20,615 tests in 2025
MINI John Cooper Works reliability and MOT pass rate
88.6% passed first time. The 11.4% fail rate is 11.2 points better than the all-car average, on a median example 7 years old with 36,864 miles.
Pass rate
88.6%
22.6% of all cars failed; 11.4% of these did.
Fixed on the day
2.1%
Passed after a defect was put right during the visit.
Median at test
36,864 mi
7 years old.
Fail rate by age
| Age at test | Tests | Fail rate |
|---|---|---|
| 3-5 years | 7,529 | 8.3% |
| 6-9 years | 9,785 | 12.3% |
| 10-13 years | 2,925 | 15.9% |
| 14+ years | 239 | 19.2% |
What the John Cooper Works 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.
- Tyres1,385 dangerous60.6%
- Brakes176 dangerous13%
- Visibility3 dangerous12%
- Suspension7 dangerous10.8%
- Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment3 dangerous9.4%
- Noise, emissions and leaks1 dangerous5.9%
- Road Wheels69 dangerous3.5%
- Identification of the vehicle2.5%
Is the John Cooper Works getting worse?
The fail rate held at 11.4% from 2022 to 2025 while the median one tested aged 2 years. Ageing alone would predict about 4.2 points, so it is holding up better than the fleet average for its age.
| Year | Tests | Median age | Fail rate | All cars | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 14,387 | 5 | 11.4% | 22.5% | |
| 2023 | 17,172 | 5 | 11.9% | 22.8% | |
| 2024 | 16,513 | 6 | 11.8% | 23.2% | |
| 2025 | 20,142 | 7 | 11.4% | 22.6% |
Fail rate is first attempts at class 4 tests. Median age is the age of a typical John Cooper Works 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 John Cooper Works in 2025, counted by how many tests each one appeared on.
- 1Condition: has a bulge, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure553 tests
- 2Condition: has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords367 tests
- 3Tread depth: tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm199 tests
- 4Condition: has ply or cords exposed194 tests
- 5Wipers: does not clear the windscreen effectively191 tests
- 6Brake pads: less than 1.5 mm thick133 tests
- 7Condition: has a lump, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure117 tests
- 8Condition: has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure99 tests
What wears out first
Advisories are the tester flagging wear that is still legal. A typical John Cooper Works 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.
- 1Tread depth: tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm1,932 tests
- 2Condition: has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure1,504 tests
- 3Brake pads: less than 1.5 mm thick1,284 tests
- 4Brake discs: in such a condition that it is seriously weakened762 tests
- 5Condition: has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords433 tests
- 6Pins and bushes: pin or bush excessively worn329 tests
- 7Non-component advisories: Nail in tyre314 tests
- 8Tread depth: tread pattern not visible over the whole tread area when minimum depth required is 1.0mm256 tests
Questions
What is the MINI John Cooper Works MOT pass rate?
88.6% of the 20,615 MINI John Cooper Works first-attempt MOTs in 2025 passed. The fail rate of 11.4% compares with 22.6% across all cars. A further 2.1% passed after a defect was fixed during the test visit.
What does a MINI John Cooper Works usually fail on?
The single most common failure is "Condition: has a bulge, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure", recorded on 553 failed tests, followed by "Condition: has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords" and "Tread depth: tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm". By section, tyres appears in 60.6% of failures, brakes appears in 13% of failures, visibility appears in 12% of failures.
Does age change the odds?
Sharply. At 3 to 5 years old the fail rate was 8.3%; at 14+ years it was 19.2%. The median MINI John Cooper Works tested in 2025 was 7 years old with 36,864 miles.
Is the MINI John Cooper Works getting less reliable?
The fail rate held at 11.4% from 2022 to 2025 while the median one tested aged 2 years. Ageing alone would predict about 4.2 points, so it is holding up better than the fleet average for its age.
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 John Cooper Works 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 MINI models
Checking a particular John Cooper Works?
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.