66.6%
Toyota Starlet
Toyota Starlet MOT pass rate and common problems
The Toyota Starlet passed 66.6% of its initial MOT tests in 2025, 5.7 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 Starlet 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 Starlet runs 8.5 points behind the Toyota average. It is 28th of the 32 Toyota models in the data. The average Starlet arrived at its test 26.9 years old with 93,649 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.
Starlet MOT pass rate by age
The same 2025 tests split by the car's age at test.
| Age at test | Tests | Pass rate | vs UK average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 to 5 years (small sample) | 8 | 87.5% | 15.2 pts above |
| 6 to 10 years (small sample) | 33 | 78.8% | 6.5 pts above |
| 11 years and over | 2,853 | 66.4% | 5.9 pts below |
Too few tests fall into some age groups to compare them reliably. The UK average of 72.3% covers cars of every age, so compare like with like.
Where Starlet failures cluster
Every failure item recorded on Toyota Starlet cars in 2025, grouped into the DVSA's test areas.
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment and suspension together account for 38.3% of recorded failure items. These are recorded failures across the model, not faults every car has.
The 10 most common Starlet MOT failures
Specific items recorded on Toyota Starlet cars that failed their 2025 MOT, as a share of all recorded failure items.
Together these 10 items make up 41.7% of everything testers recorded against failed Toyota Starlet cars. The rest is spread across many smaller items, and one failed test often records several at once.
What to look at on a Starlet
The recorded failures above, grouped by area, biggest first.
1
Suspension
Recorded most often: shock absorbers has a serious fluid leak, component mounting prescribed areas prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength and wheel bearings has excessive play. 11.6% of failure items.
2
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment
Recorded most often: position lamp not working and stop lamp not working. 7.2% of failure items.
3
Body, chassis, structure
Recorded most often: joints constant velocity boot split or insecure, no longer prevents the ingress of dirt. 6.8% of failure items.
4
Brakes
Recorded most often: service brake imbalance across an axle. 4.6% of failure items.
The car's own MOT history matters more than any model average. A free MOT history check shows whether a specific Starlet has failed on these items before, or had them noted as advisories. Buying one? See the used Toyota Starlet buying guide.
Already found one?
Check its finance, write-off, theft, mileage and keeper history with a £15 vehicle history report.
Toyota Starlet MOT FAQs
What is the Toyota Starlet MOT pass rate?
66.6% of Toyota Starlet cars passed their initial MOT first time in 2025, from 2,894 tests. That is 5.7 percentage points below the 72.3% average for all cars, and ranks 408th of 575 models.
What does a Toyota Starlet most commonly fail its MOT on?
The item testers recorded most often on Toyota Starlet cars failing their 2025 MOT was joints constant velocity boot split or insecure, no longer prevents the ingress of dirt, on 6.8% of failure items. Next were shock absorbers has a serious fluid leak (5.5%) and service brake imbalance across an axle (4.6%).
Which area causes the most Toyota Starlet MOT failures?
Across every recorded failure item, the largest area was lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment at 21.2%, followed by suspension at 17%.
Does this mean every Toyota Starlet has these problems?
No. These are the items testers recorded across every Toyota Starlet 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 Starlet'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.