Toyota Aqua MOT Pass Rate & Official DVSA Failure Statistics

Toyota Aqua MOT History and Failure Rates vs UK National Average

The Toyota Aqua passed on its first attempt in 89.5%, and its overall record sits +9.3 percentage points above the national average for all cars. These figures come from every recorded DVSA MOT test for the Toyota Aqua in the 2023–2025 data: 2,271 tests across 8 model years (2012–2019). 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 Toyota Aqua MOT Problems by Failure Category

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

Top Recorded Toyota Aqua DVSA MOT Test Statistics & Defect Descriptions

The descriptions below are the exact DVSA failure strings testers recorded most often for the Toyota Aqua, each with how many of the model's 2,271 tests it was noted on.

• "Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources" (Minor) — noted on about 65 Toyota Aqua tests, 2.9% of the model's MOT record.
• "Position lamp not working" (Rectified) — noted on about 47 Toyota Aqua tests, 2.1% of the model's MOT record.
• "Rear fog lamp not working" (Major) — noted on about 44 Toyota Aqua tests, 1.9% of the model's MOT record.
• "Linkage ball joint dust cover ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated" (Minor) — noted on about 43 Toyota Aqua tests, 1.9% of the model's MOT record.
• "Linkage ball joint dust cover ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt" (Major) — noted on about 42 Toyota Aqua tests, 1.8% of the model's MOT record.
• "Ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated" (Minor) — noted on about 26 Toyota Aqua tests, 1.1% of the model's MOT record.

Best and Worst Toyota Aqua Model Years by Pass Rate

The strongest Toyota Aqua model year on record is 2019 (100.0% across 53 tests), and the weakest is 2012 (87.8%). The gap between them is 12.2 points. Years with fewer than 50 recorded tests are excluded, so these are the years with enough MOT history to mean something.

Toyota Aqua reliability is improving in the DVSA data — the pass rate moves about 1.5 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 Toyota Aqua Owners

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

• the lights — “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.

• the suspension joints — “linkage ball joint dust cover ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated”

  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.

• the wipers and washers — “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.

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

Where the Toyota Aqua is most common

Across every Aqua model year on record (2012–2019): 1,449 Toyota Aqua cars tested in a recordable postcode area, across 2,271 tests. Birmingham (B) has the most, with 154 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 Toyota Aqua 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: Toyota Aqua MOT & Reliability