Mini Cooper MOT failures and reliability

In 2023 the Mini Cooper took 289,542 MOT tests in Britain and passed 85% of them first time, above 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: 289,542
First-time pass rate: 85%
All cars: 71%

What the Cooper fails on

Share of tests with at least one failure in each area, against the figure for all cars.

Tyres5.7% (all cars 6.4%)
Visibility4.2% (all cars 4.8%)
Lights and electrics3.9% (all cars 11.3%)
Brakes2.3% (all cars 6.8%)
Suspension1.1% (all cars 9.0%)
Exhaust and emissions1.1% (all cars 3.1%)
Body and structure0.4% (all cars 3.5%)
Wheels0.3% (all cars 0.4%)

Most common failure items

Share of tests on which each item was recorded.

Wipers: does not clear the windscreen effectively 3.0%
Tyres, condition: has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords 1.8%
Tread depth: tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm 1.3%
Position lamp: not working 1.0%
Brake pads: less than 1.5 mm thick 1.0%
Tyres, condition: has a bulge, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure 0.9%
Tyres, condition: has ply or cords exposed 0.8%
Headlamp aim: too high 0.8%

Most common advisories

Tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge 13.7%
Tyres, condition: slightly damaged/cracking or perishing 9.4%
Brake pads: wearing thin 5.3%
Brake discs: worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened 3.9%
Tyres, condition: has a cut but not deep enough to reach the ply or cords 2.3%
Non-component advisories: Nail in tyre 1.7%
Road Wheels, condition: slightly distorted 1.5%
Brake discs: worn, but not excessively 1.4%

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
2003	381	54%
2004	498	51%
2005	603	55%
2006	632	55%
2007	1,316	60%
2008	1,109	61%
2009	1,236	65%
2010	1,668	67%
2011	2,660	70%
2012	8,191	74%
2013	14,317	75%
2014	24,738	81%
2015	33,985	84%
2016	36,130	85%
2017	37,707	85%
2018	40,540	87%
2019	46,836	90%
2020	34,468	90%
2021	2,149	95%

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	18,740 miles
4 years	24,510 miles
5 years	30,655 miles
6 years	38,532 miles
7 years	45,730 miles
8 years	53,524 miles
9 years	58,830 miles
10 years	63,738 miles
11 years	69,532 miles
12 years	80,048 miles
13 years	83,820 miles
14 years	80,722 miles
15 years	87,861 miles
16 years	87,944 miles
17 years	88,260 miles
18 years	91,698 miles
19 years	97,565 miles
20 years	101,953 miles

Check a particular Cooper

Model figures tell you what to look out for. To see one car's own MOT history, mileage and tax, enter its registration.

Other Mini models

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.