Pass rate
79.8%
Around average — 6.7 pts ahead of the 73.1% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 94 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £24–£67
2008 Toyota Previa MOT pass rate
- 2008
- typical 159,943 mi
Only 94 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
30.1% of faults · 21.0% nationally
mostly worn arm bushes, split ball-joint boots and broken coil springs.
Which year to buy
- Best 2015 83.6% pass
- Avoid 2000 69.5% pass
Across the 17 years on record, a spread of 14.1 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 76.3%
- Typical mileage
- 160k mi
The 2008 Toyota Previa MOT pass rate is 79.8% of its MOT tests — 6.7 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. Suspension is the biggest single reason it fails, at 30.1% of what testers record.
Check your postcode
MOT pass rates are national — type your postcode to see how Toyota Previa does in your corner of the country.
Expert verdict
Suspension: 1.4× the national share
Suspension accounts for 30.1% of everything recorded on the 2008 Toyota Previa, against 21.0% nationally — 9.1 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.
- 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 73.1% and this one manages 79.8% — 6.7 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict.
- Based on a small sample. 94 tests back this page. That is enough to publish and to index, not enough to treat the decimal places as precise — read the pattern, not the second digit.
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 Previa? Get an email when these numbers change .
How does the 2008 Toyota Previa compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 73.1%, so this figure is 6.7 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 76.3%. The median 2008 Toyota Previa in this dataset had covered 159,943 mi.
80% of the tests on this vehicle ran on Petrol, which passed 80.0% of the time. Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 81.0% of the time, April–September 77.8%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources", noted on 11.70% of tests.
- 94 recorded tests behind this page.
- 79.8% overall pass rate, 76.3% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the Toyota Previa, the average is 72.8% — best year 2015 (83.6%), worst 2000 (69.5%).
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
- 94
- Typical mileage (median)
- 159,943 mi
- Make and model
- Toyota Previa
- 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 Previa MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 69% so small gaps stay visible.
Fuel type and reliability
Pass rate by fuel type. Petrol is the most common here (80% of tests).
Regional pass rates for the Previa
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| West Midlands | 16 | 75.0% |
| South East | 16 | 87.5% |
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 2008 Previa
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 2008 Previa
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 11.7% 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 7.5% of tests
“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.
-
Check the exhaust and emissions 3.2% of tests
“exhaust system has a major leak of exhaust gases”
Listen for a blow at idle and have someone rev it gently. Then look at the tailpipe smoke: blue is oil, white when warm is coolant, black is over-fuelling. Any of those and the emissions test is the least of it.
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 2008 Previa through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £24–£67 — and 50% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £24–£67
- Cheapest common item: rear fog lamp not working
- £3–£15
- Dearest common item: joints constant velocity boot severely…
- £80–£250
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 60%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 50%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 94 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 Previa, side by side
17 model years on record, from 2000 to 2016. Across them the pass rate runs from 69.5% to 83.6% — a spread of 14.1 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2000 69.5% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2001 70.6% headlamp lens slightly defective
- 2002 71.9% headlamp lens slightly defective
- 2003 71.1% headlamp lens slightly defective
- 2004 72.5% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2005 74.3% headlamp lens slightly defective
- 2006 74.0% headlamp lens slightly defective
- 2007 76.4% headlamp lens slightly defective
- 2008 79.8%registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2009 75.5% catalyst emissions lambda reading…
- 2010 70.3% headlamp lens slightly defective
- 2011 74.8% headlamp lens slightly defective
- 2012 80.3% headlamp lens slightly defective
- 2013 78.2% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2014 76.1% headlamp lens slightly defective
- 2015 83.6% ball joint dust cover severely…
- 2016 77.6% rear fog lamp not working
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 2008 Toyota Previa 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 2008 cars with a similar record
Closest pass rates among 2008 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 2008 Toyota Previa 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 373 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 | 113 | 30.10% | 20.98% | +9.12 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 64 | 17.10% | 12.21% | +4.89 |
| Brakes | 56 | 14.90% | 20.89% | −5.99 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 50 | 13.30% | 5.52% | +7.78 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 36 | 9.60% | 5.57% | +4.03 |
| Tyres | 23 | 6.10% | 19.76% | −13.66 |
| Non-component advisories | 11 | 2.90% | 4.18% | −1.28 |
| Steering | 8 | 2.10% | 2.57% | −0.47 |
| Identification of the vehicle | 7 | 1.90% | 1.76% | +0.14 |
| Visibility | 5 | 1.30% | 4.97% | −3.67 |
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 | 11.7% | £5–20 |
| Ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated Suspension | Minor | 7.5% | £18–45 |
| Headlamp aim projected beam image is obviously incorrect Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 5.3% | £30–80 |
| Position lamp not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 5.3% | £5–25 |
| Headlamp lens slightly defective Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 4.3% | £5–25 |
| Rear fog lamp not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 4.3% | £3–15 |
| Exhaust system has a major leak of exhaust gases Body, chassis, structure | Major | 3.2% | £45–120 |
| Joints constant velocity boot severely deteriorated Body, chassis, structure | Minor | 3.2% | £80–250 |
| Rbt (sp) efficiency below requirements Brakes | Major | 3.2% | £45–110 |
| Rigid brake pipes excessively corroded Brakes | Major | 3.2% | £80–180 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Engine oil leaks leaking excessively from engine Noise, emissions and leaks | Advisory | 37.2% | £200–700 |
| Coil spring corroded so that its cross sectional area is reduced and seriously weakened Suspension | Advisory | 29.8% | £25–65 |
| Pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn Suspension | Advisory | 28.7% | £40–150 |
| Rigid brake pipes excessively corroded Brakes | Advisory | 16.0% | £80–180 |
| Shock absorbers has a serious fluid leak Suspension | Advisory | 13.8% | £30–75 |
| Has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Tyres | Advisory | 10.6% | £45–95 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 60-90k | 9 | 88.9% | 69,652 mi |
| 90-120k | 13 | 92.3% | 110,428 mi |
| 120k+ | 70 | 77.1% | 181,315 mi |
Source: 94 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.
2008 Previa MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2008 Toyota Previa?
79.8% of the 94 2008 Toyota Previa tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 73.1% for cars first used in 2008. First-attempt pass rate: 76.3%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2008 Toyota Previa?
The three most recorded items are registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources (11.70%), ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated (7.45%), headlamp aim projected beam image is obviously incorrect (5.32%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2008 Toyota Previa MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 88.9% of the time, falling to 77.1% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2008 Toyota Previa in this dataset had covered 159,943 mi.
Which fuel type is most reliable for a 2008 Toyota Previa?
Petrol: 80.0% pass rate across 75 tests. Diesel: 81.8% pass rate across 11 tests. Shares are of the tests on this vehicle that recorded each fuel type.
Does the season affect the 2008 Toyota Previa MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 81.0% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 77.8%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.