Mazda RX-8 MOT reliability

Mazda RX-8s passed their MOT first time 68% of the time across 2,554 tests in 2025. 1,898 are still licensed in Great Britain.

First-time pass rate

68%

MOTs analysed

2,554

Still licensed (GB)

1,898

Body type

Sedan

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

2008 petrol

360 MOTs

Passed first time 66%. Typical mileage 66,300 (most between 49,527 and 83,255).

2008: 100% → 2009: 33% → 2010: 77% → 2011: 73% → 2012: 69% → 2013: 70% → 2014: 68% → 2015: 68% → 2016: 66% → 2017: 68% → 2018: 66% → 2019: 67% → 2020: 68% → 2021: 71% → 2022: 73% → 2023: 69% → 2024: 67% → 2025: 66%

Most common failures

Position lamp: not working (3.9%)
Service brake performance: excessively binding (3.9%)
Catalyst emissions: carbon monoxide content after 2nd fast idle exceeds manufacturer's specified limits (3.9%)
Catalyst emissions: Lambda reading after 2nd fast idle outside specified limits (3.3%)
Malfunction indicator lamp: inoperative or indicates a malfunction (3.1%)

Where 2008 RX-8s fail

Lights & electrics

10.8%

Exhaust, emissions & leaks

10.8%

Suspension & axles

10.8%

Brakes

9.2%

Wheels & tyres

6.1%

Body, structure & corrosion

4.7%

Visibility & wipers

4.2%

Steering

1.9%

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.