Mitsubishi Pajero: MOT pass rate and reliability data

The Mitsubishi Pajero fails its first MOT more often than the average UK car, by 6.6 percentage points. These figures come from the DVSA's full year of anonymised MOT results, covering 1,816 individual Mitsubishi Pajero tests. Nothing here is an estimate or a survey.

The numbers

What this means if you are buying one

A 70.1% first-time pass rate means roughly 30 in every 100 Mitsubishi Pajeros 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 Pajero tested had covered 141,970 miles and was built around 2002.

What this means at salvage auction

Pass rate is a proxy for what a car costs to keep on the road. On a Mitsubishi Pajero 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 Pajero 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 Pajeros actually sold for at UK salvage auction.

Most common MOT failures on a Mitsubishi Pajero

1. Body, cab or chassis excessively corroded at a mounting point, 6.9% of tests (34.31x the national rate for this defect)
2. 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, 6.6% of tests (28.88x the national rate for this defect)
3. Vehicle structure corroded to the extent that the rigidity of the assembly is seriously reduced, 4.7% of tests (12.99x the national rate for this defect)
4. An obligatory rear fog lamp missing, or a front or rear fog lamp inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning, 4.1% of tests (12.01x the national rate for this defect)
5. 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, 4.5% of tests (5.44x the national rate for this defect)
6. Brake pipe damaged or excessively corroded, 4% of tests (4.8x the national rate for this defect)
7. Exhaust system leaking or insecure, 2.9% of tests (3.8x the national rate for this defect)
8. Significant brake effort recorded with no brake applied indicating a binding brake, 2.5% of tests (3.24x the national rate for this defect)
9. A steering ball joint with excessive wear or free play, 2.2% of tests (2.28x the national rate for this defect)
10. A transmission shaft constant velocity joint boot missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt etc, 2.3% of tests (2.06x the national rate for this defect)

From 3,430 DVSA-tracked Mitsubishi Pajero tests, 2024. DVSA testers marked 2.21% of these flagged Mitsubishi Pajero defects as "dangerous", meaning the tester judged the car unsafe to drive away, against 4.97% nationally.

Mitsubishi Pajero 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 Pajero year:

• 2004 Mitsubishi Pajero - 70% first-time pass, 230 tests
• 2005 Mitsubishi Pajero - 73.5% first-time pass, 211 tests

Mitsubishi Pajero by fuel type

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

• Diesel Mitsubishi Pajero - 71% first-time pass, 1,385 tests
• Petrol Mitsubishi Pajero - 74.5% first-time pass, 388 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 Lancer - 71.5%
• Mitsubishi Eclipse - 88.7%

Models with a similar pass rate

• Peugeot Independence - 70.2%
• Toyota Carina - 70.2%
• SEAT Exeo - 70.1%
• Vauxhall Combo 2300 Edition Td S/S - 70.1%
• Vauxhall Corsa - 70%
• Peugeot 308 - 70%

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