Diesel Toyota Corolla: MOT pass rate

69.7% of diesel Toyota Corollas pass the MOT first time, measured across 8,092 DVSA tests on that fuel type alone. Average mileage at test was 135,516.

Diesel against the other Toyota Corolla versions

Fuel Pass rate Tests
Petrol 71.1% 49,672
Hybrid 92.7% 17,047
Diesel 69.7% 8,092
All Toyota Corolla75.9%74,877

Why the fuel type changes the number

Diesels carry DPFs, EGR valves and stricter smoke limits, so emissions and exhaust faults account for failures petrol cars never see.

On the Toyota Corolla specifically, hybrid is the strongest at 92.7%, and this diesel version sits 6.2 points below the 75.9% model average.

What it means if you are buying one

The diesel Toyota Corolla fails more often than the model average, so budget for the items that catch this fuel type and treat a fresh MOT as worth paying for. Check the exact car, decode the VIN and check the mileage before you bid.

Mileage is part of the answer

The average diesel Toyota Corolla had covered 135,516 miles at test, against 101,105 for the petrol and 61,526 for the hybrid. That is high mileage, so timing belts, clutches, suspension bushes and corrosion are the items worth budgeting for rather than the MOT itself.

Fuel type and mileage are tangled together: diesels are usually bought by higher-mileage drivers, so some of any gap between fuels is the miles rather than the engine. The per-year figures on the Toyota Corolla page separate age from fuel if you want to isolate one.

Other Toyota Corolla fuel types

All Toyota Corolla MOT data · Every model