Mitsubishi Carisma MOT reliability

Mitsubishi Carismas passed their MOT first time 55% of the time across 544 tests in 2025. 379 are still licensed in Great Britain.

Example photo of a Mitsubishi Carisma — Photo: Rudolf Stricker · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

First-time pass rate

55%

MOTs analysed

544

Still licensed (GB)

379

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

2002 petrol

44 MOTs

These figures come from 44 MOT tests. That's a fairly small number of cars, so they may not be typical of these cars as a whole.

Passed first time 61%. Typical mileage 93,834 (most between 65,824 and 114,320).

2005: 85% → 2006: 84% → 2007: 77% → 2008: 71% → 2009: 64% → 2010: 58% → 2011: 56% → 2012: 50% → 2013: 49% → 2014: 48% → 2015: 49% → 2016: 44% → 2017: 47% → 2018: 44% → 2019: 52% → 2020: 50% → 2021: 51% → 2022: 42% → 2023: 51% → 2024: 64% → 2025: 61%

Most common failures

Side repeaters: not working (9.1%)
Ball joint excessively worn (4.5%)
Brake performance not tested: unable to be tested (4.5%)
Catalyst emissions: carbon monoxide content after 2nd fast idle exceeds manufacturer's specified limits (4.5%)
Coil spring: fractured or broken (4.5%)

2002 diesel

14 MOTs

These figures come from only 14 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 57%. Typical mileage 112,923 (most between 75,892 and 140,046).

2005: 81% → 2006: 77% → 2007: 72% → 2008: 67% → 2009: 60% → 2010: 56% → 2011: 51% → 2012: 45% → 2013: 42% → 2014: 42% → 2015: 43% → 2016: 46% → 2017: 39% → 2018: 40% → 2019: 45% → 2020: 46% → 2021: 45% → 2022: 40% → 2023: 47% → 2024: 36% → 2025: 57%

Most common failures

Rbt (sp): efficiency below requirements (14.3%)
Component mounting prescribed areas: prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength (7.1%)
Condition: has ply or cords exposed (7.1%)
Headlamp aim: too far to the left (7.1%)
Integral vehicle structure condition: inadequately repaired such that structural rigidity is significantly reduced (7.1%)

Where 2002 Carismas fail

Lights & electrics

18.2%

Suspension & axles

15.9%

Brakes

13.6%

Body, structure & corrosion

6.8%

Exhaust, emissions & leaks

6.8%

Wheels & tyres

2.3%

Steering

2.3%

Visibility & wipers

2.3%

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.