Jaguar XF MOT pass rate & common failures
The Jaguar XF appears in 589,701 MOT tests spanning model years 2003–2024, and 83.0% of them passed. Executive cars of a similar age fail at 16.6%, so the XF sits squarely on the average. Its most common failure areas are tyres, lighting & signalling and suspension.
Best and worst XF years
Ranked across XF years with at least 1,000 tests. Older cars fail more simply because they are older — compare years close together in age before drawing conclusions.
What the MOT record shows
Build year matters more than the headline suggests: 2021 cars pass 91.4% of the time while 2008 cars manage 76.8%, a 14.5-point spread.
No single area dominates — tyres (6.6%) and lighting & signalling (6.6%) are close, so failures are spread across several systems rather than one weak point.
At component level the recurring items are tread depth, ball joint dust cover and brake pads — tread depth alone was recorded 20,794 times.
A 150k+ example is materially riskier than a 0-30k one: 24.5% versus 8.3%.
The petrol cars hold up better: 13.2% fail against 17.4% for diesel, a 4.2-point gap across 589,701 tests.
Tyres is the most common advisory, noted on 26.1% of tests — work that passed today but is likely due soon.
The trend is worsening — 15.4% of tests failed in 2021 against 18.4% in 2025, the usual pattern as a fleet ages.
How it compares
By model year
Every XF model year with a usable sample. Years with their own detailed report are linked.
| Year | Tests | Pass rate | Fail rate | Most common failure |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | 368 | 79.6% | 20.4% | Lighting & signalling |
| 2008 | 34,118 | 76.8% | 23.2% | Lighting & signalling |
| 2009 | 44,061 | 77.1% | 22.9% | Lighting & signalling |
| 2010 | 59,162 | 78.8% | 21.2% | Lighting & signalling |
| 2011 | 51,633 | 79.8% | 20.2% | Lighting & signalling |
| 2012 | 60,833 | 80.8% | 19.3% | Suspension |
| 2013 | 67,147 | 82.1% | 17.9% | Suspension |
| 2014 | 73,194 | 83.3% | 16.7% | Tyres |
| 2015 | 57,733 | 85.1% | 14.9% | Tyres |
| 2016 | 48,220 | 88.5% | 11.5% | Tyres |
| 2017 | 39,399 | 89.8% | 10.2% | Tyres |
| 2018 | 32,281 | 90.1% | 9.9% | Tyres |
| 2019 | 15,182 | 90.0% | 10.0% | Tyres |
| 2020 | 4,573 | 90.0% | 10.0% | Tyres |
| 2021 | 1,566 | 91.4% | 8.6% | Tyres |
| 2022 | 160 | 90.6% | 9.4% | Tyres |
| 2023 | 39 | 94.9% | 5.1% | Lighting & signalling |
Most common failures (all years)
| # | Category | % of tests affected | Tests |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tyres | 6.6% | 39,100 |
| 2 | Lighting & signalling | 6.6% | 38,633 |
| 3 | Suspension | 5.5% | 32,540 |
| 4 | Brakes | 4.3% | 25,571 |
| 5 | Visibility | 3.0% | 17,827 |
| 6 | Emissions & environmental | 1.2% | 6,929 |
| 7 | Body, structure & corrosion | 0.8% | 4,846 |
| 8 | Road wheels | 0.5% | 3,126 |
Most common specific failures
The exact components most often recorded as failures — more specific than the categories above.
| # | Failure item | Times recorded |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tread depth | 20,794 |
| 2 | Ball joint dust cover | 15,340 |
| 3 | Brake pads | 14,086 |
| 4 | Registration plate lamp(s) | 13,727 |
| 5 | Pins and bushes | 12,760 |
| 6 | Headlamp aim | 11,782 |
| 7 | Washers | 10,838 |
| 8 | Position lamp | 9,541 |
Top advisory categories
Advisories aren't failures, but they flag work likely needed soon — useful when budgeting.
| # | Category | % of tests with advisory | Tests |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tyres | 26.1% | 153,887 |
| 2 | Brakes | 22.4% | 132,290 |
| 3 | Suspension | 19.1% | 112,551 |
| 4 | Lighting & signalling | 5.7% | 33,872 |
| 5 | Other defects | 5.3% | 31,110 |
| 6 | Visibility | 3.3% | 19,396 |
Failure rate by mileage
Higher-mileage cars tend to fail more — often the most useful guide to real condition.
| Mileage band | Tests | Fail rate |
|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 43,407 | 8.3% |
| 30-60k | 140,803 | 12.0% |
| 60-90k | 172,529 | 16.8% |
| 90-120k | 132,045 | 20.7% |
| 120-150k | 66,974 | 22.9% |
| 150k+ | 33,780 | 24.5% |
Failure rate by age
By fuel type
| Fuel | Tests | Fail rate |
|---|---|---|
| Diesel | 539,506 | 17.4% |
| Petrol | 50,195 | 13.2% |
Trend over time
| Dataset year | Tests | Fail rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 119,559 | 15.4% |
| 2022 | 121,914 | 16.3% |
| 2023 | 120,503 | 17.2% |
| 2024 | 116,698 | 18.1% |
| 2025 | 111,027 | 18.4% |
What to check before buying a Jaguar XF
- Tyres (6.6% of tests): Usually a quick, known-cost fix, but check tread, age and uneven wear (which can hint at alignment or suspension issues). Typical repair: £50–£120 per tyre.
- Lighting & signalling (6.6% of tests): Often a cheap bulb, but persistent issues can mean wiring or corrosion in the units. Typical repair: £10–£150.
- Suspension (5.5% of tests): Worn drop links, bushes, springs or shocks — listen for knocks over bumps and check for uneven tyre wear. Typical repair: £150–£450 per corner.
Repair costs are rough UK ballpark ranges to set expectations, not quotes — actual prices vary widely by car, parts and garage.
Frequently asked questions
What is the MOT pass rate for the Jaguar XF?
83.0% of the 589,701 Jaguar XF MOT tests in this dataset passed, a 17.0% fail rate, across model years 2003–2024.
What does the Jaguar XF most often fail its MOT on?
Tyres, recorded in 6.6% of tests, then lighting & signalling (6.6%).
Which XF years are best and worst for MOT results?
2021 has the best pass rate at 91.4% and 2008 the weakest at 76.8%, from 1,566 and 34,118 tests respectively.
How much does mileage affect XF MOT results?
Fail rates run at 8.3% for cars in the 0-30k band and 24.5% for 150k+, a 16.2-point difference.
Is the petrol or diesel XF more reliable at MOT time?
On MOT-testable defects the petrol fails 13.2% of the time against 17.4% for the diesel. This covers testable items only, not engine or gearbox reliability.
Methodology & source. Based on 589,701 MOT tests. Dataset: DVSA MOT testing data (2021,2022,2023,2024,2025). Data last updated 2026-07-27. Figures reflect MOT-testable defects only — read the methodology for how these are calculated and what they don't measure.