In 2025, about one in three cars and light vans that failed their MOT first time had a suspension defect, according to DVSA’s MOT test data. Coil springs, ball joints, bushes and shock absorbers were the most common faults. After adjusting for age, the Vauxhall Mokka, Nissan NV200, Vauxhall Vivaro, Renault Trafic and Vauxhall Adam had the highest suspension failure rates, and the Citroen DS3, Renault Clio and Ford Ranger were the worst for broken coil springs.
The figures come from every MOT test of a car or light van (class 4) in Great Britain in 2025, published by DVSA under the Open Government Licence. They are test results, not a reliability ranking, so please read the section on how to interpret them.
Key figures from the 2025 MOT data
- Tests analysed: 29.6 million first time MOT tests on cars and light vans.
- Initial failure rate: 27.8%, counting both outright fails and cars repaired on the spot.
- Suspension: 9.0% of all tests recorded a suspension defect, which is 32.4% of all initial failures.
- Most common suspension defects: coil springs (about 713,000 tests), ball joints (about 519,000), pins and bushes (about 437,000) and shock absorbers (about 326,000).
How age changes the picture
Age is by far the biggest factor. Suspension defects were recorded in:
| Age of vehicle | Tests with a suspension defect |
|---|---|
| 0 to 3 years | 0.7% |
| 4 to 7 years | 2.2% |
| 8 to 12 years | 8.9% |
| 13 to 17 years | 16.1% |
| 18 years or more | 15.7% |
Coil springs alone failed in 4.1% of tests on 13 to 17 year old vehicles, against 0.7% for 4 to 7 year olds. If you want to know what that failure means in practice, see our guide to broken coil springs and the MOT.
Which cars fail the MOT on suspension most often?
To compare models fairly, each model’s actual failures are compared with the number expected for its age mix. A ratio of 1.0 is average, and 2.0 means twice as many suspension failures as expected for its age. Only models with at least 15,000 tests on vehicles aged 4 or older are included, which covered 269 models.
| Model | Tests | Suspension failure rate | Ratio to expected |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vauxhall Mokka | 192,975 | 16.3% | 2.24 |
| Nissan NV200 | 22,022 | 21.2% | 2.14 |
| Vauxhall Vivaro | 132,161 | 23.0% | 2.12 |
| Renault Trafic | 80,902 | 21.7% | 2.04 |
| Vauxhall Adam | 52,330 | 15.6% | 2.02 |
| Renault Clio | 246,956 | 21.4% | 1.87 |
| Fiat 500L | 15,067 | 15.7% | 1.83 |
| Dacia Sandero | 85,125 | 11.5% | 1.75 |
| Peugeot Bipper | 15,512 | 21.8% | 1.75 |
| Isuzu D Max | 24,273 | 11.2% | 1.73 |
Several of these are vans, which carry loads and cover high mileages, so their results should not be read as a statement about how well they are built.
Which cars have the most broken coil springs?
The same method applied to coil spring failures only, again for models with at least 15,000 tests aged 4 or older:
| Model | Tests | Tests with a coil spring defect | Ratio to expected |
|---|---|---|---|
| Citroen DS3 (including DS badged cars) | 90,059 | 10.2% | 3.32 |
| Renault Clio | 246,956 | 9.7% | 3.31 |
| Ford Ranger | 94,879 | 6.0% | 3.28 |
| Suzuki Ignis | 18,474 | 5.9% | 3.18 |
| Vauxhall Meriva | 72,390 | 10.2% | 2.96 |
| Fiat 500L | 15,067 | 8.0% | 2.84 |
| Nissan Navara | 61,599 | 6.4% | 2.82 |
| Renault Scenic | 28,460 | 9.5% | 2.82 |
| Renault Grand Scenic | 16,077 | 9.3% | 2.81 |
| Renault Megane | 80,215 | 9.3% | 2.78 |
There is no best list for coil springs, because many of the cars with the fewest coil spring defects have air suspension or other set ups that do not use the same item.
How popular cars compare
| Model | Tests | Suspension failure rate | Ratio to expected |
|---|---|---|---|
| BMW 3 Series | 311,134 | 8.6% | 0.68 |
| Volkswagen Golf | 700,069 | 10.4% | 0.94 |
| Ford Focus | 756,859 | 10.6% | 0.97 |
| Ford Fiesta | 1,138,668 | 13.3% | 1.22 |
| Vauxhall Corsa | 679,033 | 14.5% | 1.31 |
| Nissan Qashqai | 481,731 | 14.4% | 1.60 |
| Renault Clio | 246,956 | 21.4% | 1.87 |
| Mini Cooper | 188,066 | 1.5% | 0.24 |
The Mini figure is low partly because most Minis tested are younger, and the age adjustment only partly corrects for that.
How to interpret these figures
- These are MOT test outcomes, not a reliability ranking. A defect found at an MOT test says nothing about why it happened.
- Mileage, how a car is used, how it is maintained and which cars owners choose to put through a test are not controlled for. Age is adjusted for only in broad bands.
- The data covers cars and light vans up to 3,000kg together, so vans appear alongside cars.
- Failures include cars that were repaired on the spot and then passed. DVSA counts those as initial failures.
- This analysis is our own work from DVSA’s published data, and is not an official statistic.
What to check when buying an older used car
If a model you are looking at has a high suspension failure rate, that is a reason to check, not a reason to avoid it. Look at the car’s MOT history for past suspension advisories (our guide explains how to check MOT history online), listen for clunks, look for a corner sitting lower than the others, and ask when springs, shock absorbers and bushes were last replaced. Our step by step used car check covers the rest. If your own car has failed, see what to do when your car fails its MOT.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the most common suspension failure at the MOT?
Coil springs, with about 713,000 tests in 2025 recording a coil spring defect, followed by ball joints, pins and bushes, and shock absorbers.
How many cars fail the MOT on suspension?
In 2025, 9.0% of all class 4 tests recorded a suspension defect, which was 32.4% of all initial failures.
Which car fails the MOT on suspension most often?
After adjusting for age, the Vauxhall Mokka had the highest ratio at 2.24 times the expected rate, followed by the Nissan NV200 and Vauxhall Vivaro.
Does a high failure rate mean a car is unreliable?
Not necessarily. The data does not account for mileage, use or maintenance, and it measures defects found at the test, not overall reliability.
Where does this data come from?
From DVSA’s anonymised MOT test results for 2025, published under the Open Government Licence.
Leave a Reply