2012 Subaru Outback: MOT pass rate and reliability

67.9% of 2012 Subaru Outbacks pass the MOT first time, measured across 246 DVSA tests on that model year alone. The average one had covered 110,890 miles.

How the 2012 compares

  • Against all Subaru Outbacks (79.6%, 7,200 tests): -11.7 points
  • Against all 2012 cars (70.8%): -2.9 points
  • National first-time pass rate, all cars and years: 77%

Every Subaru Outback model year

Pass rates fall as cars age, so the only fair comparison for a 2012 car is other cars of the same age. The full run for the Subaru Outback:

Year Pass rate Tests Avg mileage
2005 59.9% 257 131,476
2006 64.2% 372 129,363
2007 63.3% 346 124,868
2008 63.7% 201 121,256
2009 70% 287 114,242
2010 71.4% 440 123,564
2011 74.9% 458 115,748
2012 67.9% 246 110,890
2013 73.9% 238 99,755
2014 82.7% 226 100,934
2015 81.5% 774 87,340
2016 88.5% 747 76,113
2017 89.9% 466 62,491
2018 89.3% 646 52,059
2019 90.5% 592 40,675
2020 91.7% 252 34,514
2021 93.8% 433 28,591

What this means if you are buying a 2012 Outback

The 2012 is a weaker year for this model, passing 11.7 points less often than the Subaru Outback average. Some of that is simply age, so compare it against the 2012 figure for all cars above rather than against newer examples. Check the exact car with the free MOT history checker before you buy, and run its VIN and mileage through our free VIN decoder and clocking check.

What a 14-year-old car fails on

A 2012 car is 14 years old now, and age drives the failure mix more than the badge does. Across all cars tested, these are the categories that actually cause failures:

  • Lights and electrical: 10.36% of all cars tested
  • Suspension: 8.65% of all cars tested
  • Tyres: 6.23% of all cars tested
  • Brakes: 6.1% of all cars tested
  • Visibility: wipers, washers, glass: 4.65% of all cars tested
  • Body, chassis and structure: 3.18% of all cars tested

That is high mileage, so timing belts, clutches, suspension bushes and corrosion are the items worth budgeting for rather than the MOT itself. On a 2012 Subaru Outback the average at test was 110,890 miles, so treat anything far above that as a car that has worked harder than its peers, and anything far below as one worth checking for the faults that come from standing still.

The strongest year for this model is 2021 at 93.8%, and the weakest in our data is 2005 at 59.9%. That 33.9 point spread across the model's life is why comparing a 2012 car against a newer one tells you very little.

Nearby model years

All Subaru Outback MOT data · Every model