1,180 tests in 2025
Jaguar E-Type reliability and MOT pass rate
92% passed first time. The 8% fail rate is 14.6 points better than the all-car average, on a median example 54 years old with 47,418 miles.
Pass rate
92%
22.6% of all cars failed; 8% of these did.
Fixed on the day
1.4%
Passed after a defect was put right during the visit.
Median at test
47,418 mi
54 years old.
Fail rate by age
| Age at test | Tests | Fail rate |
|---|---|---|
| 3-5 years | 9 | — |
| 6-9 years | 45 | — |
| 10-13 years | 34 | — |
| 14+ years | 1,092 | 8% |
What the E-Type 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.
- Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment7 dangerous47.9%
- Visibility40.4%
- Brakes13 dangerous36.2%
- Suspension3 dangerous31.9%
- Steering14.9%
- Body, chassis, structure7.4%
- Identification of the vehicle6.4%
- Noise, emissions and leaks4.3%
Is the E-Type getting worse?
The fail rate fell 2.1 points to 7.9% from 2022 to 2025 while the median one tested aged 4 years, which is about what ageing alone predicts (0 points). Read it as the fleet getting older rather than the model changing.
| Year | Tests | Median age | Fail rate | All cars | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 1,483 | 50 | 10% | 22.5% | |
| 2023 | 1,421 | 51 | 8% | 22.8% | |
| 2024 | 1,067 | 53 | 8.9% | 23.2% | |
| 2025 | 1,175 | 54 | 7.9% | 22.6% |
Fail rate is first attempts at class 4 tests. Median age is the age of a typical E-Type at its test that year, and it is the number to watch: across the whole fleet each extra year of age adds roughly 1.9 points to the fail rate, so a model whose age and fail rate rise together is simply getting older.
The exact defects that fail it
Every failure item DVSA recorded against a E-Type in 2025, counted by how many tests each one appeared on.
- 1Washers: not working18 tests
- 2Ball joint dust cover: ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt12 tests
- 3Horn: not working12 tests
- 4Rbt (sp): efficiency below requirements11 tests
- 5Headlamp: not working on dipped beam10 tests
- 6Wipers: does not clear the windscreen effectively9 tests
- 7Ball joint: ball joint excessively worn8 tests
- 8Headlamp aim: too high7 tests
What wears out first
Advisories are the tester flagging wear that is still legal. A typical E-Type collects 2.19 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.
- 1Wheel bearings: has excessive play57 tests
- 2Engine oil leaks: leaking excessively from engine57 tests
- 3Transmission oil leaks: leaking excessively from transmission26 tests
- 4Ball joint: ball joint excessively worn25 tests
- 5Non-component advisories: Play in steering rack inner joint(s)16 tests
- 6Pins and bushes: pin or bush excessively worn16 tests
- 7Exhaust system: has a major leak of exhaust gases10 tests
- 8Shock absorbers: has an excessively worn bush8 tests
Questions
What is the Jaguar E-Type MOT pass rate?
92% of the 1,180 Jaguar E-Type first-attempt MOTs in 2025 passed. The fail rate of 8% compares with 22.6% across all cars. A further 1.4% passed after a defect was fixed during the test visit.
What does a Jaguar E-Type usually fail on?
The single most common failure is "Washers: not working", recorded on 18 failed tests, followed by "Ball joint dust cover: ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt" and "Horn: not working". By section, lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment appears in 47.9% of failures, visibility appears in 40.4% of failures, brakes appears in 36.2% of failures.
Does age change the odds?
Sharply. At 3 to 5 years old the fail rate was 11.1%; at 14+ years it was 8%. The median Jaguar E-Type tested in 2025 was 54 years old with 47,418 miles.
Is the Jaguar E-Type getting less reliable?
The fail rate fell 2.1 points to 7.9% from 2022 to 2025 while the median one tested aged 4 years, which is about what ageing alone predicts (0 points). Read it as the fleet getting older rather than the model changing.
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 E-Type 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 Jaguar models
Checking a particular E-Type?
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.
Due a test? Find an approved MOT station near you.