76.7%
Toyota Estima pass rate
Used Toyota Estima buying guide
In 2025, Toyota Estima cars passed 76.7% of 18,978 initial MOT tests, 4.4 points above the 72.3% UK average. Here is where it fails and what to check before you buy.
Looking at a specific Estima? Check its finance, write-off, stolen, mileage and keeper history. £15, no account needed.
Toyota Estima MOT record in brief
Initial MOT tests in 2025, retests excluded.
72.3%
UK average, all cars
+4.4
percentage points above average
Ranked on pass rate the Estima sits 243rd of 575 models in the data. Toyota as a brand averaged 75.1%, so this model runs 1.6 points ahead of its own brand. Toyota Estima cars aged 3 to 5 years passed 72.7% of MOT tests in 2025; examples aged 11 years and over did better, at 76.1%.
A pass rate is not a reliability score. The full Toyota Estima MOT record has the pass rate by age, every common failure and how the Estima compares with similar cars.
Estima fuel types
Petrol was the most common fuel among Toyota Estima cars tested in 2025. Diesel made up just 0.8% of tests.
Where the Estima fails its MOT
Where Toyota Estima cars that failed their 2025 MOT were marked down, as a share of all recorded failure items.
The specific items testers recorded most often were position lamp not working (8.1%), linkage ball joint dust cover ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt (5.7%) and rear fog lamp not working (5.2%). See every common Estima MOT failure.
These are DVSA failure records across every Toyota Estima that failed, not a claim that every Estima has these problems.
What should you check when buying a used Estima?
The areas above, most common first, and what an MOT tester looks at 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. 42.9% of Estima failure items.
2
Suspension
Listen for knocks over bumps, check the car sits level, and look for leaking shock absorbers and split rubber gaiters. 17.9% of Estima failure items.
3
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. 9.1% of Estima failure items.
4
Tyres
Check tread depth across the full width of every tyre (the legal minimum is 1.6mm), and look for cuts, bulges and uneven wear. 8.3% of Estima failure items.
5
Visibility
Check the windscreen for chips or cracks in the driver's view, and that the wipers and washers clear it properly. 8.2% of Estima failure items.
None of this replaces the car's own record. Run a free MOT history check on the registration to see every test, advisory and recorded mileage for that car.
What the MOT record doesn't tell you
Knowing Toyota Estima failures cluster around lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment and suspension tells you what to inspect. It tells you nothing about whether the car is safe to buy. An MOT does not show money still owed on the car, a write-off, a theft record or a clocked odometer.
Check the exact Estima you are looking at. One £15 report, instant results, backed by a £30,000 data guarantee. More on the Toyota history check.
- Outstanding finance
- Write-off records
- Stolen markers
- Mileage history
- Previous keepers
Other used Toyota models
The most-tested Toyota models in 2025, with how their MOT pass rate compares with the Estima.
Used Toyota Estima FAQs
Is the Toyota Estima 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 76.7% first-time pass rate for the Toyota Estima across 18,978 tests in 2025, above the 72.3% average for all cars.
Do older Toyota Estima cars fail their MOT more often?
Toyota Estima cars aged 3 to 5 years passed 72.7% of MOT tests in 2025; examples aged 11 years and over did better, at 76.1%. On an older example, the car's own MOT history tells you more than the model average.
What should I check before buying a used Toyota Estima?
On the car itself, start with the areas it most often fails on: lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment, suspension and brakes. Then check the individual car's history: outstanding finance, insurance write-off records, stolen markers, mileage and previous keepers. None of these appear in the MOT record or on the V5C.
How do I check a Toyota Estima'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.
MOT figures are aggregated from the DVSA MOT Anonymised data set for 2025 (class 4 initial tests, retests excluded), licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. MOT results describe roadworthiness at test, not mechanical reliability.