70.5%
Peugeot 208
Peugeot 208 MOT pass rate and common problems
The Peugeot 208 passed 70.5% of its initial MOT tests in 2025, 1.8 percentage points below the 72.3% UK average. The item testers recorded most often was joints constant velocity boot split or insecure, no longer prevents the ingress of dirt.
Checking a specific car? Its own results, advisories and recorded mileages are in a free MOT history check.
How the 208 compares
Initial MOT tests in 2025, retests excluded. A car that failed and was repaired at the test station counts as a fail.
66.8%
Peugeot average
72.3%
UK average, all cars
The 208 runs 3.7 points ahead of the Peugeot average. It is 10th of the 24 Peugeot models in the data. The average 208 arrived at its test 8.5 years old with 55,400 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.
208 MOT pass rate by age
The same 2025 tests split by the car's age at test.
Peugeot 208 cars aged 3 to 5 years passed 81.3% of MOT tests. For cars aged 11 years and over that fell to 59.3%, a drop of 22 percentage points.
| Age at test | Tests | Pass rate | vs UK average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 to 5 years | 43,717 | 81.3% | 9 pts above |
| 6 to 10 years | 104,979 | 69.7% | 2.6 pts below |
| 11 years and over | 57,141 | 59.3% | 13 pts below |
That is a steep decline with age, so the headline rate flatters older examples. The UK average of 72.3% covers cars of every age, so compare like with like.
Where 208 failures cluster
Every failure item recorded on Peugeot 208 cars in 2025, grouped into the DVSA's test areas.
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment and noise, emissions and leaks together account for 39.2% of recorded failure items. These are recorded failures across the model, not faults every car has.
The 10 most common 208 MOT failures
Specific items recorded on Peugeot 208 cars that failed their 2025 MOT, as a share of all recorded failure items.
Together these 10 items make up 40.5% of everything testers recorded against failed Peugeot 208 cars. The rest is spread across many smaller items, and one failed test often records several at once.
What to look at on a 208
The recorded failures above, grouped by area, biggest first.
1
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment
Recorded most often: registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of a single lamp or all lamps and headlamp not working on dipped beam. 10.4% of failure items.
2
Body, chassis, structure
Recorded most often: joints constant velocity boot split or insecure, no longer prevents the ingress of dirt. 7% of failure items.
3
Tyres
Recorded most often: tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm and condition has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords. 6.9% of failure items.
4
Noise, emissions and leaks
Recorded most often: catalyst emissions lambda reading after 2nd fast idle outside specified limits and malfunction indicator lamp inoperative or indicates a malfunction. 6.8% of failure items.
The car's own MOT history matters more than any model average. A free MOT history check shows whether a specific 208 has failed on these items before, or had them noted as advisories. Buying one? See the used Peugeot 208 buying guide.
Already found one?
Check its finance, write-off, theft, mileage and keeper history with a £15 vehicle history report.
Peugeot 208 MOT FAQs
What is the Peugeot 208 MOT pass rate?
70.5% of Peugeot 208 cars passed their initial MOT first time in 2025, from 219,722 tests. That is 1.8 percentage points below the 72.3% average for all cars, and ranks 344th of 575 models.
What does a Peugeot 208 most commonly fail its MOT on?
The item testers recorded most often on Peugeot 208 cars failing their 2025 MOT was joints constant velocity boot split or insecure, no longer prevents the ingress of dirt, on 7% of failure items. Next were registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of a single lamp or all lamps (5.2%) and headlamp not working on dipped beam (5.2%).
Which area causes the most Peugeot 208 MOT failures?
Across every recorded failure item, the largest area was lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment at 24.8%, followed by noise, emissions and leaks at 14.4%.
Do older Peugeot 208 cars fail their MOT more often?
Peugeot 208 cars aged 3 to 5 years passed 81.3% of MOT tests in 2025, against 59.3% for cars aged 11 years and over.
Does this mean every Peugeot 208 has these problems?
No. These are the items testers recorded across every Peugeot 208 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 Peugeot 208'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.