Jeep Grand Cherokee MOT pass rate & common failures
38,674 MOT tests on the Jeep Grand Cherokee (1986–2025) give it an 85.2% pass rate. That is effectively the same as large SUVs of a similar age (14.4% fail rate), so the MOT record here is unremarkable in either direction. Its most common failure areas are brakes, lighting & signalling and tyres.
Best and worst Grand Cherokee years
Ranked across Grand Cherokee 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
The strongest year on this record is 2019 (91.6% pass rate); the weakest is 2013 (83.5%). Older cars carry more of the difference than the average implies.
No single area dominates — brakes (6.3%) and lighting & signalling (5.7%) are close, so failures are spread across several systems rather than one weak point.
At component level the recurring items are tread depth, headlamp aim and wipers — tread depth alone was recorded 875 times.
Mileage is the strongest signal on the record: 6.8% of 0-30k cars fail, rising to 24.6% once past 150k — 3.6× the risk.
Split by fuel, petrol examples fail 4.0pp more often than diesel ones (18.3% vs 14.3%) — worth weighing if you have a choice.
Advisories point at the next bill rather than this one: brakes was flagged on 21.9% of tests without failing them.
The trend is worsening — 14.6% of tests failed in 2021 against 16.3% in 2025, the usual pattern as a fleet ages.
How it compares
By model year
Every Grand Cherokee model year with a usable sample. Years with their own detailed report are linked.
| Year | Tests | Pass rate | Fail rate | Most common failure |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | 75 | 72.0% | 28.0% | Brakes |
| 1999 | 393 | 69.5% | 30.5% | Brakes |
| 2000 | 680 | 72.9% | 27.1% | Lighting & signalling |
| 2001 | 737 | 74.1% | 25.9% | Lighting & signalling |
| 2002 | 343 | 70.9% | 29.1% | Lighting & signalling |
| 2003 | 138 | 72.5% | 27.5% | Lighting & signalling |
| 2004 | 203 | 69.0% | 31.0% | Brakes |
| 2005 | 155 | 79.3% | 20.6% | Lighting & signalling |
| 2006 | 200 | 74.5% | 25.5% | Lighting & signalling |
| 2007 | 134 | 81.3% | 18.7% | Lighting & signalling |
| 2008 | 89 | 74.2% | 25.8% | Lighting & signalling |
| 2009 | 50 | 82.0% | 18.0% | Lighting & signalling |
| 2010 | 75 | 78.7% | 21.3% | Lighting & signalling |
| 2011 | 52 | 80.8% | 19.2% | Lighting & signalling |
| 2012 | 199 | 82.4% | 17.6% | Lighting & signalling |
| 2013 | 4,081 | 83.5% | 16.5% | Lighting & signalling |
| 2014 | 8,603 | 84.1% | 15.9% | Brakes |
| 2015 | 7,993 | 86.4% | 13.6% | Brakes |
| 2016 | 5,888 | 86.7% | 13.3% | Brakes |
| 2017 | 4,817 | 88.7% | 11.3% | Brakes |
| 2018 | 2,274 | 90.6% | 9.4% | Visibility |
| 2019 | 1,137 | 91.6% | 8.4% | Visibility |
| 2020 | 259 | 89.2% | 10.8% | Lighting & signalling |
| 2021 | 33 | 87.9% | 12.1% | Lighting & signalling |
Most common failures (all years)
| # | Category | % of tests affected | Tests |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brakes | 6.3% | 2,430 |
| 2 | Lighting & signalling | 5.7% | 2,211 |
| 3 | Tyres | 3.5% | 1,364 |
| 4 | Visibility | 3.0% | 1,167 |
| 5 | Suspension | 2.3% | 897 |
| 6 | Steering | 1.5% | 560 |
| 7 | Emissions & environmental | 1.3% | 498 |
| 8 | Body, structure & corrosion | 1.2% | 481 |
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 | 875 |
| 2 | Headlamp aim | 809 |
| 3 | Wipers | 774 |
| 4 | Brake pads | 764 |
| 5 | Headlamp | 649 |
| 6 | Washers | 606 |
| 7 | Rbt (sp) | 589 |
| 8 | Decelerometer (sp) | 555 |
Top advisory categories
Advisories aren't failures, but they flag work likely needed soon — useful when budgeting.
| # | Category | % of tests with advisory | Tests |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brakes | 21.9% | 8,451 |
| 2 | Tyres | 18.7% | 7,224 |
| 3 | Suspension | 8.3% | 3,218 |
| 4 | Other defects | 6.0% | 2,315 |
| 5 | Lighting & signalling | 3.9% | 1,518 |
| 6 | Visibility | 3.6% | 1,400 |
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 | 3,475 | 6.8% |
| 30-60k | 12,469 | 11.1% |
| 60-90k | 12,567 | 15.2% |
| 90-120k | 6,766 | 20.8% |
| 120-150k | 2,390 | 22.6% |
| 150k+ | 1,002 | 24.6% |
Failure rate by age
By fuel type
| Fuel | Tests | Fail rate |
|---|---|---|
| Diesel | 33,418 | 14.3% |
| Petrol | 5,245 | 18.3% |
Trend over time
| Dataset year | Tests | Fail rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 7,920 | 14.6% |
| 2022 | 7,918 | 13.9% |
| 2023 | 7,785 | 13.9% |
| 2024 | 7,609 | 15.4% |
| 2025 | 7,442 | 16.3% |
What to check before buying a Jeep Grand Cherokee
- Brakes (6.3% of tests): Pads/discs are routine wear; binding, imbalance or corroded pipes are more serious — test for pulling under braking. Typical repair: £100–£350 per axle.
- Lighting & signalling (5.7% of tests): Often a cheap bulb, but persistent issues can mean wiring or corrosion in the units. Typical repair: £10–£150.
- Tyres (3.5% 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.
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 Jeep Grand Cherokee?
85.2% of the 38,674 Jeep Grand Cherokee MOT tests in this dataset passed, a 14.8% fail rate, across model years 1986–2025.
What does the Jeep Grand Cherokee most often fail its MOT on?
Brakes, recorded in 6.3% of tests, then lighting & signalling (5.7%).
Which Grand Cherokee years are best and worst for MOT results?
2019 has the best pass rate at 91.6% and 2013 the weakest at 83.5%, from 1,137 and 4,081 tests respectively.
How much does mileage affect Grand Cherokee MOT results?
Fail rates run at 6.8% for cars in the 0-30k band and 24.6% for 150k+, a 17.9-point difference.
Is the diesel or petrol Grand Cherokee more reliable at MOT time?
On MOT-testable defects the diesel fails 14.3% of the time against 18.3% for the petrol. This covers testable items only, not engine or gearbox reliability.
Methodology & source. Based on 38,674 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.