Toyota RAV4 MOT Pass Rate & Official DVSA Failure Statistics

Toyota RAV4 MOT History and Failure Rates vs UK National Average

The Toyota RAV4 passed on its first attempt in 84.8%, and its overall record sits +5.6 percentage points above the national average for all cars. These figures come from every recorded DVSA MOT test for the Toyota RAV4 in the 2023–2025 data: 319,155 tests across 24 model years (2000–2023). 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 RAV4 MOT Problems by Failure Category

Every MOT failure a tester records belongs to one inspection section of the DVSA manual. For the Toyota RAV4, 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 RAV4's recorded defect strings, merged across its year pages.

Top Recorded Toyota RAV4 DVSA MOT Test Statistics & Defect Descriptions

The descriptions below are the exact DVSA failure strings testers recorded most often for the Toyota RAV4, each with how many of the model's 319,155 tests it was noted on.

• "Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources" (Minor) — noted on about 8,847 Toyota RAV4 tests, 2.8% of the model's MOT record.
• "Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view" (Minor) — noted on about 8,359 Toyota RAV4 tests, 2.6% of the model's MOT record.
• "Ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated" (Minor) — noted on about 5,366 Toyota RAV4 tests, 1.7% of the model's MOT record.
• "Headlamp lens slightly defective" (Minor) — noted on about 4,608 Toyota RAV4 tests, 1.4% of the model's MOT record.
• "Wipers does not clear the windscreen effectively" (Rectified) — noted on about 4,107 Toyota RAV4 tests, 1.3% of the model's MOT record.
• "Pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn" (Major) — noted on about 3,677 Toyota RAV4 tests, 1.2% of the model's MOT record.

Best and Worst Toyota RAV4 Model Years by Pass Rate

The strongest Toyota RAV4 model year on record is 2023 (98.4% across 188 tests), and the weakest is 2007 (74.3%). The gap between them is 24.1 points. Years with fewer than 50 recorded tests are excluded, so these are the years with enough MOT history to mean something.

Toyota RAV4 reliability is improving in the DVSA data — the pass rate moves about 1.4 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 RAV4 Owners

These checks follow this Toyota RAV4's own most-recorded failure strings, starting with what a tester is most likely to flag on a Toyota RAV4.

• 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 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.

• the suspension joints — “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.

Derived from the DVSA failure strings testers recorded for the Toyota RAV4. A check that finds nothing means the item is likely fine, not that the test is guaranteed.

Where the Toyota RAV4 is most common

Across every RAV4 model year on record (2000–2023): 142,988 Toyota RAV4 cars tested in a recordable postcode area, across 319,132 tests. Sheffield (S) has the most, with 3,633 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 RAV4 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 RAV4 MOT & Reliability