Mazda 3 MOT reliability

Mazda 3s passed their MOT first time 69% of the time across 104,870 tests in 2025. 105,825 are still licensed in Great Britain.

First-time pass rate

69%

MOTs analysed

104,870

Still licensed (GB)

105,825

Body type

–

Pass rate by year of first registration

Older cars fail more often, so compare a car with others of the same age. Years with very few MOTs can show extreme pass rates, even 0% or 100%, so give more weight to years with more tests.

In detail:

First registered

2021 petrol

4,072 MOTs

Passed first time 89%. Typical mileage 28,015 (most between 20,297 and 37,770).

2021: 30% → 2022: 100% → 2023: 92% → 2024: 89% → 2025: 89%

Most common failures

Wipers: does not clear the windscreen effectively (1.8%)
Condition: has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords (1.5%)
Condition: has a bulge, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure (1.2%)
Headlamp aim: too high (1.2%)
Brake pads: less than 1.5 mm thick (1.1%)

2021 hybrid

19 MOTs

These figures come from only 19 MOT tests. With so few cars, a single pass or fail changes the percentages a lot, so treat them as a rough guide rather than a true average.

Passed first time 90%. Typical mileage 21,809 (most between 14,400 and 29,986).

2024: 100% → 2025: 90%

Most common failures

Headlamp: has a product on the lens so that the light output is severely reduced (5.3%)
Condition: has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords (5.3%)

2021 diesel

3 MOTs

These figures come from only 3 MOT tests. With so few cars, a single pass or fail changes the percentages a lot, so treat them as a rough guide rather than a true average.

Passed first time 100%. Typical mileage 60,146 (most between 46,851 and 60,910).

2021: 67% → 2022: 0% → 2023: 100% → 2024: 100% → 2025: 100%

Most common failures

Where 2021 3s fail

Wheels & tyres

4.3%

Visibility & wipers

3.0%

Lights & electrics

1.8%

Brakes

1.7%

Exhaust, emissions & leaks

0.5%

Suspension & axles

0.4%

Body, structure & corrosion

0.2%

Steering

0.0%

Looking at a particular car?

See its own MOT history, mileage and red flags, compared with these figures. Free.

Based on 2025 initial MOT tests in DVSA's anonymised MOT dataset (cars and light vans). Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Model details: Vehicle data by VehiclesDB.