Smart Fortwo MOT pass rate & common failures
The Smart Fortwo appears in 151,289 MOT tests spanning model years 1999–2021, and 86.4% of them passed. City cars of a similar age fail 15.5% of the time, so this is 2.0pp better than the group it competes with. Its most common failure areas are lighting & signalling, visibility and tyres.
Best and worst Fortwo years
Ranked across Fortwo 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: 2019 cars pass 92.3% of the time while 2005 cars manage 73.1%, a 19.2-point spread.
No single area dominates — lighting & signalling (6.4%) and visibility (4.4%) are close, so failures are spread across several systems rather than one weak point.
At component level the recurring items are wipers, headlamp aim and tread depth — wipers alone was recorded 4,644 times.
Mileage is the strongest signal on the record: 8.4% of 0-30k cars fail, rising to 29.4% once past 150k — 3.5× the risk.
The electric cars hold up better: 7.6% fail against 22.2% for diesel, a 14.6-point gap across 7,442 tests.
Tyres is the most common advisory, noted on 21.9% of tests — work that passed today but is likely due soon.
The trend is worsening — 11.5% of tests failed in 2021 against 15.3% in 2025, the usual pattern as a fleet ages.
How it compares
By model year
Every Fortwo model year with a usable sample. Years with their own detailed report are linked.
| Year | Tests | Pass rate | Fail rate | Most common failure |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 43 | 74.4% | 25.6% | Lighting & signalling |
| 2002 | 75 | 73.3% | 26.7% | Lighting & signalling |
| 2003 | 223 | 78.0% | 22.0% | Lighting & signalling |
| 2004 | 703 | 75.4% | 24.6% | Lighting & signalling |
| 2005 | 1,286 | 73.1% | 26.9% | Lighting & signalling |
| 2006 | 1,176 | 73.5% | 26.5% | Lighting & signalling |
| 2007 | 1,547 | 77.4% | 22.6% | Lighting & signalling |
| 2008 | 5,434 | 77.7% | 22.3% | Lighting & signalling |
| 2009 | 5,682 | 78.3% | 21.7% | Lighting & signalling |
| 2010 | 4,596 | 77.8% | 22.2% | Lighting & signalling |
| 2011 | 3,870 | 80.7% | 19.3% | Lighting & signalling |
| 2012 | 2,263 | 83.4% | 16.6% | Lighting & signalling |
| 2013 | 5,186 | 84.1% | 15.9% | Lighting & signalling |
| 2014 | 21,198 | 86.4% | 13.6% | Lighting & signalling |
| 2015 | 12,466 | 86.6% | 13.4% | Lighting & signalling |
| 2016 | 32,223 | 87.4% | 12.6% | Tyres |
| 2017 | 26,615 | 89.2% | 10.8% | Visibility |
| 2018 | 18,330 | 90.8% | 9.2% | Visibility |
| 2019 | 8,234 | 92.3% | 7.8% | Tyres |
| 2020 | 108 | 91.7% | 8.3% | Tyres |
Most common failures (all years)
| # | Category | % of tests affected | Tests |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lighting & signalling | 6.4% | 9,691 |
| 2 | Visibility | 4.4% | 6,632 |
| 3 | Tyres | 4.3% | 6,576 |
| 4 | Brakes | 3.9% | 5,918 |
| 5 | Suspension | 3.2% | 4,808 |
| 6 | Emissions & environmental | 2.6% | 3,958 |
| 7 | Body, structure & corrosion | 1.2% | 1,848 |
| 8 | Other defects | 0.3% | 482 |
Most common specific failures
The exact components most often recorded as failures — more specific than the categories above.
| # | Failure item | Times recorded |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wipers | 4,644 |
| 2 | Headlamp aim | 4,440 |
| 3 | Tread depth | 3,474 |
| 4 | Stop lamp | 3,213 |
| 5 | Washers | 2,992 |
| 6 | Catalyst emissions | 2,600 |
| 7 | Coil spring | 2,414 |
| 8 | Brake pads | 2,389 |
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 | 21.9% | 33,061 |
| 2 | Brakes | 15.8% | 23,957 |
| 3 | Suspension | 5.7% | 8,565 |
| 4 | Other defects | 5.3% | 7,995 |
| 5 | Visibility | 3.4% | 5,169 |
| 6 | Lighting & signalling | 3.2% | 4,857 |
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 | 65,116 | 8.4% |
| 30-60k | 59,190 | 15.2% |
| 60-90k | 21,064 | 21.7% |
| 90-120k | 4,748 | 23.9% |
| 120-150k | 880 | 27.3% |
| 150k+ | 221 | 29.4% |
Failure rate by age
By fuel type
| Fuel | Tests | Fail rate |
|---|---|---|
| Petrol | 143,846 | 13.6% |
| Electric | 4,297 | 7.6% |
| Diesel | 3,145 | 22.2% |
Trend over time
| Dataset year | Tests | Fail rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 28,458 | 11.5% |
| 2022 | 30,833 | 12.4% |
| 2023 | 31,014 | 13.7% |
| 2024 | 30,446 | 14.8% |
| 2025 | 30,538 | 15.3% |
What to check before buying a Smart Fortwo
- Lighting & signalling (6.4% of tests): Often a cheap bulb, but persistent issues can mean wiring or corrosion in the units. Typical repair: £10–£150.
- Visibility (4.4% of tests): Wipers, washers, mirrors and screen damage — usually inexpensive, but check for chips in the driver's line of sight. Typical repair: £15–£150.
- Tyres (4.3% 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 Smart Fortwo?
86.4% of the 151,289 Smart Fortwo MOT tests in this dataset passed, a 13.6% fail rate, across model years 1999–2021.
What does the Smart Fortwo most often fail its MOT on?
Lighting & signalling, recorded in 6.4% of tests, then visibility (4.4%).
Which Fortwo years are best and worst for MOT results?
2019 has the best pass rate at 92.3% and 2005 the weakest at 73.1%, from 8,234 and 1,286 tests respectively.
How much does mileage affect Fortwo MOT results?
Fail rates run at 8.4% for cars in the 0-30k band and 29.4% for 150k+, a 21.0-point difference.
Is the electric or diesel Fortwo more reliable at MOT time?
On MOT-testable defects the electric fails 7.6% of the time against 22.2% for the diesel. This covers testable items only, not engine or gearbox reliability.
Methodology & source. Based on 151,289 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.