Toyota Corolla MOT Pass Rate & Official DVSA Failure Statistics

Toyota Corolla MOT History and Failure Rates vs UK National Average

The Toyota Corolla passed on its first attempt in 82.0%, and its overall record sits +3.4 percentage points above the national average for all cars. These figures come from every recorded DVSA MOT test for the Toyota Corolla in the 2023–2025 data: 366,022 tests across 24 model years (2000–2025). 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 Corolla MOT Problems by Failure Category

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

Top Recorded Toyota Corolla DVSA MOT Test Statistics & Defect Descriptions

The descriptions below are the exact DVSA failure strings testers recorded most often for the Toyota Corolla, each with how many of the model's 366,022 tests it was noted on.

• "Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources" (Minor) — noted on about 16,058 Toyota Corolla tests, 4.4% of the model's MOT record.
• "Headlamp lens slightly defective" (Minor) — noted on about 12,474 Toyota Corolla tests, 3.4% of the model's MOT record.
• "Wipers does not clear the windscreen effectively" (Rectified) — noted on about 8,586 Toyota Corolla tests, 2.3% of the model's MOT record.
• "Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view" (Minor) — noted on about 7,957 Toyota Corolla tests, 2.2% of the model's MOT record.
• "Wipers blade defective" (Minor) — noted on about 7,793 Toyota Corolla tests, 2.1% of the model's MOT record.
• "Position lamp not working" (Major) — noted on about 6,753 Toyota Corolla tests, 1.8% of the model's MOT record.

Best and Worst Toyota Corolla Model Years by Pass Rate

The strongest Toyota Corolla model year on record is 2025 (99.5% across 438 tests), and the weakest is 2003 (73.9%). The gap between them is 25.6 points. Years with fewer than 50 recorded tests are excluded, so these are the years with enough MOT history to mean something.

Toyota Corolla reliability is improving in the DVSA data — the pass rate moves about 1.2 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 Corolla Owners

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

• 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 wipers and washers — “wipers does not clear the windscreen effectively”

  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.

• the windscreen — “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.

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

Where the Toyota Corolla is most common

Across every Corolla model year on record (2000–2025): 168,023 Toyota Corolla cars tested in a recordable postcode area, across 365,996 tests. Birmingham (B) has the most, with 7,594 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 Corolla 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 Corolla MOT & Reliability