54.5%
Chevrolet Spark
Chevrolet Spark MOT pass rate and common problems
The Chevrolet Spark passed 54.5% of its initial MOT tests in 2025, 17.8 percentage points below the 72.3% UK average. The item testers recorded most often was position lamp not working.
Checking a specific car? Its own results, advisories and recorded mileages are in a free MOT history check.
How the Spark compares
Initial MOT tests in 2025, retests excluded. A car that failed and was repaired at the test station counts as a fail.
54.9%
Chevrolet average
72.3%
UK average, all cars
The Spark is level with the Chevrolet average. It is 3rd of the 8 Chevrolet models in the data. The average Spark arrived at its test 13.3 years old with 70,469 miles recorded.
A pass rate records whether cars met the roadworthiness standard on test day. It is not a reliability score, and part of any gap reflects how old the tested cars were.
Spark MOT pass rate by age
The same 2025 tests split by the car's age at test.
Chevrolet Spark cars aged 6 to 10 years passed 63.7% of MOT tests. For cars aged 11 years and over that fell to 54.3%, a drop of 9.4 percentage points.
| Age at test | Tests | Pass rate | vs UK average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 to 5 years (small sample) | 1 | 100% | 27.7 pts above |
| 6 to 10 years | 270 | 63.7% | 8.6 pts below |
| 11 years and over | 13,094 | 54.3% | 18 pts below |
That is a typical decline as cars age. The UK average of 72.3% covers cars of every age, so compare like with like.
Where Spark failures cluster
Every failure item recorded on Chevrolet Spark cars in 2025, grouped into the DVSA's test areas.
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment and brakes together account for 52.9% of recorded failure items. These are recorded failures across the model, not faults every car has.
The 10 most common Spark MOT failures
Specific items recorded on Chevrolet Spark cars that failed their 2025 MOT, as a share of all recorded failure items.
Together these 10 items make up 49.2% of everything testers recorded against failed Chevrolet Spark cars. The rest is spread across many smaller items, and one failed test often records several at once.
What to look at on a Spark
The recorded failures above, grouped by area, biggest first.
1
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment
Recorded most often: position lamp not working, stop lamp not working and headlamp not working on dipped beam. 18% of failure items.
2
Brakes
Recorded most often: rigid brake pipes excessively corroded, service brake performance excessively binding and service brake imbalance across an axle. 15.4% of failure items.
3
Suspension
Recorded most often: coil spring fractured or broken and pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn. 7.7% of failure items.
4
Visibility
Recorded most often: wipers does not clear the windscreen effectively. 4.2% of failure items.
The car's own MOT history matters more than any model average. A free MOT history check shows whether a specific Spark has failed on these items before, or had them noted as advisories. Buying one? See the used Chevrolet Spark buying guide.
Already found one?
Check its finance, write-off, theft, mileage and keeper history with a £15 vehicle history report.
Chevrolet Spark MOT FAQs
What is the Chevrolet Spark MOT pass rate?
54.5% of Chevrolet Spark cars passed their initial MOT first time in 2025, from 13,365 tests. That is 17.8 percentage points below the 72.3% average for all cars, and ranks 544th of 575 models.
What does a Chevrolet Spark most commonly fail its MOT on?
The item testers recorded most often on Chevrolet Spark cars failing their 2025 MOT was position lamp not working, on 8.5% of failure items. Next were rigid brake pipes excessively corroded (7.8%) and stop lamp not working (6.1%).
Which area causes the most Chevrolet Spark MOT failures?
Across every recorded failure item, the largest area was lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment at 28.5%, followed by brakes at 24.4%.
Do older Chevrolet Spark cars fail their MOT more often?
Chevrolet Spark cars aged 6 to 10 years passed 63.7% of MOT tests in 2025, against 54.3% for cars aged 11 years and over.
Does this mean every Chevrolet Spark has these problems?
No. These are the items testers recorded across every Chevrolet Spark that failed in 2025. They show where the model most often needs attention, not the condition of any individual car.
How do I see a specific Chevrolet Spark's MOT history?
Enter its registration on the free Carpeep MOT history check to see that car's own test results, failures, advisories and recorded mileages.
MOT figures are aggregated from the DVSA MOT Anonymised data set for 2025: class 4 initial tests, retests excluded, with failure items from failed tests (advisories and minor defects excluded), licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. MOT results describe roadworthiness at test, not mechanical reliability.