Mitsubishi Lancer: MOT pass rate and reliability data

The Mitsubishi Lancer fails its first MOT more often than the average UK car, by 5.2 percentage points. These figures come from the DVSA's full year of anonymised MOT results, covering 10,017 individual Mitsubishi Lancer tests. Nothing here is an estimate or a survey.

The numbers

What this means if you are buying one

A 71.5% first-time pass rate means roughly 29 in every 100 Mitsubishi Lancers 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 Mitsubishi Lancer tested had covered 91,932 miles and was built around 2008.

What this means at salvage auction

Pass rate is a proxy for what a car costs to keep on the road. On a Mitsubishi Lancer bought as a 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 Mitsubishi Lancer 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 what damaged Mitsubishi Lancers actually sold for at UK salvage auction.

Most common MOT failures on a Mitsubishi Lancer

1. A steering ball joint with excessive wear or free play, 4.4% of tests (4.6x the national rate for this defect)
2. Brake pipe damaged or excessively corroded, 3.1% of tests (3.76x the national rate for this defect)
3. Exhaust system leaking or insecure, 1.7% of tests (2.28x the national rate for this defect)
4. A lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning, 3.3% of tests (2.05x the national rate for this defect)
5. A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn, 7.5% of tests (2.03x the national rate for this defect)
6. Significant brake effort recorded with no brake applied indicating a binding brake, 1.5% of tests (2x the national rate for this defect)
7. 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, 1.6% of tests (1.89x the national rate for this defect)
8. Stop lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning, 1.8% of tests (1.84x the national rate for this defect)
9. The aim of a headlamp is not within limits laid down in the requirements, 3% of tests (1.71x the national rate for this defect)
10. A suspension joint dust cover missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt etc, 1.9% of tests (1.42x the national rate for this defect)

From 15,828 DVSA-tracked Mitsubishi Lancer tests, 2024. DVSA testers marked 3.96% of these flagged Mitsubishi Lancer defects as "dangerous", meaning the tester judged the car unsafe to drive away, against 4.97% nationally.

Mitsubishi Lancer pass rate by model year

Pass rates fall steadily as cars age, so the model year matters as much as the model. First-time pass rate for each Mitsubishi Lancer year:

• 2003 Mitsubishi Lancer - 90.4% first-time pass, 250 tests
• 2004 Mitsubishi Lancer - 89.5% first-time pass, 382 tests
• 2005 Mitsubishi Lancer - 72.8% first-time pass, 1,038 tests
• 2006 Mitsubishi Lancer - 71.1% first-time pass, 971 tests
• 2007 Mitsubishi Lancer - 71.6% first-time pass, 857 tests
• 2008 Mitsubishi Lancer - 69.6% first-time pass, 1,415 tests
• 2009 Mitsubishi Lancer - 68.3% first-time pass, 1,131 tests
• 2010 Mitsubishi Lancer - 64.7% first-time pass, 1,638 tests
• 2011 Mitsubishi Lancer - 64.9% first-time pass, 1,201 tests

Mitsubishi Lancer by fuel type

Diesel and petrol versions of the same car fail on different things, so the fuel type moves the number:

• Petrol Mitsubishi Lancer - 75.2% first-time pass, 7,880 tests
• Diesel Mitsubishi Lancer - 60.2% first-time pass, 2,043 tests

Other Mitsubishi models

• Mitsubishi L200 - 75.2%
• Mitsubishi Outlander - 80.3%
• Mitsubishi Asx - 78.7%
• Mitsubishi Shogun - 73.3%
• Mitsubishi Colt - 64.2%
• Mitsubishi Mirage - 85.7%
• Mitsubishi Eclipse - 88.7%
• Mitsubishi L200 Double Cab - 62.3%

Models with a similar pass rate

• Toyota Starlet - 71.6%
• Nissan Nv400 - 71.6%
• Peugeot Partner - 71.5%
• Smart (Mcc) Cabriolet - 71.5%
• Volkswagen Polo - 71.4%
• Toyota Rav-4 - 71.4%

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

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All 2,005 models ranked by MOT pass rate