Daihatsu Terios: MOT pass rate and reliability data

The Daihatsu Terios fails its first MOT more often than the average UK car, by 12.4 percentage points. These figures come from the DVSA's full year of anonymised MOT results, covering 4,082 individual Daihatsu Terios tests. Nothing here is an estimate or a survey.

The numbers

What this means if you are buying one

A 64.3% first-time pass rate means roughly 36 in every 100 Daihatsu Terios presented for MOT fail on the first attempt. That is worse than average, so budget for remedial work and treat a fresh 12-month MOT as a genuine selling point rather than a given. The average Daihatsu Terios tested had covered 89,555 miles and was built around 2006.

What this means at salvage auction

Pass rate is a proxy for what a car costs to keep on the road. The Daihatsu Terios sits 12.4 points below the national average, ranked 1,879 of 2,005 models. On one bought as repairable salvage, assume the mechanical side needs more than the visible accident damage, and pad your repair estimate accordingly.

Before you bid: run the lot through the analyzer, check the car's own record, check the mileage, decode the VIN, and if it carries a marker use the write-off value calculator. Or compare it against another model.

Looking at a specific Daihatsu Terios rather than the model in general? The free check covers its MOT and mileage history, and the full HPI report confirms the insurance write-off category, outstanding finance and whether it is recorded stolen, from licensed data for 5 credits. Already own one that has been damaged? Work out whether fixing it beats selling it with the repair or scrap calculator, and see the median recorded closing bid for a damaged Daihatsu Terios: £575 at UK salvage auction, from 3 ended listings, not independently confirmed sales.

Most common MOT failures on a Daihatsu Terios

1. The strength or continuity of the load bearing structure within 30cm of any sub-frame, spring or suspension component mounting (a 'prescribed area') is significantly reduced or inadequately repaired, 18.4% of tests (19.54x the national rate for this defect)
2. Body, cab or chassis excessively corroded at a mounting point, 3.8% of tests (16.69x the national rate for this defect)
3. The strength or continuity of the load bearing structure within 30cm of any seat belt anchorage (a 'prescribed area') is significantly reduced or inadequately repaired, 3.7% of tests (13.85x the national rate for this defect)
4. Vehicle structure corroded to the extent that the rigidity of the assembly is seriously reduced, 5.4% of tests (13.16x the national rate for this defect)
5. Lambda coefficient outside the default limits or the range specified by the manufacturer, 2.4% of tests (4.8x the national rate for this defect)
6. Exhaust system leaking or insecure, 3.7% of tests (3.68x the national rate for this defect)
7. Brake pipe damaged or excessively corroded, 3.8% of tests (3.53x the national rate for this defect)
8. Significant brake effort recorded with no brake applied indicating a binding brake, 2.8% of tests (2.74x the national rate for this defect)
9. A transmission shaft constant velocity joint boot missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt etc, 4% of tests (2.64x the national rate for this defect)
10. A steering ball joint with excessive wear or free play, 3.4% of tests (2.61x the national rate for this defect)

From 4,082 DVSA-tracked Daihatsu Terios tests, 2024. DVSA testers marked 3.14% of these flagged Daihatsu Terios defects as "dangerous", meaning the tester judged the car unsafe to drive away, against 5.11% nationally.

Most common MOT advisories on a Daihatsu Terios

An advisory doesn't fail the car - the tester flags it as worth watching, but it still passes. A different list from the failures above: what testers are noting on a Daihatsu Terios before it actually fails on it.

1. The strength or continuity of the load bearing structure within 30cm of any sub-frame, spring or suspension component mounting (a 'prescribed area') is significantly reduced or inadequately repaired, 13.9% of tests (9.13x the national rate for this advisory), also fails
2. Vehicle structure corroded to the extent that the rigidity of the assembly is seriously reduced, 9.2% of tests (7.38x the national rate for this advisory), also fails
3. A brake hose ferrule excessively corroded, 6.5% of tests (5.1x the national rate for this advisory)
4. A spring or spring component fractured or seriously weakened, 23.9% of tests (5.05x the national rate for this advisory)
5. Product on the lens or light source which obviously reduces light intensity or changes emitted colour to other than white or yellow, 4.8% of tests (4.29x the national rate for this advisory)
6. A suspension component excessively damaged or corroded, 18.5% of tests (3.58x the national rate for this advisory)
7. Exhaust system leaking or insecure, 9.9% of tests (3.47x the national rate for this advisory), also fails
8. A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn, 44.5% of tests (3.33x the national rate for this advisory)
9. Brake pipe damaged or excessively corroded, 15.5% of tests (2.51x the national rate for this advisory), also fails
10. Significant brake effort recorded with no brake applied indicating a binding brake, 4% of tests (1.99x the national rate for this advisory), also fails

From 4,082 DVSA-tracked Daihatsu Terios tests, 2024.

Daihatsu Terios pass rate by model year

From its 2005 to its 2009 model year, the Daihatsu Terios's first-time pass rate has risen 18.2 points, from 56% to 74.2%, the usual pattern: a newer model year is a younger car today, so it fails less. First-time pass rate for each Daihatsu Terios year:

• 2005 Daihatsu Terios - 56% first-time pass, 332 tests
• 2006 Daihatsu Terios - 64.7% first-time pass, 665 tests
• 2007 Daihatsu Terios - 65.5% first-time pass, 1,103 tests
• 2008 Daihatsu Terios - 69.1% first-time pass, 800 tests
• 2009 Daihatsu Terios - 74.2% first-time pass, 555 tests

Other Daihatsu models

• Daihatsu Sirion - 66.8%
• Daihatsu Fourtrak - 65.8%
• Daihatsu Copen - 73.6%
• Daihatsu Charade - 64.7%
• Daihatsu Hijet - 63.3%
• Daihatsu Materia - 73%

Models with a similar pass rate

• Citroen Nemo - 64.4%
• Volvo C70 - 64.4%
• Peugeot Bipper - 64.3%
• Mitsubishi Colt - 64.2%
• Nissan Almera - 64.1%
• Mitsubishi Delica - 64%

If this car is a salvage or write-off

• What does Cat N mean? Category N explained
• What does Cat S mean? Category S explained
• Cat S vs Cat N: the real differences
• Do you need an HPI check on a car you know is a write-off?

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All 2,005 models ranked by MOT pass rate