Skip to content
My MOT CheckerSources

31,485 tests in 2025

Tesla Model Y reliability and MOT pass rate

85.8% passed first time. The 14.2% fail rate is 8.4 points better than the all-car average, on a median example 3 years old with 33,458 miles.

MOT pass rates / Tesla

Pass rate

85.8%

22.6% of all cars failed; 14.2% of these did.

Fixed on the day

1.4%

Passed after a defect was put right during the visit.

Median at test

33,458 mi

3 years old.

Fail rate by age

Age at testTestsFail rate
3-5 years29,24414.8%
6-9 years0—
10-13 years0—
14+ years0—

What the Model Y 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. Tyres3,510 dangerous80.6%
  2. Suspension27 dangerous15.7%
  3. Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment5.3%
  4. Visibility2 dangerous3.5%
  5. Brakes8 dangerous3.3%
  6. Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems1 dangerous2.1%
  7. Identification of the vehicle1.6%
  8. Road Wheels45 dangerous0.9%

Is the Model Y getting worse?

The fail rate rose 6.3 points to 14.3% from 2024 to 2025, against a falling rate across all cars.

YearTestsMedian ageFail rate All cars
20241,484—8%23.2%
202530,038—14.3%22.6%

Fail rate is first attempts at class 4 tests. Median age is the age of a typical Model Y 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 Model Y in 2025, counted by how many tests each one appeared on.

  1. 1Condition: has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords1,567 tests
  2. 2Condition: has ply or cords exposed1,496 tests
  3. 3Tread depth: tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm735 tests
  4. 4Ball joint: ball joint excessively worn384 tests
  5. 5Pins and bushes: pin or bush excessively worn340 tests
  6. 6Tyre pressure monitoring system: malfunctioning or obviously inoperative178 tests
  7. 7Headlamp aim: too high102 tests
  8. 8Headlamp aim: too low78 tests

What wears out first

Advisories are the tester flagging wear that is still legal. A typical Model Y collects 2.18 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. 1Tread depth: tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm6,578 tests
  2. 2Pins and bushes: pin or bush excessively worn2,039 tests
  3. 3Brake discs: in such a condition that it is seriously weakened1,486 tests
  4. 4Condition: has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords1,476 tests
  5. 5Non-component advisories: Child Seat fitted not allowing full inspection of adult belt1,143 tests
  6. 6Ball joint: ball joint excessively worn1,139 tests
  7. 7Tread depth: tread pattern not visible over the whole tread area when minimum depth required is 1.0mm1,111 tests
  8. 8Condition: has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure890 tests

Questions

What is the Tesla Model Y MOT pass rate?

85.8% of the 31,485 Tesla Model Y first-attempt MOTs in 2025 passed. The fail rate of 14.2% compares with 22.6% across all cars. A further 1.4% passed after a defect was fixed during the test visit.

What does a Tesla Model Y usually fail on?

The single most common failure is "Condition: has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords", recorded on 1,567 failed tests, followed by "Condition: has ply or cords exposed" and "Tread depth: tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm". By section, tyres appears in 80.6% of failures, suspension appears in 15.7% of failures, lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment appears in 5.3% of failures.

Does age change the odds?

Sharply. At 3 to 5 years old the fail rate was 14.8%; at 3-5 years it was 14.8%. The median Tesla Model Y tested in 2025 was 3 years old with 33,458 miles.

Is the Tesla Model Y getting less reliable?

The fail rate rose 6.3 points to 14.3% from 2024 to 2025, against a falling rate across all cars.

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 Model Y trim together. Year-on-year figures come from the same DVSA extracts for 2026 and earlier years. Full method on the pass rates hub.

DVSA has published 7 safety recalls naming the Tesla Model Y: Tesla Model Y recalls.

Other Tesla models

Checking a particular Model Y?

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.