Mitsubishi Pajero, Buying guide, MOT record and recalls
In 2025, the Mitsubishi Pajero passed 69.9% of 1,563 initial MOT tests, 2.4 points below the 72.3% UK average.
Looking at a specific Pajero? Check its finance, write-off, stolen, mileage and keeper history. £15, no account needed.
Mitsubishi Pajero at the MOT
69.9% of 1,563 initial tests passed in 2025, ranking the Pajero 349th of 575 models.
First-time pass rate, 2025
Share of initial tests passed, retests excluded.
Where Pajeros fail
Share of all failure items recorded on Mitsubishi Pajero tests in 2025.
The items testers recorded most often were chassis condition or chassis has excessive corrosion, seriously affecting its strength within 30cm of a body mounting (5.3%), rigid brake pipes excessively corroded (4.2%) and rear fog lamp not working (3.9%).
The MOT page lists every common Pajero MOT failure. For one car's own results and advisories, run a free MOT history check.
What to look at on a viewing
The Pajero's most common failure areas, and what a tester checks in each.
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Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment
Walk round with every light on: headlights, brake lights, indicators, fog lights and the number plate lamp. Check no warning lights stay on after starting.22.1% of Pajero failure items
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Body, chassis, structure
Look underneath and along the sills for corrosion, and check for damaged or poorly repaired panels.20.6% of Pajero failure items
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Suspension
Listen for knocks over bumps, check the car sits level, and look for leaking shock absorbers and split rubber gaiters.16.1% of Pajero failure items
Pajero engine sizes
2.8 litre engines made up 52% of Mitsubishi Pajero MOT tests in 2025, followed by 2.5 litre at 18%.
Engine size at MOT, 2025
Share of 1,546 initial MOT tests in 2025.
Mitsubishi Pajero recalls
1 DVSA safety recall launched from 1992 to October 2026 names the Mitsubishi Pajero. Each covers vehicles built in a set period, so a recall does not mean every Pajero is affected.
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Jul 2021 R/2021/240
The air bag inflator might have a different air bag deployment performance than designed providing less protection
Defect and remedy
- Defect
- The airbag inflator might have a different airbag deployment performance than designed providing less protection.
- Remedy
- The driver side frontal airbag will be replaced with an alternate inflator.
Other Mitsubishi models
The most-tested Mitsubishi models in 2025, against the Pajero's 69.9% MOT pass rate.
- Mitsubishi L200
- Mitsubishi Outlander
- Mitsubishi ASX
- Mitsubishi Shogun
- Mitsubishi Colt
- Mitsubishi Eclipse
Mitsubishi Pajero FAQs
Is the Mitsubishi Pajero reliable?
MOT data does not measure reliability. It records whether a car met the roadworthiness standard on the day of its test. What it does show is a 69.9% first-time pass rate for the Mitsubishi Pajero across 1,563 tests in 2025, below the 72.3% average for all cars.
Has the Mitsubishi Pajero had any recalls?
1 DVSA safety recall launched from 1992 to October 2026 names the Mitsubishi Pajero. The most recent was published in July 2021. A recall applies to vehicles built in a set period, so check a specific car on the GOV.UK vehicle recall checker.
What should I check before buying a used Mitsubishi Pajero?
On the car itself, start with the areas it most often fails on: lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment, body, chassis, structure and suspension. Then check the individual car's own records. Outstanding finance, insurance write-offs and police stolen markers are not part of the MOT record, so they take a history check.
How do I check a Mitsubishi Pajero's history?
Enter the registration of the specific car. A Carpeep car history check reports outstanding finance, write-off category, stolen markers, mileage history, previous keepers, MOT and tax status, import and export markers and scrapped status in one £15 report.
Already found a Pajero?
Check its finance, write-off, theft, mileage and keeper history with a £15 vehicle history report.
Across the 1,548 vehicles of every make Carpeep has checked since November 2025, 19% had outstanding finance recorded and 13% an insurance write-off. More on the Mitsubishi history check. To confirm a car's identity, see the Mitsubishi VIN check.
- Outstanding finance
- Write-off records
- Stolen markers
- Mileage history
- Previous keepers
MOT figures are aggregated from the DVSA MOT Anonymised data set for 2025 (class 4 initial tests, retests excluded), which also gives the engine sizes. Recalls are from the DVSA vehicle recalls data, with recalls launched up to October 2026. Government data is used under the Open Government Licence v3.0. MOT results describe roadworthiness at test, not mechanical reliability. History-check findings are anonymous counts from reports bought on Carpeep, each vehicle counted once, and are published only where at least 100 vehicles returned an answer.