Toyota Estima: MOT pass rate and reliability data

The Toyota Estima passes its MOT first time more often than the average UK car, by 5.9 percentage points. These figures come from the DVSA's full year of anonymised MOT results, covering 17,743 individual Toyota Estima tests. Nothing here is an estimate or a survey.

The numbers

What this means if you are buying one

A 82.6% first-time pass rate means roughly 17 in every 100 Toyota Estimas presented for MOT fail on the first attempt. That is better than average, so a well-kept example is a reasonably safe used buy. The average Toyota Estima tested had covered 97,358 miles and was built around 2012.

What this means at salvage auction

Pass rate is a proxy for what a car costs to keep on the road. On a Toyota Estima bought as a repairable salvage, the mechanical side is less likely to spring surprises, so your repair estimate should hold up reasonably well.

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 Estima 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 Estimas actually sold for at UK salvage auction.

Most common MOT failures on a Toyota Estima

1. Front or rear fog lamp emitted colour, position or intensity not in accordance with the requirements, 0.8% of tests (22.87x the national rate for this defect)
2. 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, 2% of tests (5.8x the national rate for this defect)
3. Product on the lens or light source which obviously reduces light intensity or changes emitted colour to other than white or yellow, 0.6% of tests (3.65x the national rate for this defect)
4. A suspension joint dust cover missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt etc, 3.1% of tests (2.33x the national rate for this defect)
5. A rear registration plate lamp or light source missing or inoperative in the case of a single lamp or all lamps, 0.9% of tests (1.41x the national rate for this defect)
6. A lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning, 2.1% of tests (1.29x the national rate for this defect)
7. The aim of a headlamp is not within limits laid down in the requirements, 1.6% of tests
8. a brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm, 1.4% of tests
9. A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn, 1.4% of tests
10. Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements, 1.2% of tests

From 36,890 DVSA-tracked Toyota Estima tests, 2024. DVSA testers marked 4.32% of these flagged Toyota Estima defects as "dangerous", meaning the tester judged the car unsafe to drive away, against 4.97% nationally.

Toyota Estima 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 Estima year:

• 2004 Toyota Estima - 70.3% first-time pass, 219 tests
• 2005 Toyota Estima - 66.5% first-time pass, 203 tests
• 2006 Toyota Estima - 79.6% first-time pass, 903 tests
• 2007 Toyota Estima - 77.7% first-time pass, 952 tests
• 2008 Toyota Estima - 82.4% first-time pass, 1,302 tests
• 2009 Toyota Estima - 84.2% first-time pass, 1,561 tests
• 2010 Toyota Estima - 83.2% first-time pass, 1,649 tests
• 2011 Toyota Estima - 84% first-time pass, 1,241 tests
• 2012 Toyota Estima - 86.5% first-time pass, 1,605 tests
• 2013 Toyota Estima - 87.7% first-time pass, 1,492 tests
• 2014 Toyota Estima - 87% first-time pass, 1,116 tests
• 2015 Toyota Estima - 82.2% first-time pass, 771 tests
• 2016 Toyota Estima - 84.5% first-time pass, 991 tests
• 2017 Toyota Estima - 87.1% first-time pass, 938 tests
• 2018 Toyota Estima - 85.3% first-time pass, 646 tests
• 2019 Toyota Estima - 85.5% first-time pass, 634 tests
• 2020 Toyota Estima - 78.8% first-time pass, 523 tests
• 2021 Toyota Estima - 78.7% first-time pass, 357 tests

Toyota Estima by fuel type

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

• Petrol Toyota Estima - 81.1% first-time pass, 9,689 tests
• Hybrid Toyota Estima - 87.2% first-time pass, 6,761 tests
• LPG Toyota Estima - 76.8% first-time pass, 767 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

• MINI Cooper Auto - 82.7%
• Land Rover Discovery Sport Hse D Auto - 82.7%
• BMW 418 - 82.7%
• Volkswagen California - 82.6%
• Lexus Rx450h - 82.6%
• Audi A5 Sport 35 Tdi Mhev S-A - 82.6%

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