Pass rate
67.8%
Below average — 9.4 pts behind the 77.2% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 59 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £21–£68
2012 Subaru Xv D MOT pass rate
- 2012
- typical 112,820 mi
Only 59 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
Suspension
38.6% of faults · 21.0% nationally
mostly worn arm bushes, split ball-joint boots and broken coil springs.
Part only £35–£75 for Suspension pin or bush excessively worn. What fitting it takes →
Which year to buy
- Best 2012 67.8% pass · this year
- Avoid 2012 67.8% pass · this year
Across the 1 years on record, a spread of 0 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 54.8%
- Typical mileage
- 113k mi
The 2012 Subaru Xv D MOT pass rate is 67.8% of its MOT tests — 9.4 points behind what its age and mileage predict. Suspension is the biggest single reason it fails, at 38.6% of what testers record.
Check your postcode
MOT pass rates are national — type your postcode to see how Subaru Xv D does in your corner of the country.
Expert verdict
Suspension: 1.8× the national share
Suspension accounts for 38.6% of everything recorded on the 2012 Subaru Xv D, against 21.0% nationally — 17.6 points above. Ask for the front and rear suspension to be checked on a ramp before you buy — worn bushes and broken springs are cheap to look at and expensive to discover at test time.
- Falls short of its own age and mileage. Like-for-like, cars this age and mileage expect about 77.2%; this one manages 67.8% — 9.4 points below. Age is a fair excuse; this is not age.
- When it fails, it costs. Only 35% 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 Subaru Xv D? Get an email when these numbers change .
How does the 2012 Subaru Xv D compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 77.2%, so this figure is 9.4 points behind what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 54.8%. The median 2012 Subaru Xv D in this dataset had covered 112,820 mi.
The single most recorded failure item is "Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources", noted on 16.95% of tests.
- 59 recorded tests behind this page.
- 67.8% overall pass rate, 54.8% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the Subaru Xv D, the average is 67.8% — best year 2012 (67.8%), worst 2012 (67.8%).
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
- 59
- Typical mileage (median)
- 112,820 mi
- Make and model
- Subaru Xv D
- Updated
- 2026-11-05
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 Xv D MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 53% so small gaps stay visible.
Regional pass rates for the Xv D
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| Scotland | 22 | 59.1% |
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 Xv D
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 Xv D
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 16.9% 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 suspension joints 13.6% of tests
“ball joint excessively worn”
With the car parked on level ground, rock the top of each front wheel in and out while someone watches the suspension arm. Clunks, or rubber boots split and greasy, are what testers record here.
-
Check the coil springs 5.1% 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.
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 Xv D through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £21–£68 — and 35% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £21–£68
- Cheapest common item: malfunction indicator lamp inoperative or…
- £3–£12
- Dearest common item: joints constant velocity boot severely…
- £80–£250
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 70%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 35%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 59 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 →
Compare the 2012 Subaru Xv D 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
- Renault Clio 68.7%
- Renault Grand Scenic 69.9%
- Vauxhall Combo 70.0%
- Nissan Qashqai 70.1%
- Renault Megane 70.2%
- Citroen DS3 70.4%
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 Xv D 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 132 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Suspension | 51 | 38.60% | 20.98% | +17.62 |
| Brakes | 21 | 15.90% | 20.89% | −4.99 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 21 | 15.90% | 12.21% | +3.69 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 12 | 9.10% | 5.57% | +3.53 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 12 | 9.10% | 5.52% | +3.58 |
| Tyres | 9 | 6.80% | 19.76% | −12.96 |
| Visibility | 3 | 2.30% | 4.97% | −2.67 |
| Non-component advisories | 1 | 0.80% | 4.18% | −3.38 |
| Steering | 1 | 0.80% | 2.57% | −1.77 |
| Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | 1 | 0.80% | 0.82% | −0.02 |
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 | 16.9% | £5–20 |
| Ball joint excessively worn Suspension | Major | 13.6% | £18–45 |
| Pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn Suspension | Major | 10.2% | £40–150 |
| Ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated Suspension | Minor | 5.1% | £18–45 |
| Coil spring fractured or broken Suspension | Major | 5.1% | £25–65 |
| Ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt Suspension | Major | 3.4% | £18–45 |
| Electronic stability control warning lamp indicates a fault Brakes | Major | 3.4% | £3–15 |
| Joints constant velocity boot severely deteriorated Body, chassis, structure | Minor | 3.4% | £80–250 |
| Macpherson strut top bush or bearing has excessive wear or free play Suspension | Major | 3.4% | £40–150 |
| Malfunction indicator lamp inoperative or indicates a malfunction Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 3.4% | £3–12 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ball joint excessively worn Suspension | Advisory | 11.9% | £18–45 |
| Engine oil leaks leaking excessively from engine Noise, emissions and leaks | Advisory | 11.9% | £200–700 |
| Pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn Suspension | Advisory | 11.9% | £40–150 |
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Advisory | 11.9% | £45–95 |
| Brake discs in such a condition that it is seriously weakened Brakes | Advisory | 10.2% | £45–110 |
| Brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick Brakes | Advisory | 10.2% | £18–45 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30-60k | 2 | 100.0% | 55,863 mi |
| 60-90k | 7 | 85.7% | 80,144 mi |
| 90-120k | 36 | 61.1% | 107,913 mi |
| 120k+ | 14 | 71.4% | 127,244 mi |
Source: 59 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 Xv D MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2012 Subaru Xv D?
67.8% of the 59 2012 Subaru Xv D tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 77.2% for cars first used in 2012. First-attempt pass rate: 54.8%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2012 Subaru Xv D?
The three most recorded items are registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources (16.95%), ball joint excessively worn (13.56%), pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn (10.17%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2012 Subaru Xv D 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 Xv D in this dataset had covered 112,820 mi.