MOT cost .
Toyota Yaris
MOT 2023
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Toyota

Yaris

527,880 MOT tests analysed. lands in the middle of the pack — here's where Yariss pass, fail, and end up on the retest sheet.

That's in line with the UK fleet average across our 1,988 tracked models.

Pass

75.5%

Pass-after-fix

6.7%

Fail

17.4%

Avg miles

65,980

Pass + Pass-after-fix + Fail = 100%

The picture

Yaris Passes 75% — Lights and Springs Flag

Toyota's reliability reputation holds up to a point: the Yaris clears 75.45% of MOTs across 527,880 tests, but headlamp lens defects and fractured coil springs are the most common failure triggers. Owners of the 1.33 CVT have reported snapped offside front springs — one was caught under an extended Toyota warranty at 65,000 miles, but that safety net won't apply to used buyers. The 1.4 D-4D diesel adds EGR complications at higher mileage. Pre-purchase checks should cover front lamp condition, both springs, and clutch play on manual versions, particularly below 60,000 miles.

Top ten reasons for rejection.

  1. 01

    Headlamp reflector or lens slightly defective

    18,448 occurrences · 3.5% of tests

  2. 02

    A spring or spring component fractured or seriously weakened

    15,551 occurrences · 2.9% of tests

  3. 03

    A lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning

    12,144 occurrences · 2.3% of tests

  4. 04

    Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements

    10,946 occurrences · 2.1% of tests

  5. 05

    Wiper blade missing or obviously not clearing the windscreen

    10,899 occurrences · 2.1% of tests

  6. 06

    The aim of a headlamp is not within limits laid down in the requirements

    9,888 occurrences · 1.9% of tests

  7. 07

    Wiper blade defective

    9,492 occurrences · 1.8% of tests

  8. 08

    A transmission shaft constant velocity joint boot severely deteriorated

    8,946 occurrences · 1.7% of tests

  9. 09

    Brake pipe damaged or excessively corroded

    8,716 occurrences · 1.7% of tests

  10. 10

    Windscreen or window damaged or seriously discoloured but not adversely affecting driver's view

    7,698 occurrences · 1.5% of tests

Counts cover Major and Dangerous defects logged at test. Advisory items excluded so this shows why a car was rejected, not just what the tester flagged in passing.

Worst-case fix budget · top 4 failures

£170–£460

If every one of this Yaris's most-logged Major fails hit at the same MOT, that's the real-world UK garage range. Reality is usually one or two items, not all of them. Open the estimator →

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Build your own retest budget.

Tools that pre-empt a retest.

Picked against this car's top failure patterns. Affiliate links to Amazon UK — we earn a small cut at no cost to you. Disclosed up-front, doesn't shape the data.

Item 01 · Amazon UK

Headlight restoration kit

Yellowed lenses fail the light-output test. A restoration kit lifts the haze in an afternoon for £20.

Search Amazon UK

Item 02 · Amazon UK

Digital tyre-tread depth gauge

Five quid for a gauge beats £150 for a retest. UK MOT minimum is 1.6mm — most testers fail anything below 2mm to be safe.

Search Amazon UK

Item 03 · Amazon UK

Bosch Aerotwin wiper blades

Cheap wipers fail the test on smear streaks. Bosch Aerotwins last a winter and clear a screen properly.

Search Amazon UK

Owner reports · Honest John

What owners actually report.

Verbatim faults logged by owners on honestjohn.co.uk over recent years. We didn't summarise — these are the words people typed in.

What's good

Fairly big boot by class standards, tempting hybrid option, Toyota has an epic reliability record.

Where it falls short

The Toyota Yaris feels a little dated these days, with a bland interior, inconsistent equipment levels, lacklustre performance and mediocre driving experience.

Recent owner-reported faults

  1. 24 May 2019

    Report of clutch thrust bearing failure on 2012 Toyota Yaris 1.33 SR at fairly low mileage, mostly suburban use. Replacement thrust bearing and clutch £1,000 at outer London Toyota dealer.

  2. 11 Dec 2018

    Report of 2011 Toyota Yaris 1.4D-4D showing a yellow light which on diagnostic by local garage said fuel errors. Mechanic has changed all filters, cleaned the diesel tank and cleared the errors. But when the car is driven it "pulls" and then loses all power. Suspect EGR and or DPF.

  3. 2 Aug 2018

    R eport of two issues with 2012 Toyota Yaris 1.33 CVT now at 65k miles. The offside front coil spring snapped, happily replaced under an extended Toyota warranty. But also has keyless entry and go which is playing up. The central locking has been malfunctioning with symptoms that include unlocking some doors and not others (completely at random). When in the vehicle we can hear the central locking "clicking" for a brief period as if something is slipping. As yet dealer has been unable to replicate this so not yet fixed.

  4. 5 Jul 2018

    Report of 'anti-trap' electric window mechanism on new hired Toyota Yaris hybrid failing, trapping the passenger's arm and refusing to release.

  5. 27 Mar 2018

    Problems reported with the mapping of the satnav of a 2017 Yaris Hybrid Excel: Someties gets an overspeed warning on roads where the driver knows he is under the limit and, living on the coast, the satnav sometimes shows the car as in the sea.

  6. 3 Aug 2017

    Complaint that on a new 2017 model Toyota Yaris hybrid the left-hand indicator stalk does not self-cancel.

  7. 28 May 2017

    Hot starting problem reported on 9,000 mile 2016 Toyota Yaris 1.3 CVT. When the car has been driven anything over 10 miles, parked and left for half an hour or so the engine is very difficult to start. It starts eventually but after many turns.

  8. 14 Oct 2016

    Further report of DPF problems, this time with an independently serviced 28,000 mile 2012/62 Yaris D-4D: " Hi It went back to Toyota who did several regenerations on it and the engine management light went out. 29 days later it came back on despite me having driven 1,599 miles in that time." Toyota is now questioning the independent service that owner had done prior to all of this a happening. New DPF estimated at £800.

  9. 20 Aug 2016

    DPF regeneration problems reported with 27k mile 4 year old Toyota Yaris 1.4 D-4D.

  10. 3 Aug 2016

    Another report of DPF problems with the Yaris 1.4 D-4D, this time twice in 50,000 miles in a Yaris used for driving school work. Steering column universal joint has also needed to be replaced twice due to driving school abuse.

  11. 9 Mar 2016

    2015 Toyota Yaris 1.4 D-4D needed a forced DPF regeneration and oil change at 18,000 miles, costing £275. Might not have been actively regenerating, and this might be because owner filled it with Millers longlife ACEA C2 5W30 instead of the correct 0W30 at the last oil change. Problem occurred despite almost all mileage on motorway on 800 mile road trips at 2,000rpm.

  12. 22 Feb 2016

    Problem reported with Multidrive S CVT where the gearbox briefly changed down and then back up when the revs rose on a level road at constant speed of no more than 40 mph. It happened several times over a couple of hours and since then, no problem.

Source: honestjohn.co.uk · 14 reports indexed, top 12 shown

Buying or keeping a Yaris?

Use the failure ranking as a pre-test checklist or a haggling lever. Treat the headline pass rate as a fleet-wide trend, not a guarantee on any individual car.

If you own a Yaris and your last MOT looked nothing like the ranked failures above, that's normal — individual cars vary widely. The ranking shows the patterns testers flag most often across the country.