71.9%
Smart Fortwo
Smart Fortwo MOT pass rate and common problems
The Smart Fortwo passed 71.9% of its initial MOT tests in 2025, in line with the 72.3% UK average. The item testers recorded most often was coil spring fractured or broken.
Checking a specific car? Its own results, advisories and recorded mileages are in a free MOT history check.
How the Fortwo compares
Initial MOT tests in 2025, retests excluded. A car that failed and was repaired at the test station counts as a fail.
71.3%
Smart average
72.3%
UK average, all cars
The Fortwo runs 0.6 points ahead of the Smart average. It is 2nd of the 4 Smart models in the data. The average Fortwo arrived at its test 12.2 years old with 53,686 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.
Fortwo MOT pass rate by age
The same 2025 tests split by the car's age at test.
Smart Fortwo cars aged 3 to 5 years passed 90.4% of MOT tests. For cars aged 11 years and over that fell to 65.8%, a drop of 24.6 percentage points.
| Age at test | Tests | Pass rate | vs UK average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 to 5 years | 2,478 | 90.4% | 18.1 pts above |
| 6 to 10 years | 18,655 | 79% | 6.7 pts above |
| 11 years and over | 30,480 | 65.8% | 6.5 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 Fortwo failures cluster
Every failure item recorded on Smart Fortwo cars in 2025, grouped into the DVSA's test areas.
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment and suspension together account for 46.3% of recorded failure items. These are recorded failures across the model, not faults every car has.
The 10 most common Fortwo MOT failures
Specific items recorded on Smart Fortwo 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 Smart Fortwo cars. The rest is spread across many smaller items, and one failed test often records several at once.
What to look at on a Fortwo
The recorded failures above, grouped by area, biggest first.
1
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment
Recorded most often: stop lamp not working, position lamp not working, headlamp not working on dipped beam and headlamp aim projected beam image is obviously incorrect. 16.4% of failure items.
2
Visibility
Recorded most often: wipers does not clear the windscreen effectively and washers provides insufficient washer liquid. 7.3% of failure items.
3
Suspension
Recorded most often: coil spring fractured or broken. 6.2% of failure items.
4
Brakes
Recorded most often: service brake performance excessively binding. 4.1% of failure items.
The car's own MOT history matters more than any model average. A free MOT history check shows whether a specific Fortwo has failed on these items before, or had them noted as advisories. Buying one? See the used Smart Fortwo buying guide.
Already found one?
Check its finance, write-off, theft, mileage and keeper history with a £15 vehicle history report.
Smart Fortwo MOT FAQs
What is the Smart Fortwo MOT pass rate?
71.9% of Smart Fortwo cars passed their initial MOT first time in 2025, from 51,974 tests. That is in line with the 72.3% average for all cars, and ranks 317th of 575 models.
What does a Smart Fortwo most commonly fail its MOT on?
The item testers recorded most often on Smart Fortwo cars failing their 2025 MOT was coil spring fractured or broken, on 6.2% of failure items. Next were stop lamp not working (5.1%) and position lamp not working (4.7%).
Which area causes the most Smart Fortwo MOT failures?
Across every recorded failure item, the largest area was lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment at 29.7%, followed by suspension at 16.6%.
Do older Smart Fortwo cars fail their MOT more often?
Smart Fortwo cars aged 3 to 5 years passed 90.4% of MOT tests in 2025, against 65.8% for cars aged 11 years and over.
Does this mean every Smart Fortwo has these problems?
No. These are the items testers recorded across every Smart Fortwo 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 Smart Fortwo'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.