Pass rate
84.0%
Around average — 6.8 pts ahead of the 77.2% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 175 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £38–£149
2012 Subaru WRX MOT pass rate
- 2012
- typical 75,138 mi
Check your postcode
Most common fault
Tyres
18.8% of faults · 19.8% nationally
mostly tread below the limit, cuts and sidewall bulges.
Which year to buy
- Best 2018 94.9% pass
- Avoid 2012 84.0% pass · this year
Across the 8 years on record, a spread of 10.9 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 81.3%
- Typical mileage
- 75k mi
The 2012 Subaru WRX MOT pass rate is 84.0% of its MOT tests — 6.8 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. Tyres is the biggest single reason it fails, at 18.8% of what testers record.
Expert verdict
Emissions & leaks: 3.4× the national share
Emissions & leaks make up 18.8% of everything recorded on the 2012 Subaru Wrx, against 5.5% nationally — 13.3 points above. Tyres are still the single largest share at 18.8%, but at 19.8% nationally that one is ordinary. A smoky diesel or a leaking joint fails on emissions more often than on wear, so ask for a recent emissions printout.
- 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 84.0% — 6.8 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict.
- Based on a small sample. 175 tests back this page. That is enough to publish and to index, not enough to treat the decimal places as precise — read the pattern, not the second digit.
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 Subaru WRX? Get an email when these numbers change .
How does the 2012 Subaru WRX compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 77.2%, so this figure is 6.8 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 81.3%. The median 2012 Subaru WRX in this dataset had covered 75,138 mi.
Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 83.1% of the time, April–September 84.8%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources", noted on 8.00% of tests.
- 175 recorded tests behind this page.
- 84.0% overall pass rate, 81.3% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the Subaru WRX, the average is 92.0% — best year 2018 (94.9%), worst 2012 (84.0%).
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
- 175
- Typical mileage (median)
- 75,138 mi
- Make and model
- Subaru WRX
- Updated
- 2026-11-07
Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data (2023–2025), OGL v3.0.
Top part to budget for
Number Plate Lamp
Usually a DIY or independent-garage job.
Does mileage affect the WRX MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 63% so small gaps stay visible.
Where the Subaru WRX is most common
Across all WRX model years on record (2010–2018): 2,442 Subaru WRX cars tested in a recordable postcode area, across 4,957 tests. Coventry (CV) has the most, with 79 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.
| # | Postcode area | Cars | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Coventry (CV) | 79 | 94.1% |
| 2 | Sheffield (S) | 78 | 96.8% |
| 3 | Ayr (KA) | 68 | 95.3% |
| 4 | Peterborough (PE) | 66 | 89.1% |
| 5 | Aberdeen (AB) | 64 | 89.9% |
| 6 | Birmingham (B) | 64 | 96.3% |
| 7 | Nottingham (NG) | 59 | 92.1% |
| 8 | Glasgow (G) | 53 | 89.8% |
| 9 | Edinburgh (EH) | 50 | 95.0% |
| 10 | Derby (DE) | 47 | 91.6% |
| 11 | Guildford (GU) | 42 | 90.2% |
| 12 | Newcastle upon Tyne (NE) | 42 | 94.8% |
| 13 | Doncaster (DN) | 41 | 97.5% |
| 14 | Leeds (LS) | 40 | 94.0% |
| 15 | Reading (RG) | 39 | 93.0% |
| 16 | High Wycombe (HP) | 38 | 94.9% |
| 17 | Newport (NP) | 37 | 95.1% |
| 18 | Blackburn (BB) | 36 | 98.6% |
| 19 | Northampton (NN) | 34 | 90.8% |
| 20 | Cardiff (CF) | 34 | 93.8% |
The twenty areas with the most Subaru WRX 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 →
Regional pass rates for the WRX
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South East | 34 | 88.2% |
| Scotland | 30 | 80.0% |
| West Midlands | 22 | 95.5% |
| East of England | 21 | 85.7% |
| Yorkshire | 20 | 85.0% |
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 2012 WRX
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 WRX
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 lights 8.0% 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.
-
Check the exhaust and emissions 4.6% 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 wipers and washers 1.7% of tests
“wipers blade defective”
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.
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 WRX through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £38–£149 — and 44% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £38–£149
- Cheapest common item: registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the…
- £5–£20
- Dearest common item: catalytic converter missing where one was…
- £120–£400
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 40%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 44%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 175 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 WRX, side by side
8 model years on record, from 2010 to 2018. Across them the pass rate runs from 84.0% to 94.9% — a spread of 10.9 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2010 86.2% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2011 86.9% catalyst emissions carbon…
- 2012 84.0%registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2014 92.0% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2015 93.0% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2016 92.5% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2017 94.7% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2018 94.9% registration plate lamp(s)…
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 Subaru WRX 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
- Toyota RAV4 84.1%
- Volkswagen Up 83.8%
- Honda Cr-V 84.2%
- Jaguar Xj 84.2%
- MINI Countryman 84.2%
- Skoda Citigo 84.3%
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 Subaru WRX 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 206 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tyres | 39 | 18.80% | 19.76% | −0.96 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 39 | 18.80% | 5.52% | +13.28 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 32 | 15.50% | 12.21% | +3.29 |
| Suspension | 31 | 15.00% | 20.98% | −5.98 |
| Brakes | 28 | 13.50% | 20.89% | −7.39 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 16 | 7.70% | 5.57% | +2.13 |
| Visibility | 10 | 4.80% | 4.97% | −0.17 |
| Identification of the vehicle | 5 | 2.40% | 1.76% | +0.64 |
| Non-component advisories | 4 | 1.90% | 4.18% | −2.28 |
| Steering | 2 | 1.00% | 2.57% | −1.57 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 8.0% | £5–20 |
| Catalyst emissions Lambda reading after 2nd fast idle outside specified limits Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 4.6% | £60–250 |
| Catalyst emissions carbon monoxide content after 2nd fast idle exceeds manufacturer's specified limits Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 4.0% | £60–250 |
| Catalyst emissions carbon monoxide content after 2nd fast idle exceeds default limits Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 2.9% | £60–250 |
| Catalyst emissions carbon monoxide content at idle exceeds manufacturer's specified limits Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 2.3% | £60–250 |
| Position lamp not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 2.3% | £5–25 |
| Catalytic converter missing where one was fitted as standard Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 1.7% | £120–400 |
| Exhaust system has a major leak of exhaust gases Body, chassis, structure | Major | 1.7% | £45–120 |
| Wipers blade defective Visibility | Minor | 1.7% | £8–22 |
| Wipers does not clear the windscreen effectively Visibility | Major | 1.7% | £8–22 |
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 | 8.0% | £45–95 |
| Brake discs in such a condition that it is seriously weakened Brakes | Advisory | 5.1% | £45–110 |
| Has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Tyres | Advisory | 5.1% | £45–95 |
| Brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick Brakes | Advisory | 3.4% | £18–45 |
| Sub-frame corroded and seriously weakened Suspension | Advisory | 3.4% | £180–450 |
| Tread depth tread pattern not visible over the whole tread area when minimum depth required is 1.0mm Tyres | Advisory | 3.4% | £45–95 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 8 | 100.0% | 19,805 mi |
| 30-60k | 39 | 84.6% | 44,682 mi |
| 60-90k | 76 | 86.8% | 75,028 mi |
| 90-120k | 38 | 78.9% | 100,914 mi |
| 120k+ | 14 | 71.4% | 132,927 mi |
Source: 175 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 WRX MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2012 Subaru WRX?
84.0% of the 175 2012 Subaru WRX tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 77.2% for cars first used in 2012. First-attempt pass rate: 81.3%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2012 Subaru WRX?
The three most recorded items are registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources (8.00%), catalyst emissions lambda reading after 2nd fast idle outside specified limits (4.57%), catalyst emissions carbon monoxide content after 2nd fast idle exceeds manufacturer's specified limits (4.00%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2012 Subaru WRX MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 100.0% of the time, falling to 71.4% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2012 Subaru WRX in this dataset had covered 75,138 mi.
Does the season affect the 2012 Subaru WRX MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 83.1% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 84.8%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.