Pass rate
93.1%
Above average — 5.2 pts ahead of the 87.9% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 102 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £20–£59
2018 Toyota Aqua MOT pass rate
- 2018
- typical 42,155 mi
Most common fault
Lamps & electrics
28.9% of faults · 12.2% nationally
Which year to buy
- Best 2019 100.0% pass
- Avoid 2012 87.8% pass
Across the 8 years on record, a spread of 12.2 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 92.6%
- Typical mileage
- 42k mi
The 2018 Toyota Aqua MOT pass rate is 93.1% of its MOT tests — 5.2 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. Lamps & electrics is the biggest single reason it fails, at 28.9% of what testers record.
Check your postcode
MOT pass rates are national — type your postcode to see how Toyota Aqua does in your corner of the country.
Expert verdict
Lamps & electrics: 2.4× the national share
Lamps & electrics make up 28.9% of everything recorded on the 2018 Toyota Aqua, against 12.2% nationally — 16.7 points above. Walk round the car with the lights on before the test: bulbs, indicators and number-plate lamps are the cheapest failures to prevent and among the most common.
- 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 87.9% and this one manages 93.1% — 5.2 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict.
- When it fails, it costs. Only 33% 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 Toyota Aqua? Get an email when these numbers change .
How does the 2018 Toyota Aqua compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 87.9%, so this figure is 5.2 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 92.6%. The median 2018 Toyota Aqua in this dataset had covered 42,155 mi.
Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 90.2% of the time, April–September 97.6%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Shock absorbers has a serious fluid leak", noted on 2.94% of tests.
- 102 recorded tests behind this page.
- 93.1% overall pass rate, 92.6% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the Toyota Aqua, the average is 90.3% — best year 2019 (100.0%), worst 2012 (87.8%).
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
- 102
- Typical mileage (median)
- 42,155 mi
- Make and model
- Toyota Aqua
- Updated
- 2026-11-05
Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data (2023–2025), OGL v3.0.
Top part to budget for
Shock Absorber
Usually a DIY or independent-garage job.
Does mileage affect the Aqua MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 80% so small gaps stay visible.
Regional pass rates for the Aqua
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South East | 43 | 95.3% |
| London | 19 | 89.5% |
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 2018 Aqua
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 2018 Aqua
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 shock absorbers 2.9% of tests
“shock absorbers has a serious fluid leak”
Press down hard on each corner of the car and let go. It should settle in one bounce; if it keeps rocking, or you can see oil weeping down a shock absorber, that is the fault a tester will find.
-
Check the lights 2.0% of tests
“headlamp aim too low”
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 fractured”
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 2018 Aqua through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £20–£59 — and 33% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £20–£59
- Cheapest common item: rear fog lamp not working
- £3–£15
- Dearest common item: attachment bracket
- £40–£150
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 60%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 33%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 102 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 Aqua, side by side
8 model years on record, from 2012 to 2019. Across them the pass rate runs from 87.8% to 100.0% — a spread of 12.2 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2012 87.8% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2013 89.9% linkage ball joint dust cover…
- 2014 90.1% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2015 92.0% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2016 94.2% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2017 92.2% headlamp not working on dipped…
- 2018 93.1%shock absorbers has a serious…
- 2019 100.0% linkage ball joint dust cover…
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 2018 Toyota Aqua 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 2018 cars with a similar record
- Lexus Ct 93.2%
- Hyundai IX20 93.2%
- Honda Hr-V 93.3%
- Honda Jazz 93.4%
- Honda Cr-V 92.7%
- Kia Venga 92.7%
Closest pass rates among 2018 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 2018 Toyota Aqua 10 failure items · 6 advisories · 7 inspection categories · mileage brackets · all of it in the page, none of it above the fold
Every inspection category
Shares of the 45 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 13 | 28.90% | 12.21% | +16.69 |
| Tyres | 12 | 26.70% | 19.76% | +6.94 |
| Suspension | 11 | 24.40% | 20.98% | +3.42 |
| Brakes | 5 | 11.10% | 20.89% | −9.79 |
| Visibility | 2 | 4.40% | 4.97% | −0.57 |
| Non-component advisories | 1 | 2.20% | 4.18% | −1.98 |
| Steering | 1 | 2.20% | 2.57% | −0.37 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shock absorbers has a serious fluid leak Suspension | Major | 2.9% | £30–75 |
| Headlamp aim too low Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Rectified | 2.0% | £30–80 |
| Position lamp not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Rectified | 2.0% | £5–25 |
| Rear fog lamp not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 2.0% | £3–15 |
| Attachment bracket and mounting attachment bracket/mounting fractured Suspension | Major | 0.98% | £40–150 |
| Headlamp aim not tested unable to be tested Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 0.98% | £30–80 |
| Headlamp aim too low Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 0.98% | £30–80 |
| Headlamp not working on dipped beam Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 0.98% | £5–25 |
| Linkage ball joint dust cover ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt Suspension | Major | 0.98% | £18–45 |
| Linkage ball joint dust cover ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt Suspension | Rectified | 0.98% | £18–45 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Tyres | Advisory | 4.9% | £45–95 |
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Advisory | 2.9% | £45–95 |
| Pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn Suspension | Advisory | 2.0% | £40–150 |
| Brake discs in such a condition that it is seriously weakened Brakes | Advisory | 0.98% | £45–110 |
| Has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords Tyres | Advisory | 0.98% | £45–95 |
| Non-component advisories Nail in tyre Non-component advisories | Advisory | 0.98% | £45–95 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 17 | 100.0% | 19,475 mi |
| 30-60k | 61 | 93.4% | 41,545 mi |
| 60-90k | 18 | 88.9% | 71,091 mi |
| 90-120k | 3 | 100.0% | 104,891 mi |
Source: 102 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.
2018 Aqua MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2018 Toyota Aqua?
93.1% of the 102 2018 Toyota Aqua tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 87.9% for cars first used in 2018. First-attempt pass rate: 92.6%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2018 Toyota Aqua?
The three most recorded items are shock absorbers has a serious fluid leak (2.94%), headlamp aim too low (1.96%), position lamp not working (1.96%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2018 Toyota Aqua MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 100.0% of the time, falling to 100.0% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2018 Toyota Aqua in this dataset had covered 42,155 mi.
Does the season affect the 2018 Toyota Aqua MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 90.2% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 97.6%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.