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Toyota Celica, Buying guide, MOT record, UK numbers and recalls

7,111 Toyota Celicas are licensed in the UK. In 2025 they passed 61.2% of initial MOT tests, 11.1 points below the 72.3% UK average.

Looking at a specific Celica? Check its finance, write-off, stolen, mileage and keeper history. £15, no account needed.

Toyota Celica at the MOT

61.2% of 8,421 initial tests passed in 2025, ranking the Celica 480th of 575 models.

First-time pass rate, 2025

Share of initial tests passed, retests excluded.

  • Toyota Celica61.2%
  • All Toyota modelsThe Celica is 13.9 pts behind75.1%
  • All cars72.3%

Where Celicas fail

Share of all failure items recorded on Toyota Celica tests in 2025.

  • Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment23.9%
  • Brakes19.2%
  • Suspension18.1%
  • Noise, emissions and leaks13.9%
  • Body, chassis, structure9%

The items testers recorded most often were component mounting prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength (5.6%), headlamp aim projected beam image is obviously incorrect (4.8%) and position lamp not working (4.4%).

The MOT page lists every common Celica MOT failure. For one car's own results and advisories, run a free MOT history check.

Full Toyota Celica MOT record

What to look at on a viewing

The Celica's most common failure areas, and what a tester checks in each.

  1. 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.23.9% of Celica failure items

  2. Brakes

    Make sure the pedal feels firm, the car stops in a straight line, the handbrake holds on a slope and no brake warning light is showing.19.2% of Celica failure items

  3. Suspension

    Listen for knocks over bumps, check the car sits level, and look for leaking shock absorbers and split rubber gaiters.18.1% of Celica failure items

Toyota Celicas in the UK

7,111 were licensed at the end of June 2026. The number licensed has fallen 78% since the end of 2014.

Change since 2014
−78%from 31,944 licensed
Typical year of first use
2003half of those licensed at the end of 2025 were first used in 2003 or earlier
Declared off the road
10,57060% of those registered, under SORN

Licensed Toyota Celicas since 2014

Licensed at each year end and in the latest quarter.

Show the figures
DateLicensed
End of 201431,944
End of 201528,754
End of 201625,285
End of 201721,959
End of 201818,781
End of 201916,127
End of 202014,082
End of 202112,359
End of 202210,812
End of 20239,404
End of 20248,236
End of 20257,218
End of June 20267,111

How old they are

Licensed Toyota Celicas by year of first use.

A further 179 were first used before 1987.

Show the figures
First usedLicensed, end 2025
2006699
20051,001
20041,013
2003879
2002675
2001593
2000213
1999183
1998265
1997199
1996168
199584
199458
199326
199234
199133
199028
198910
198812
198719

Celica engine sizes

1.8 litre engines made up 79% of Toyota Celica MOT tests in 2025, followed by 2.0 litre at 20%. Petrol accounts for 100% of licensed Celicas.

Engine size at MOT, 2025

Share of 8,421 initial MOT tests in 2025.

  • 1.8 litre79.5%
  • 2.0 litre19.8%

Toyota Celica recalls

3 DVSA safety recalls launched from 1992 to October 2026 name the Toyota Celica. Each covers vehicles built in a set period, so a recall does not mean every Celica is affected.

  1. Oct 2020 R/2020/019

    Takata airbag inflator may rupture on deployment

    Celicas built Aug 1997 to Jul 1999 · 37,586 vehicles across the whole recall

    Defect and remedy
    Defect
    The absorption of moisture into the driver's airbag propellant could lead to slow deployment or inflator rupture
    Remedy
    Replace the airbag inflator or the airbag assembly. Toyota is still preparing for the development and production of the remedy parts

  2. Apr 2005 R/2004/168

    Brake fluid may leak

    Celicas built Sep 1999 to Sep 2000 · 6,936 vehicles across the whole recall

    Defect and remedy
    Defect
    Due to an improper washing process of a metal part within the brake master cylinder there is a possibility that the groove for installing the rubber seal ring which is located at the end of the master cylinder may be corroded. In this condition brake fluid may leak from the seal or a small amount of air may enter the master cylinder which could lead to an increase in vehicle stopping distance.
    Remedy
    Vehicles that are likely to be affected will be checked and a quality assured part fitted if necessary.

  3. Mar 2003 R/2003/030

    Possible fuel spillage when petrol cap is opened

    Celicas built Mar 2002 to Nov 2002 · 2,553 vehicles across the whole recall

    Defect and remedy
    Defect
    The check valve in the fuel tank inlet that prevents reverse fuel flow is incorrectly fitted on some vehicles. This could cause fuel to spill out when the cap is opened if there is high internal pressure in the fuel tank.
    Remedy
    Correctly fit the check valve or if necessary replace the fuel tank and check valve.
How to check a specific Celica for recalls

Other Toyota models

The most-tested Toyota models in 2025, against the Celica's 61.2% MOT pass rate.

All 32 Toyota models

Toyota Celica FAQs

How many Toyota Celicas are there in the UK?

7,111 Toyota Celicas were licensed in the UK at the end of June 2026, with a further 10,570 declared off the road (SORN), according to DfT vehicle licensing statistics.

Is the Toyota Celica 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 61.2% first-time pass rate for the Toyota Celica across 8,421 tests in 2025, below the 72.3% average for all cars.

Has the Toyota Celica had any recalls?

3 DVSA safety recalls launched from 1992 to October 2026 name the Toyota Celica. The most recent was published in October 2020. 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 Toyota Celica?

On the car itself, start with the areas it most often fails on: lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment, brakes 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 Toyota Celica'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 Celica?

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 Toyota history check. To confirm a car's identity, see the Toyota 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. Licensed, SORN, fuel and registration figures are from the Department for Transport vehicle licensing statistics (VEH0120, VEH0124, VEH0160). 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.