwo Pulse Mhd MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 87.4% of the time, falling to 75.0% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2013 Smart Fortwo Pulse Mhd in this dataset had covered 45,985 mi.
Does the season affect the 2013 Smart Fortwo Pulse Mhd MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 80.0% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 81.6%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.