Toyota Avensis: MOT pass rate and reliability data

The Toyota Avensis fails its first MOT more often than the average UK car, by 3 percentage points. These figures come from the DVSA's full year of anonymised MOT results, covering 63,670 individual Toyota Avensis tests. Nothing here is an estimate or a survey.

The numbers

What this means if you are buying one

A 73.7% first-time pass rate means roughly 26 in every 100 Toyota Avensis 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 Toyota Avensis tested had covered 120,657 miles and was built around 2010.

What this means at salvage auction

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

Most common MOT failures on a Toyota Avensis

1. A suspension component excessively damaged or corroded, 1.4% of tests (5.15x the national rate for this defect)
2. A direction indicator lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning, 1.5% of tests (3.14x the national rate for this defect)
3. A lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning, 4.1% of tests (2.5x the national rate for this defect)
4. Brake pipe damaged or excessively corroded, 1.7% of tests (2.01x the national rate for this defect)
5. A suspension joint dust cover missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt etc, 2.6% of tests (1.9x the national rate for this defect)
6. A headlamp or light source missing, inoperative or more than ½ not functioning in the case of LED, 1.5% of tests (1.64x the national rate for this defect)
7. The aim of a headlamp is not within limits laid down in the requirements, 2.7% of tests (1.55x the national rate for this defect)
8. a brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm, 2.2% of tests (1.45x the national rate for this defect)
9. Wiper blade missing or obviously not clearing the windscreen, 1.9% of tests (1.36x the national rate for this defect)
10. A spring or spring component fractured or seriously weakened, 2.2% of tests (1.33x the national rate for this defect)

From 88,802 DVSA-tracked Toyota Avensis tests, 2024. DVSA testers marked 4.34% of these flagged Toyota Avensis defects as "dangerous", meaning the tester judged the car unsafe to drive away, against 4.97% nationally.

Toyota Avensis 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 Toyota Avensis year:

• 1998 Toyota Avensis - 68% first-time pass, 275 tests
• 1999 Toyota Avensis - 63.9% first-time pass, 402 tests
• 2000 Toyota Avensis - 68.7% first-time pass, 451 tests
• 2001 Toyota Avensis - 72.1% first-time pass, 656 tests
• 2002 Toyota Avensis - 65.5% first-time pass, 898 tests
• 2003 Toyota Avensis - 69.2% first-time pass, 1,971 tests
• 2004 Toyota Avensis - 70.4% first-time pass, 2,745 tests
• 2005 Toyota Avensis - 68.9% first-time pass, 3,605 tests
• 2006 Toyota Avensis - 66.8% first-time pass, 4,687 tests
• 2007 Toyota Avensis - 68.6% first-time pass, 5,195 tests
• 2008 Toyota Avensis - 69.2% first-time pass, 5,193 tests
• 2009 Toyota Avensis - 71.9% first-time pass, 5,265 tests
• 2010 Toyota Avensis - 73.7% first-time pass, 5,635 tests
• 2011 Toyota Avensis - 76.3% first-time pass, 4,462 tests
• 2012 Toyota Avensis - 77.1% first-time pass, 4,870 tests
• 2013 Toyota Avensis - 78.1% first-time pass, 3,217 tests
• 2014 Toyota Avensis - 79.2% first-time pass, 3,099 tests
• 2015 Toyota Avensis - 82.4% first-time pass, 3,241 tests
• 2016 Toyota Avensis - 85.9% first-time pass, 3,631 tests
• 2017 Toyota Avensis - 86.8% first-time pass, 2,514 tests
• 2018 Toyota Avensis - 85.8% first-time pass, 1,154 tests

Toyota Avensis by fuel type

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

• Diesel Toyota Avensis - 74.6% first-time pass, 32,889 tests
• Petrol Toyota Avensis - 74% first-time pass, 29,862 tests
• LPG Toyota Avensis - 73% first-time pass, 374 tests

Other Toyota models

• Toyota Yaris - 78.6%
• Toyota Aygo - 80.9%
• Toyota Prius - 86%
• Toyota Auris - 80.5%
• Toyota Rav4 - 84.3%
• Toyota C-Hr - 90.6%
• Toyota Corolla - 75.3%
• Toyota Hilux - 73%

Models with a similar pass rate

• SEAT Toledo - 73.9%
• Lexus Rx350 - 73.9%
• Ford Grand C-Max - 73.8%
• Kia Soul - 73.7%
• Volvo Xc70 - 73.7%
• Rover MINI - 73.7%

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