Toyota Prius MOT Pass Rate & Official DVSA Failure Statistics

Toyota Prius MOT History and Failure Rates vs UK National Average

The Toyota Prius passed on its first attempt in 86.9%, and its overall record sits +7.3 percentage points above the national average for all cars. These figures come from every recorded DVSA MOT test for the Toyota Prius in the 2023–2025 data: 538,036 tests across 25 model years (2001–2025). 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 Prius MOT Problems by Failure Category

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

Top Recorded Toyota Prius DVSA MOT Test Statistics & Defect Descriptions

The descriptions below are the exact DVSA failure strings testers recorded most often for the Toyota Prius, each with how many of the model's 538,036 tests it was noted on.

• "Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources" (Minor) — noted on about 16,165 Toyota Prius tests, 3.0% of the model's MOT record.
• "Position lamp not working" (Rectified) — noted on about 14,827 Toyota Prius tests, 2.8% of the model's MOT record.
• "Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of a single lamp or all lamps" (Rectified) — noted on about 9,090 Toyota Prius tests, 1.7% of the model's MOT record.
• "Linkage ball joint dust cover ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated" (Minor) — noted on about 7,784 Toyota Prius tests, 1.4% of the model's MOT record.
• "Ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated" (Minor) — noted on about 7,341 Toyota Prius tests, 1.4% of the model's MOT record.
• "Headlamp lens slightly defective" (Minor) — noted on about 7,138 Toyota Prius tests, 1.3% of the model's MOT record.

Best and Worst Toyota Prius Model Years by Pass Rate

The strongest Toyota Prius model year on record is 2025 (97.6% across 168 tests), and the weakest is 2001 (76.2%). The gap between them is 21.4 points. Years with fewer than 50 recorded tests are excluded, so these are the years with enough MOT history to mean something.

Toyota Prius reliability is improving in the DVSA data — the pass rate moves about 1.0 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 Prius Owners

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

• 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 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.

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

Frequently Asked Questions: Toyota Prius MOT & Reliability