SM Smart Mcc City MOT Pass Rate & Official DVSA Failure Statistics

Smart Mcc City MOT History and Failure Rates vs UK National Average

The Smart Mcc City passed on its first attempt in 66.6%, and its overall record sits −7.4 percentage points below the national average for all cars. These figures come from every recorded DVSA MOT test for the Smart Mcc City in the 2023–2025 data: 16,062 tests across 13 model years (2000–2012). 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 Smart Mcc City MOT Problems by Failure Category

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

Top Recorded Smart Mcc City DVSA MOT Test Statistics & Defect Descriptions

The descriptions below are the exact DVSA failure strings testers recorded most often for the Smart Mcc City, each with how many of the model's 16,062 tests it was noted on.

• "Headlamp aim projected beam image is obviously incorrect" (Major) — noted on about 713 Smart Mcc City tests, 4.4% of the model's MOT record.
• "Coil spring fractured or broken" (Major) — noted on about 563 Smart Mcc City tests, 3.5% of the model's MOT record.
• "Catalyst emissions Lambda reading after 2nd fast idle outside specified limits" (Major) — noted on about 538 Smart Mcc City tests, 3.4% of the model's MOT record.
• "Stop lamp not working" (Rectified) — noted on about 484 Smart Mcc City tests, 3.0% of the model's MOT record.
• "Washers provides insufficient washer liquid" (Major) — noted on about 469 Smart Mcc City tests, 2.9% of the model's MOT record.
• "Position lamp not working" (Major) — noted on about 439 Smart Mcc City tests, 2.7% of the model's MOT record.

Best and Worst Smart Mcc City Model Years by Pass Rate

The strongest Smart Mcc City model year on record is 2012 (83.5% across 176 tests), and the weakest is 2003 (72.2%). The gap between them is 11.3 points. Years with fewer than 50 recorded tests are excluded, so these are the years with enough MOT history to mean something.

Smart Mcc City reliability is improving in the DVSA data — the pass rate moves about 2.0 points a year across the most recent model years shown above.

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

Pre-MOT Inspection Checklist for Smart Mcc City Owners

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

• the lights — “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.

• the coil springs — “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.

• the exhaust and emissions — “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.

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

Where the Smart Mcc City is most common

Across every City model year on record (2000–2012): 6,843 Smart Mcc City cars tested in a recordable postcode area, across 16,054 tests. Birmingham (B) has the most, with 240 cars tested there. Cars are counted by the postcode area of the MOT station, so this is where they were tested, not necessarily where their owners live.

The twenty areas with the most Smart Mcc City cars in the record, sorted by car count — sort the columns for a different question. Cars tested at a station whose postcode area could not be resolved are counted in the model's total but in no area, so the shares add up to slightly under 100% even across every area, and an area's cars are a subset of the model's. Pass rate is blank below 30 tests in an area, where a percentage is noise rather than a finding. How this model's pass rate varies by postcode →

Frequently Asked Questions: Smart Mcc City MOT & Reliability