Toyota Vellfire MOT pass rate & common failures
9,854 MOT tests on the Toyota Vellfire (2004–2025) give it an 88.3% pass rate. Against all cars of a similar age (23.2% fail rate), the Vellfire comes out 11.5pp better. Its most common failure areas are lighting & signalling, suspension and tyres.
Best and worst Vellfire years
Ranked across Vellfire 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 2012 (89.6% pass rate); the weakest is 2008 (86.5%). Older cars carry more of the difference than the average implies.
No single area dominates — lighting & signalling (7.8%) and suspension (4.9%) are close, so failures are spread across several systems rather than one weak point.
At component level the recurring items are rear fog lamp, linkage ball joint dust cover and position lamp — rear fog lamp alone was recorded 360 times.
Condition tracks the odometer closely. Failures run at 7.1% in the 0-30k band and 16.1% in the 150k+ band, a 9.0-point spread — more than double.
Split by fuel, petrol examples fail 2.8pp more often than hybrid ones (11.9% vs 9.1%) — worth weighing if you have a choice.
Advisories point at the next bill rather than this one: suspension was flagged on 15.1% of tests without failing them.
The trend is worsening — 10.3% of tests failed in 2021 against 12.2% in 2025, the usual pattern as a fleet ages.
How it compares
By model year
Every Vellfire model year with a usable sample. Years with their own detailed report are linked.
| Year | Tests | Pass rate | Fail rate | Most common failure |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 1,364 | 86.5% | 13.5% | Lighting & signalling |
| 2009 | 1,580 | 87.7% | 12.3% | Lighting & signalling |
| 2010 | 2,236 | 86.9% | 13.1% | Lighting & signalling |
| 2011 | 863 | 86.8% | 13.2% | Lighting & signalling |
| 2012 | 1,261 | 89.6% | 10.4% | Lighting & signalling |
| 2013 | 779 | 91.5% | 8.5% | Lighting & signalling |
| 2014 | 484 | 92.2% | 7.8% | Lighting & signalling |
| 2015 | 272 | 89.3% | 10.7% | Lighting & signalling |
| 2016 | 177 | 93.2% | 6.8% | Lighting & signalling |
| 2017 | 158 | 89.9% | 10.1% | Lighting & signalling |
| 2018 | 151 | 89.4% | 10.6% | Lighting & signalling |
| 2019 | 155 | 89.0% | 11.0% | Suspension |
| 2020 | 135 | 89.6% | 10.4% | Lighting & signalling |
| 2021 | 156 | 89.1% | 10.9% | Lighting & signalling |
Most common failures (all years)
| # | Category | % of tests affected | Tests |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lighting & signalling | 7.8% | 766 |
| 2 | Suspension | 4.9% | 478 |
| 3 | Tyres | 2.3% | 227 |
| 4 | Visibility | 2.3% | 224 |
| 5 | Brakes | 1.5% | 146 |
| 6 | Body, structure & corrosion | 0.8% | 82 |
| 7 | Emissions & environmental | 0.5% | 51 |
| 8 | Steering | 0.4% | 36 |
Most common specific failures
The exact components most often recorded as failures — more specific than the categories above.
| # | Failure item | Times recorded |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rear fog lamp | 360 |
| 2 | Linkage ball joint dust cover | 277 |
| 3 | Position lamp | 191 |
| 4 | Wipers | 187 |
| 5 | Ball joint dust cover | 174 |
| 6 | Headlamp aim | 149 |
| 7 | Brake pads | 146 |
| 8 | Tread depth | 129 |
Top advisory categories
Advisories aren't failures, but they flag work likely needed soon — useful when budgeting.
| # | Category | % of tests with advisory | Tests |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Suspension | 15.1% | 1,491 |
| 2 | Tyres | 12.7% | 1,254 |
| 3 | Brakes | 9.3% | 918 |
| 4 | Other defects | 4.1% | 408 |
| 5 | Lighting & signalling | 3.7% | 363 |
| 6 | Steering | 1.6% | 157 |
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 | 380 | 7.1% |
| 30-60k | 3,053 | 10.1% |
| 60-90k | 4,576 | 11.5% |
| 90-120k | 1,375 | 14.7% |
| 120-150k | 356 | 19.9% |
| 150k+ | 112 | 16.1% |
Failure rate by age
By fuel type
| Fuel | Tests | Fail rate |
|---|---|---|
| Petrol | 9,250 | 11.9% |
| Hybrid | 584 | 9.1% |
Trend over time
| Dataset year | Tests | Fail rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 523 | 10.3% |
| 2022 | 1,132 | 11.6% |
| 2023 | 1,864 | 11.8% |
| 2024 | 2,632 | 11.1% |
| 2025 | 3,703 | 12.2% |
What to check before buying a Toyota Vellfire
- Lighting & signalling (7.8% of tests): Often a cheap bulb, but persistent issues can mean wiring or corrosion in the units. Typical repair: £10–£150.
- Suspension (4.9% 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.
- Tyres (2.3% 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 Toyota Vellfire?
88.3% of the 9,854 Toyota Vellfire MOT tests in this dataset passed, an 11.7% fail rate, across model years 2004–2025.
What does the Toyota Vellfire most often fail its MOT on?
Lighting & signalling, recorded in 7.8% of tests, then suspension (4.9%).
Which Vellfire years are best and worst for MOT results?
2012 has the best pass rate at 89.6% and 2008 the weakest at 86.5%, from 1,261 and 1,364 tests respectively.
How much does mileage affect Vellfire MOT results?
Fail rates run at 7.1% for cars in the 0-30k band and 16.1% for 150k+, a 9.0-point difference.
Is the hybrid or petrol Vellfire more reliable at MOT time?
On MOT-testable defects the hybrid fails 9.1% of the time against 11.9% for the petrol. This covers testable items only, not engine or gearbox reliability.
Methodology & source. Based on 9,854 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.