78.6%
Toyota Prius
Toyota Prius MOT pass rate and common problems
The Toyota Prius passed 78.6% of its initial MOT tests in 2025, 6.3 percentage points above the 72.3% UK average. The item testers recorded most often was position lamp not working.
Checking a specific car? Its own results, advisories and recorded mileages are in a free MOT history check.
How the Prius compares
Initial MOT tests in 2025, retests excluded. A car that failed and was repaired at the test station counts as a fail.
75.1%
Toyota average
72.3%
UK average, all cars
The Prius runs 3.5 points ahead of the Toyota average. It is 13th of the 32 Toyota models in the data. The average Prius arrived at its test 10.4 years old with 140,057 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.
Prius MOT pass rate by age
The same 2025 tests split by the car's age at test.
Toyota Prius cars aged 3 to 5 years passed 89.2% of MOT tests. For cars aged 11 years and over that fell to 67.8%, a drop of 21.4 percentage points.
| Age at test | Tests | Pass rate | vs UK average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 to 5 years | 24,052 | 89.2% | 16.9 pts above |
| 6 to 10 years | 72,557 | 83.8% | 11.5 pts above |
| 11 years and over | 60,745 | 67.8% | 4.5 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 Prius failures cluster
Every failure item recorded on Toyota Prius cars in 2025, grouped into the DVSA's test areas.
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment and suspension together account for 53.6% of recorded failure items. These are recorded failures across the model, not faults every car has.
The 10 most common Prius MOT failures
Specific items recorded on Toyota Prius cars that failed their 2025 MOT, as a share of all recorded failure items.
Together these 10 items make up 43.1% of everything testers recorded against failed Toyota Prius cars. The rest is spread across many smaller items, and one failed test often records several at once.
What to look at on a Prius
The recorded failures above, grouped by area, biggest first.
1
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment
Recorded most often: position lamp not working, registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of a single lamp or all lamps, headlamp aim projected beam image is obviously incorrect and headlamp not working on dipped beam. 20.6% 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
Tyres
Recorded most often: tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm. 5.2% of failure items.
4
Suspension
Recorded most often: linkage ball joint dust cover ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt. 3.9% of failure items.
The car's own MOT history matters more than any model average. A free MOT history check shows whether a specific Prius has failed on these items before, or had them noted as advisories. Buying one? See the used Toyota Prius buying guide.
Already found one?
Check its finance, write-off, theft, mileage and keeper history with a £15 vehicle history report.
Toyota Prius MOT FAQs
What is the Toyota Prius MOT pass rate?
78.6% of Toyota Prius cars passed their initial MOT first time in 2025, from 159,247 tests. That is 6.3 percentage points above the 72.3% average for all cars, and ranks 218th of 575 models.
What does a Toyota Prius most commonly fail its MOT on?
The item testers recorded most often on Toyota Prius cars failing their 2025 MOT was position lamp not working, on 8.7% of failure items. Next were registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of a single lamp or all lamps (6%) and tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm (5.2%).
Which area causes the most Toyota Prius MOT failures?
Across every recorded failure item, the largest area was lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment at 38.1%, followed by suspension at 15.4%.
Do older Toyota Prius cars fail their MOT more often?
Toyota Prius cars aged 3 to 5 years passed 89.2% of MOT tests in 2025, against 67.8% for cars aged 11 years and over.
Does this mean every Toyota Prius has these problems?
No. These are the items testers recorded across every Toyota Prius 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 Toyota Prius'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.