3,303 tests in 2025
Toyota Urban reliability and MOT pass rate
76.4% passed first time. The 23.6% fail rate is 1.0 points worse than the all-car average, on a median example 15 years old with 92,546 miles.
Pass rate
76.4%
22.6% of all cars failed; 23.6% of these did.
Fixed on the day
7.8%
Passed after a defect was put right during the visit.
Median at test
92,546 mi
15 years old.
Fail rate by age
| Age at test | Tests | Fail rate |
|---|---|---|
| 3-5 years | 0 | — |
| 6-9 years | 0 | — |
| 10-13 years | 500 | 19.2% |
| 14+ years | 2,803 | 24.4% |
What the Urban 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.
- Brakes113 dangerous42.7%
- Suspension19 dangerous37.2%
- Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment32.2%
- Noise, emissions and leaks19%
- Tyres155 dangerous18.9%
- Visibility17.2%
- Body, chassis, structure12 dangerous15.3%
- Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems3.7%
Is the Urban getting worse?
The fail rate rose 4.6 points to 23.6% from 2022 to 2025 while the median one tested aged 3 years, which is about what ageing alone predicts (5.3 points). Read it as the fleet getting older rather than the model changing.
| Year | Tests | Median age | Fail rate | All cars | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 4,129 | 12 | 19% | 22.5% | |
| 2023 | 4,012 | 13 | 21.3% | 22.8% | |
| 2024 | 3,415 | 14 | 23% | 23.2% | |
| 2025 | 3,301 | 15 | 23.6% | 22.6% |
Fail rate is first attempts at class 4 tests. Median age is the age of a typical Urban 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 Urban in 2025, counted by how many tests each one appeared on.
- 1Position lamp: not working97 tests
- 2Malfunction indicator lamp: inoperative or indicates a malfunction81 tests
- 3Tread depth: tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm73 tests
- 4Rigid brake pipes: excessively corroded67 tests
- 5Linkage ball joint dust cover: ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt63 tests
- 6Electronic stability control: warning lamp indicates a fault62 tests
- 7Wipers: does not clear the windscreen effectively59 tests
- 8Brake pads: less than 1.5 mm thick58 tests
What wears out first
Advisories are the tester flagging wear that is still legal. A typical Urban collects 3.45 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.
- 1Brake discs: in such a condition that it is seriously weakened563 tests
- 2Rigid brake pipes: excessively corroded559 tests
- 3Tread depth: tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm458 tests
- 4Pins and bushes: pin or bush excessively worn433 tests
- 5Condition: has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure366 tests
- 6Coil spring: corroded so that its cross sectional area is reduced and seriously weakened278 tests
- 7Sub-frame: corroded and seriously weakened224 tests
- 8Brake pads: less than 1.5 mm thick218 tests
Questions
What is the Toyota Urban MOT pass rate?
76.4% of the 3,303 Toyota Urban first-attempt MOTs in 2025 passed. The fail rate of 23.6% compares with 22.6% across all cars. A further 7.8% passed after a defect was fixed during the test visit.
What does a Toyota Urban usually fail on?
The single most common failure is "Position lamp: not working", recorded on 97 failed tests, followed by "Malfunction indicator lamp: inoperative or indicates a malfunction" and "Tread depth: tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm". By section, brakes appears in 42.7% of failures, suspension appears in 37.2% of failures, lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment appears in 32.2% of failures.
Does age change the odds?
Sharply. At 3 to 5 years old the fail rate was n/a%; at 14+ years it was 24.4%. The median Toyota Urban tested in 2025 was 15 years old with 92,546 miles.
Is the Toyota Urban getting less reliable?
The fail rate rose 4.6 points to 23.6% from 2022 to 2025 while the median one tested aged 3 years, which is about what ageing alone predicts (5.3 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 Urban 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 Toyota models
- Yaris 20.4%
- Aygo 18.7%
- Hiace 28.8%
- Gr Yaris 6.1%
- Previa 34.2%
- Proace City 17.4%
- Vellfire 13.5%
- Starlet 28.1%
- Unclassified 19.4%
- Voxy 8.7%
Checking a particular Urban?
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.