Mazda 3 MOT failures and reliability
In 2023 the Mazda 3 took 110,073 MOT tests in Britain and passed 68% of them first time, below the national average of 71% for all cars. The figures below come from the DVSA's record of every test, so they show what testers actually found on these cars rather than what owners report.
- MOT tests in 2023
- 110,073
- First-time pass rate
- 68%
- All cars
- 71%
What the 3 fails on
Share of tests with at least one failure in each area, against the figure for all cars.
- Suspension14.6% (all cars 9.0%)
- Lights and electrics10.8% (all cars 11.3%)
- Brakes7.3% (all cars 6.8%)
- Tyres6.6% (all cars 6.4%)
- Visibility4.2% (all cars 4.8%)
- Exhaust and emissions3.5% (all cars 3.1%)
- Body and structure2.3% (all cars 3.5%)
- Seat belts and airbags0.8% (all cars 1.0%)
Most common failure items
Share of tests on which each item was recorded.
- Coil spring: fractured or broken 4.6%
- Position lamp: not working 4.1%
- Suspension arms, ball joint: ball joint excessively worn 4.1%
- Brake pads: less than 1.5 mm thick 3.2%
- Tread depth: tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm 2.7%
- Malfunction indicator lamp: inoperative or indicates a malfunction 2.6%
- Wipers: does not clear the windscreen effectively 2.0%
- Stop lamp: not working 1.7%
Most common advisories
- Tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge 18.1%
- Brake pads: wearing thin 11.7%
- Brake discs: worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened 10.4%
- Tyres, condition: slightly damaged/cracking or perishing 9.8%
- Sub-frame: corroded but not seriously weakened 6.5%
- Suspension arms, pins and bushes: pin or bush worn but not resulting in excessive movement 5.6%
- Linkage ball joints: ball joint has slight play 4.5%
- Suspension arm: corroded but not seriously weakened 4.0%
Pass rate by year of registration
Older cars fail more often whatever the model, so compare a car with others of the same age.
| First registered | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2004 | 987 | 48% |
| 2005 | 3,290 | 49% |
| 2006 | 4,595 | 51% |
| 2007 | 5,985 | 52% |
| 2008 | 6,979 | 51% |
| 2009 | 8,222 | 57% |
| 2010 | 8,741 | 60% |
| 2011 | 5,625 | 61% |
| 2012 | 5,116 | 68% |
| 2013 | 5,254 | 73% |
| 2014 | 8,499 | 73% |
| 2015 | 11,898 | 75% |
| 2016 | 10,687 | 75% |
| 2017 | 8,227 | 77% |
| 2018 | 7,071 | 85% |
| 2019 | 4,435 | 90% |
| 2020 | 4,334 | 90% |
Typical mileage by age
Average odometer reading at the MOT, by the car's age in years at the test.
| Age at test | Average mileage |
|---|---|
| 3 years | 21,054 miles |
| 4 years | 26,667 miles |
| 5 years | 35,243 miles |
| 6 years | 44,424 miles |
| 7 years | 53,981 miles |
| 8 years | 63,185 miles |
| 9 years | 68,657 miles |
| 10 years | 72,439 miles |
| 11 years | 83,283 miles |
| 12 years | 87,511 miles |
| 13 years | 94,636 miles |
| 14 years | 95,677 miles |
| 15 years | 96,909 miles |
| 16 years | 101,419 miles |
| 17 years | 103,654 miles |
| 18 years | 103,723 miles |
| 19 years | 97,722 miles |
Check a particular 3
Model figures tell you what to look out for. To see one car's own MOT history, mileage and tax, enter its registration.
Other Mazda models
- Mazda 2
- Mazda MX 5
- Mazda 6
- Mazda CX 5
- Mazda CX 3
- Mazda 5
- Mazda Bongo
- Mazda CX 30
- Mazda RX 8
- Mazda B Series
- Mazda 323
- Mazda CX 7
Source: Department for Transport, Anonymised MOT tests and results, 2023, cars and light vans, normal tests only. Pass rates are first-time passes; a pass after repair at the test station counts as a fail. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.