2010 Toyota Prius MOT pass rate

Pass rate

82.3%

Around average — 7.6 pts ahead of the 74.7% that cars this age and mileage manage.

Across 33,319 recorded tests.

Typical repair bill £14–£42

Which year to buy

  • Best 2025 97.6% pass
  • Avoid 2001 76.2% pass

Across the 25 years on record, a spread of 21.4 points. See every year →

First-attempt pass
78.9%
Typical mileage
167k mi

The 2010 Toyota Prius MOT pass rate is 82.3% of its MOT tests — 7.6 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. Brakes is the biggest single reason it fails, at 22.3% of what testers record.

MOT PASS RATES

The 2010 Toyota Prius on the real record

82.3% of 2010 Toyota Prius MOTs passed — 33,319 tests, 2023–2025

Pass rate

The answer from the DVSA's class-4 MOT records.

Check your postcode

MOT pass rates are national — type your postcode to see how Toyota Prius does in your corner of the country.

How one model's pass rate varies by postcode →

Expert verdict

Lamps & electrics: 1.6× the national share

Lamps & electrics make up 19.9% of everything recorded on the 2010 Toyota Prius, against 12.2% nationally — 7.7 points above. Brakes are still the single largest share at 22.3%, but at 20.9% nationally that one is ordinary. 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.

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 Prius? Get an email when these numbers change .

How does the 2010 Toyota Prius compare?

Cars of this age and mileage average 74.7%, so this figure is 7.6 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 78.9%. The median 2010 Toyota Prius in this dataset had covered 167,153 mi.

Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 82.3% of the time, April–September 82.1%.

The single most recorded failure item is "Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources", noted on 6.33% of tests.

  • 33,319 recorded tests behind this page.
  • 82.3% overall pass rate, 78.9% on a first attempt.
  • Across every year of the Toyota Prius, the average is 88.3% — best year 2025 (97.6%), worst 2001 (76.2%).

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
33,319
Typical mileage (median)
167,153 mi
Make and model
Toyota Prius
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 Prius MOT pass rate?

0-30k 89.9%
30-60k 89.2%
60-90k 84.2%
90-120k 82.1%
120k+ 81.6%

Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 73% so small gaps stay visible.

Regional pass rates for the Prius

Region Tests Pass rate
South East 9,014 83.7%
London 6,329 86.2%
North West 5,413 81.5%
West Midlands 2,990 83.1%
East Midlands 2,726 74.5%
East of England 2,197 83.2%
Yorkshire 1,987 82.8%
South West 1,331 75.8%
Scotland 596 72.3%
Wales 408 76.2%
North East 325 78.8%

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 2010 Prius

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.

Brakes 22.3%
+1.4 pts vs national national 20.9% Price brakes parts
Suspension 21.1%
in line with the national share national 21.0% Price suspension parts
Lamps & electrics 19.9%
+7.7 pts vs national national 12.2% Order bulbs & wipers
Tyres 14.5%
−5.3 pts vs national national 19.8% Compare tyre prices
Show the other 6 fault categories
  • Body & chassis 4.3%
  • Visibility 4.2%
  • Advisories 3.8%
  • Emissions & leaks 3.1%
  • Identification 2.8%
  • Steering 2.6%

Shares are of every item recorded on 2010 Toyota Prius tests — a composition, so they add to 100% across all sections, not per test.

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 2010 Prius

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.

  1. Check the lights 6.3% 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.

  2. Check the suspension joints 2.2% of tests

    “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.

  3. Check the windscreen 1.9% 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.

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 2010 Prius through its MOT

Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £14–£42 — and 72% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.

Average repair across the 10 common items
£14–£42
Cheapest common item: registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the…
£5–£20
Dearest common item: windscreen damaged
£80–£200
Common items a careful owner can do at home
80%
Repairs that still cost under £30
72%

Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 33,319 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 Prius, side by side

25 model years on record, from 2001 to 2025. Across them the pass rate runs from 76.2% to 97.6% — a spread of 21.4 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.

  1. 2001 76.2% registration plate lamp(s)…
  2. 2002 80.1% headlamp lens slightly defective
  3. 2003 78.7% headlamp lens slightly defective
  4. 2004 78.3% registration plate lamp(s)…
  5. 2005 79.3% headlamp lens slightly defective
  6. 2006 78.0% registration plate lamp(s)…
  7. 2007 79.3% headlamp lens slightly defective
  8. 2008 80.2% headlamp lens slightly defective
  9. 2009 80.6% registration plate lamp(s)…
  10. 2010 82.3%
    registration plate lamp(s)…
  11. 2011 83.2% registration plate lamp(s)…
  12. 2012 85.6% registration plate lamp(s)…
  13. 2013 87.7% registration plate lamp(s)…
  14. 2014 89.6% registration plate lamp(s)…
  15. 2015 90.6% registration plate lamp(s)…
  16. 2016 91.4% ball joint dust cover severely…
  17. 2017 92.8% ball joint dust cover severely…
  18. 2018 93.3% wipers does not clear the…
  19. 2019 93.5% registration plate lamp(s)…
  20. 2020 92.1% registration plate lamp(s)…
  21. 2021 93.8% wipers blade defective
  22. 2022 94.8% windscreen damaged but not…
  23. 2023 95.0% linkage ball joint dust cover…
  24. 2024 95.9% has ply or cords exposed
  25. 2025 97.6% 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 2010 Toyota Prius 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.

Compare 2010 with another year →

Compare two different cars instead →

Other 2010 cars with a similar record

Closest pass rates among 2010 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 2010 Toyota Prius 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 68,896 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
Brakes 15,601 22.30% 20.89% +1.41
Suspension 14,704 21.10% 20.98% +0.12
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 13,893 19.90% 12.21% +7.69
Tyres 10,144 14.50% 19.76% −5.26
Body, chassis, structure 3,003 4.30% 5.57% −1.27
Visibility 2,920 4.20% 4.97% −0.77
Non-component advisories 2,684 3.80% 4.18% −0.38
Noise, emissions and leaks 2,191 3.10% 5.52% −2.42
Identification of the vehicle 1,949 2.80% 1.76% +1.04
Steering 1,807 2.60% 2.57% +0.03

The exact failure items, in the tester's words

Share of the 33,319 tests on this vehicle that recorded each item
Recorded item Severity Tests Est. cost Part
Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment Minor 6.3% £5–20 Number Plate Lamp →
Position lamp not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment Major 3.6% £5–25 Headlight Bulb →
Position lamp not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment Rectified 3.3% £5–25 Headlight Bulb →
Headlamp lens slightly defective Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment Minor 2.8% £5–25 Headlight Bulb →
Linkage ball joint dust cover ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated Suspension Minor 2.2% £18–45 Ball Joint →
Ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated Suspension Minor 1.9% £18–45 Ball Joint →
Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of a single lamp or all lamps Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment Rectified 1.9% £5–20 Number Plate Lamp →
Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view Visibility Minor 1.9% £80–200 Windscreen →
Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of a single lamp or all lamps Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment Major 1.8% £5–20 Number Plate Lamp →
Headlamp aim projected beam image is obviously incorrect Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment Major 1.8% £30–80 Headlight Alignment →

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.

Items recorded as advisory on this vehicle
Recorded item Severity Tests Est. cost
Rigid brake pipes excessively corroded Brakes Advisory 13.2% £80–180
Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres Advisory 13.0% £45–95
Brake discs in such a condition that it is seriously weakened Brakes Advisory 9.7% £45–110
Pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn Suspension Advisory 8.4% £40–150
Has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Tyres Advisory 7.3% £45–95
Brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick Brakes Advisory 6.1% £18–45

Pass rate by mileage

Mileage Tests Pass rate Median odometer
0-30k 168 89.9% 22,002 mi
30-60k 1,497 89.2% 48,584 mi
60-90k 3,821 84.2% 75,852 mi
90-120k 4,496 82.1% 104,951 mi
120k+ 22,213 81.6% 212,133 mi

Source: 33,319 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.

2010 Prius MOT questions

What is the MOT pass rate for a 2010 Toyota Prius?

82.3% of the 33,319 2010 Toyota Prius tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 74.7% for cars first used in 2010. First-attempt pass rate: 78.9%.

What are the most common MOT failures on a 2010 Toyota Prius?

The three most recorded items are registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources (6.33%), position lamp not working (3.57%), position lamp not working (3.33%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.

Does mileage affect the 2010 Toyota Prius MOT pass rate?

Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 89.9% of the time, falling to 81.6% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2010 Toyota Prius in this dataset had covered 167,153 mi.

Does the season affect the 2010 Toyota Prius MOT pass rate?

Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 82.3% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 82.1%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.