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1,230 tests in 2025

Caterham Seven reliability and MOT pass rate

89.5% passed first time. The 10.5% fail rate is 12.1 points better than the all-car average, on a median example 23.5 years old with 23,697 miles.

MOT pass rates / Caterham

Pass rate

89.5%

22.6% of all cars failed; 10.5% of these did.

Fixed on the day

1.4%

Passed after a defect was put right during the visit.

Median at test

23,697 mi

23.5 years old.

Fail rate by age

Age at testTestsFail rate
3-5 years3—
6-9 years12—
10-13 years40—
14+ years1,17511%

What the Seven fails on

Share of failed tests with at least one fail item in each DVSA inspection section. A test can fail in several sections at once.

  1. Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment14 dangerous45%
  2. Noise, emissions and leaks34.9%
  3. Brakes4 dangerous18.6%
  4. Steering1 dangerous13.2%
  5. Visibility13.2%
  6. Suspension1 dangerous11.6%
  7. Tyres11 dangerous9.3%
  8. Body, chassis, structure4.7%

The exact defects that fail it

Every failure item DVSA recorded against a Seven in 2025, counted by how many tests each one appeared on.

  1. 1Catalyst emissions: Lambda reading after 2nd fast idle outside specified limits19 tests
  2. 2Catalyst emissions: carbon monoxide content after 2nd fast idle exceeds manufacturer's specified limits14 tests
  3. 3Stop lamp: all not working13 tests
  4. 4Catalyst emissions: carbon monoxide content at idle exceeds manufacturer's specified limits13 tests
  5. 5Rear fog lamp: not working12 tests
  6. 6Steering rack: gaiter missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt11 tests
  7. 7Rbt (sp): efficiency below requirements8 tests
  8. 8Washers: not working7 tests

What wears out first

Advisories are the tester flagging wear that is still legal. A typical Seven collects 2.01 of them per test, and these are the ones that come up most. Treat it as the running-repairs list for the next year or two.

  1. 1Wheel bearings: has excessive play57 tests
  2. 2Tread depth: tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm48 tests
  3. 3Engine oil leaks: leaking excessively from engine40 tests
  4. 4Ball joint: ball joint excessively worn29 tests
  5. 5Linkage ball joints: ball joint excessively worn21 tests
  6. 6Transmission oil leaks: leaking excessively from transmission18 tests
  7. 7Brake discs: in such a condition that it is seriously weakened17 tests
  8. 8Service brake performance: excessively binding14 tests

Questions

What is the Caterham Seven MOT pass rate?

89.5% of the 1,230 Caterham Seven first-attempt MOTs in 2025 passed. The fail rate of 10.5% compares with 22.6% across all cars. A further 1.4% passed after a defect was fixed during the test visit.

What does a Caterham Seven usually fail on?

The single most common failure is "Catalyst emissions: Lambda reading after 2nd fast idle outside specified limits", recorded on 19 failed tests, followed by "Catalyst emissions: carbon monoxide content after 2nd fast idle exceeds manufacturer's specified limits" and "Stop lamp: all not working". By section, lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment appears in 45% of failures, noise, emissions and leaks appears in 34.9% of failures, brakes appears in 18.6% of failures.

Does age change the odds?

Sharply. At 3 to 5 years old the fail rate was 0%; at 14+ years it was 11%. The median Caterham Seven tested in 2025 was 23.5 years old with 23,697 miles.

First-attempt class 4 tests, 2025, from DVSA’s anonymised MOT data (OGL v3, retrieved 2026-09-12). DVSA records newer cars trim by trim; this page adds every Seven trim together. Year-on-year figures come from the same DVSA extracts for 2026 and earlier years. Full method on the pass rates hub.

Other Caterham models

Checking a particular Seven?

The odds above are the model. The car in front of you has its own record: every test, every advisory, the mileage at each one.

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