EV vs Petrol MOT Failures: What 25 Million Tests Say in 2025
Are electric cars actually more reliable — or do they just fail differently?
The MOT is a useful lens for this because it doesn’t care about marketing. It’s a pass/fail assessment of roadworthiness, based on what’s worn out, broken, corroded, or unsafe right now.
So we pulled a large DVSA MOT dataset and ran a simple comparison:
- Pure electric vehicles (EVs / BEVs)
- Petrol vehicles (excluding diesel, hybrids and PHEVs for a cleaner comparison)
If you want the broader reliability context, these studies pair well with this one:
- How MOT fail rates change as cars age
- The Pothole Pandemic: which brands have the weakest suspensions?
- German reliability: myth or reality?
The headline: EVs fail far less often
Across the dataset:
| Vehicle Type | Average Fail Rate | Total Tests Analysed | Unique Variants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Electric Vehicles (BEV) | 9.27% | 205,197 | 159 |
| Petrol Vehicles | 14.89% | 24,816,533 | 10,734 |
That’s a 37.7% lower MOT failure rate for EVs.
Put another way: per 1,000 tests, you’d expect roughly:
- ~93 EV fails
- ~149 petrol fails
It’s not a rounding error — it’s a structural advantage.
What EVs fail on (spoiler: mostly normal car stuff)
EVs don’t magically avoid wear. Their top failure reasons look very familiar:
| Rank | Common EV Failure Reason | Occurrences |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tyre tread depth insufficient | 18,540 |
| 2 | Tyre seriously damaged | 10,782 |
| 3 | Suspension pin/bush/joint worn | 7,709 |
| 4 | Tyre cords visible/damaged | 4,712 |
| 5 | Brake disc/drum weakened or fractured | 4,055 |
| 6 | Wiper blade defective | 1,363 |
| 7 | Brake lining/pad worn below 1.5mm | 1,188 |
Three practical implications:
- Tyres matter even more than you think.
- Suspension wear still exists (and potholes still hurt).
- EVs still fail on brakes — but the story is different (see below).
If you’re prepping for an MOT, start with the basics on our MOT checklist, then use your model/year data to prioritise the most likely failure items.
What petrol cars fail on (and what EVs avoid entirely)
Petrol cars share tyre and suspension failures — but they also carry failure categories that EVs simply cannot have.
A big one: exhaust and emissions-related failures.
Here’s a snapshot of petrol-only failure types in the dataset:
| Petrol-only Failure Type | Occurrences |
|---|---|
| Exhaust system leaking/insecure | 7,567 |
| Engine MIL (malfunction indicator) displayed | 3,639 |
| Emissions exceed default limits | 850 |
| Lambda coefficient outside limits | 96 |
| Exhaust noise excessive | 101 |
| Emissions control equipment defective | 13 |
That’s not just fewer problems — it’s fewer categories of problems.
This is one of the clearest reasons EVs can show better MOT outcomes: there are fewer complex systems that can fail in an MOT-relevant way.
The tyre myth: “EVs eat tyres” (the MOT data doesn’t support it)
EVs are heavier and deliver instant torque, so you’d expect tyres to be a bigger problem.
But when we look specifically at tyre-related MOT failures:
- EV tyre failure rate: 6.83%
- Petrol tyre failure rate: 7.80%
So in this dataset, EVs are not failing MOTs on tyres more often than petrol cars.
One explanation: tyres can wear faster on EVs without necessarily dropping below legal limits by MOT time — meaning you might replace tyres between tests and never record an MOT fail.
Bottom line: maintain tyres properly regardless of fuel type, but the “EV tyres are an MOT disaster” narrative isn’t backed by this snapshot.
How age changes the picture (newer EVs are especially strong)
Both EVs and petrol cars get less reliable with age — but newer EV cohorts perform extremely well.
A useful way to think about it:
- Early mass-market EVs had teething issues.
- Modern EVs (2021+) show very low failure rates in this dataset.
If you want the broader age curve across the car parc, start here:
Head-to-head examples you can sanity-check
Tesla Model 3 vs popular petrol premium saloons
In the dataset, Model 3 Long Range AWD is one of the best-tested EV variants and performs strongly on fail rate relative to many petrol comparators.
If you’re researching a specific model, go straight to the model hub pages on Pre MOT Check:
Nissan Leaf: the "aging fleet" effect
The Nissan Leaf's average looks weaker largely because many Leafs on UK roads are older, early-generation cars. Newer EVs (and newer Leaf variants) can perform much better.
Other popular EVs to compare
- BMW i3 – compact EV with city focus
- Volkswagen ID.3 – VW's mass-market EV
- Kia e-Niro – practical crossover EV
- Renault Zoe – long-running budget EV
What EV owners should do differently before an MOT
EV reliability advantages don’t remove the need for prep — they just shift it:
- Tyres: check tread depth and sidewall damage (heavy kerb strikes show up here).
- Suspension: listen for knocks, check for uneven tyre wear, and don’t ignore steering feel changes.
(This pairs directly with our suspension failure deep dive.) - Brakes: EVs can suffer from brake corrosion because regenerative braking reduces use. A short “brake clean” drive (where safe and legal) and routine maintenance helps.
Check your car’s MOT stats by number plate
Methodology & data sources
- Data source: DVSA MOT test results (anonymised), processed into the Pre MOT Check database.
- Volume: 25M+ tests included in this comparison (subset of the wider dataset).
- EV definition: Battery-electric vehicles (BEV).
- Petrol definition: Petrol-only vehicles (excluding diesel, hybrids, PHEVs and alternative fuels for this comparison).
- Metrics: average MOT fail rate, plus frequency of common failure reasons.
As with any MOT study, results reflect real-world ownership and maintenance — not laboratory durability — which is exactly why they’re useful for buyers.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do electric cars need an MOT?
Yes, electric cars need an MOT just like petrol and diesel vehicles once they reach 3 years old. The test covers roadworthiness items like tyres, brakes, suspension and lights. EVs skip exhaust and emissions tests (since they have none), but all other safety checks apply.
Are electric cars more reliable than petrol for MOT?
Yes – in our analysis of 25 million MOT tests, EVs have a 9.27% average fail rate compared to 14.89% for petrol cars. That's a 37.7% lower failure rate. EVs also avoid entire failure categories like exhaust and emissions issues that affect petrol vehicles.
What is the MOT failure rate for electric cars?
Electric cars have an average MOT failure rate of 9.27% based on 205,197 tests analysed. The most common failures are tyres (tread depth and damage), suspension wear, and brake issues. Newer EV models from 2021+ show even lower failure rates.
Why do electric cars fail MOT less often?
EVs fail less often because they have fewer complex systems that can fail MOT-relevantly. They have no exhaust, emissions equipment, clutch or traditional gearbox. Their main failure points – tyres, suspension and brakes – are shared with petrol cars, but regenerative braking can actually reduce brake wear over time.
Key takeaways
- EVs show a 37.7% lower MOT failure rate than petrol cars in this dataset.
- EVs still fail on tyres and suspension, but they avoid entire petrol-only categories like emissions and exhaust issues.
- The “EVs eat tyres” MOT narrative isn’t supported here: tyre-related fail rates are not higher for EVs in this snapshot.
- Newer EV cohorts perform exceptionally well; early EVs pull averages down.
- For MOT prep, EV drivers should prioritise tyres, suspension wear, and brake condition (including corrosion).