78.9%
Morris Minor
Morris Minor MOT pass rate and common problems
The Morris Minor passed 78.9% of its initial MOT tests in 2025, 6.6 percentage points above the 72.3% UK average. The item testers recorded most often was service brake imbalance across an axle.
Checking a specific car? Its own results, advisories and recorded mileages are in a free MOT history check.
How the Minor compares
Initial MOT tests in 2025, retests excluded. A car that failed and was repaired at the test station counts as a fail.
80.6%
Morris average
72.3%
UK average, all cars
The Minor runs 1.6 points behind the Morris average. The average Minor arrived at its test 59.1 years old with 46,302 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.
Minor MOT pass rate by age
The same 2025 tests split by the car's age at test.
| 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 (small sample) | 3 | 66.7% | 5.6 pts below |
| 11 years and over | 1,925 | 78.9% | 6.6 pts above |
Too few tests fall into some age groups to compare them reliably. The UK average of 72.3% covers cars of every age, so compare like with like.
Where Minor failures cluster
Every failure item recorded on Morris Minor cars in 2025, grouped into the DVSA's test areas.
Brakes and lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment together account for 63.3% of recorded failure items. These are recorded failures across the model, not faults every car has.
The 10 most common Minor MOT failures
Specific items recorded on Morris Minor cars that failed their 2025 MOT, as a share of all recorded failure items.
Together these 10 items make up 41.6% of everything testers recorded against failed Morris Minor cars. The rest is spread across many smaller items, and one failed test often records several at once.
What to look at on a Minor
The recorded failures above, grouped by area, biggest first.
1
Brakes
Recorded most often: service brake imbalance across an axle, service brake performance excessively binding and rbt (sp) efficiency below requirements. 17.9% of failure items.
2
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment
Recorded most often: position lamp not working, headlamp not working on dipped beam and headlamp not working on main beam. 9.1% of failure items.
3
Visibility
Recorded most often: washers not working and washers provides insufficient washer liquid. 5.7% of failure items.
4
Steering
Recorded most often: steering rack gaiter missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt. 5.2% of failure items.
The car's own MOT history matters more than any model average. A free MOT history check shows whether a specific Minor has failed on these items before, or had them noted as advisories. Buying one? See the used Morris Minor buying guide.
Already found one?
Check its finance, write-off, theft, mileage and keeper history with a £15 vehicle history report.
Morris Minor MOT FAQs
What is the Morris Minor MOT pass rate?
78.9% of Morris Minor cars passed their initial MOT first time in 2025, from 1,929 tests. That is 6.6 percentage points above the 72.3% average for all cars, and ranks 213th of 575 models.
What does a Morris Minor most commonly fail its MOT on?
The item testers recorded most often on Morris Minor cars failing their 2025 MOT was service brake imbalance across an axle, on 8.8% of failure items. Next were service brake performance excessively binding (5.4%) and steering rack gaiter missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt (5.2%).
Which area causes the most Morris Minor MOT failures?
Across every recorded failure item, the largest area was brakes at 37.6%, followed by lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment at 25.7%.
Does this mean every Morris Minor has these problems?
No. These are the items testers recorded across every Morris Minor 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 Morris Minor'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.