Pass rate
93.4%
Above average — 2.7 pts ahead of the 90.7% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 51,645 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £27–£66
2020 Toyota Corolla MOT pass rate
- 2020
- 4 trims combined
- typical 36,905 mi
Most common fault
Tyres
43.8% of faults · 19.8% nationally
mostly tread below the limit, cuts and sidewall bulges.
Part only £55–£85 for Tread depth below 1.6 mm. What fitting it takes →
3.0 pts down across model years — 5.4% in 2000, 2.4% in 2024.
Which year to buy
- Best 2025 99.5% pass
- Avoid 2003 73.9% pass
Across the 24 years on record, a spread of 25.6 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 92.9%
- Typical mileage
- 37k mi
The 2020 Toyota Corolla MOT pass rate is 93.4% of its MOT tests — 2.7 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. Tyres is the biggest single reason it fails, at 43.8% of what testers record.
Check your postcode
MOT pass rates are national — type your postcode to see how Toyota Corolla does in your corner of the country.
Expert verdict
Tyres: 2.2× the national share
Tyres make up 43.8% of everything recorded on the 2020 Toyota Corolla, against 19.8% nationally — 24.0 points above. Check all four tyres yourself, including the inner shoulders, and look at the date stamp — a tyre can pass on tread and still be six years old.
- Failures here tend to be cheap ones. 56% of the repairs this model fails on cost under £30 in parts. The pass rate matters less than what a bad afternoon at the test centre actually costs you.
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 Corolla? Get an email when these numbers change .
Every Toyota Corolla first registered in 2020 is combined here — 4 trim and body variants in total — so the sample is as large as the DVSA data allows.
How does the 2020 Toyota Corolla compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 90.7%, so this figure is 2.7 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 92.9%. The median 2020 Toyota Corolla in this dataset had covered 36,905 mi.
The most common fuel recorded here is Hybrid — 99% of tests, with a 93.3% pass rate. Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 93.2% of the time, April–September 93.6%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Wipers blade defective", noted on 1.94% of tests.
- 51,645 recorded tests behind this page.
- 93.4% overall pass rate, 92.9% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the Toyota Corolla, the average is 84.4% — best year 2025 (99.5%), worst 2003 (73.9%).
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
- 51,645
- Typical mileage (median)
- 36,905 mi
- Make and model
- Toyota Corolla
- Updated
- 2026-11-05
Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data (2023–2025), OGL v3.0.
Top part to budget for
Wiper Blade
Usually a DIY or independent-garage job.
Does mileage affect the Corolla MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 83% so small gaps stay visible.
Fuel type and reliability
Pass rate by fuel type. Hybrid is the most common here (99% of tests).
Regional pass rates for the Corolla
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South East | 10,622 | 93.3% |
| North West | 6,952 | 94.3% |
| Yorkshire | 5,530 | 94.4% |
| West Midlands | 5,262 | 93.6% |
| East of England | 5,075 | 92.6% |
| East Midlands | 4,425 | 94.1% |
| South West | 4,313 | 91.4% |
| Scotland | 3,626 | 91.2% |
| London | 2,130 | 94.2% |
| North East | 1,854 | 93.4% |
| Wales | 1,851 | 94.5% |
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 2020 Corolla
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 2020 Corolla
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 wipers and washers 1.9% 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.
-
Check the windscreen 1.4% of tests
“windscreen damaged”
Check the driver’s side of the screen within the swept area for chips and cracks; anything larger than 10mm in the driver’s central view is a fail. Most chips can be resin-repaired for far less than a new screen.
-
Check the lights 0.8% 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.
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 2020 Corolla through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £27–£66 — and 56% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £27–£66
- Cheapest common item: washers provides insufficient washer liquid
- £5–£15
- Dearest common item: windscreen damaged
- £80–£200
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 80%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 56%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 51,645 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 Corolla, side by side
24 model years on record, from 2000 to 2025. Across them the pass rate runs from 73.9% to 99.5% — a spread of 25.6 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2000 76.7% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2001 76.7% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2002 75.8% headlamp lens slightly defective
- 2003 73.9% headlamp lens slightly defective
- 2004 74.1% headlamp lens slightly defective
- 2005 76.6% headlamp lens slightly defective
- 2006 78.0% headlamp lens slightly defective
- 2007 78.6% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2008 79.4% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2009 79.6% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2010 82.1% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2011 82.1% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2014 89.5% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2015 87.0% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2016 84.1% position lamp incorrect colour
- 2017 92.6% wipers does not clear the…
- 2018 90.5% window excessively tinted but not…
- 2019 92.9% wipers blade defective
- 2020 93.4%wipers blade defective
- 2021 93.7% wipers blade defective
- 2022 94.5% wipers blade defective
- 2023 95.7% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2024 97.7% has a cut in excess of the…
- 2025 99.5% has a cut in excess of the…
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 2020 Toyota Corolla 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 2020 cars with a similar record
- Audi Q2 93.4%
- Honda E Advance 93.4%
- Hyundai I20 93.5%
- Jaguar E-Pace Chequered Flag 93.5%
- Kia Stonic 93.3%
- Ford Puma 93.6%
Closest pass rates among 2020 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 2020 Toyota Corolla 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 30,138 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 | 13,232 | 43.80% | 19.76% | +24.04 |
| Brakes | 6,527 | 21.60% | 20.89% | +0.71 |
| Visibility | 3,943 | 13.00% | 4.97% | +8.03 |
| Non-component advisories | 2,474 | 8.20% | 4.18% | +4.02 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 1,809 | 6.00% | 12.21% | −6.21 |
| Suspension | 892 | 3.00% | 20.98% | −17.98 |
| Identification of the vehicle | 770 | 2.50% | 1.76% | +0.74 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 244 | 0.80% | 5.57% | −4.77 |
| Road Wheels | 191 | 0.60% | 0.75% | −0.15 |
| Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | 56 | 0.20% | 0.82% | −0.62 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wipers blade defective Visibility | Minor | 1.9% | £8–22 |
| Has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords Tyres | Major | 1.5% | £45–95 |
| Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view Visibility | Minor | 1.4% | £80–200 |
| Wipers does not clear the windscreen effectively Visibility | Rectified | 1.3% | £8–22 |
| Wipers does not clear the windscreen effectively Visibility | Major | 1.2% | £8–22 |
| Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 0.85% | £5–20 |
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Major | 0.59% | £45–95 |
| Headlamp aim too high Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Rectified | 0.58% | £30–80 |
| Has ply or cords exposed Tyres | Major | 0.50% | £45–95 |
| Washers provides insufficient washer liquid Visibility | Rectified | 0.44% | £5–15 |
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 | 12.7% | £45–95 |
| Brake discs in such a condition that it is seriously weakened Brakes | Advisory | 8.2% | £45–110 |
| Has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Tyres | Advisory | 3.3% | £45–95 |
| Has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords Tyres | Advisory | 2.5% | £45–95 |
| Tread depth tread pattern not visible over the whole tread area when minimum depth required is 1.0mm Tyres | Advisory | 2.1% | £45–95 |
| Non-component advisories Nail in tyre Non-component advisories | Advisory | 1.8% | £45–95 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 19,986 | 95.3% | 19,265 mi |
| 30-60k | 18,918 | 92.5% | 42,779 mi |
| 60-90k | 7,387 | 91.6% | 72,850 mi |
| 90-120k | 3,027 | 92.2% | 102,875 mi |
| 120k+ | 2,310 | 91.0% | 153,820 mi |
Source: 51,645 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.
2020 Corolla MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2020 Toyota Corolla?
93.4% of the 51,645 2020 Toyota Corolla tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 90.7% for cars first used in 2020. First-attempt pass rate: 92.9%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2020 Toyota Corolla?
The three most recorded items are wipers blade defective (1.94%), has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords (1.46%), windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view (1.35%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2020 Toyota Corolla MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 95.3% of the time, falling to 91.0% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2020 Toyota Corolla in this dataset had covered 36,905 mi.
Which fuel type is most reliable for a 2020 Toyota Corolla?
Hybrid: 93.3% pass rate across 51,227 tests. Petrol: 95.4% pass rate across 417 tests. Shares are of the tests on this vehicle that recorded each fuel type.
Does the season affect the 2020 Toyota Corolla MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 93.2% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 93.6%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.