Rover SD1 MOT reliability

Rover SD1s passed their MOT first time 79% of the time across 126 tests in 2025.

First-time pass rate

79%

MOTs analysed

126

Still licensed (GB)

–

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

1985 petrol

36 MOTs

These figures come from 36 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 72%. Typical mileage 87,873 (most between 57,037 and 125,397).

2005: 56% → 2006: 65% → 2007: 59% → 2008: 62% → 2009: 59% → 2010: 69% → 2011: 57% → 2012: 61% → 2013: 66% → 2014: 55% → 2015: 68% → 2016: 68% → 2017: 72% → 2018: 65% → 2019: 73% → 2020: 74% → 2021: 87% → 2022: 78% → 2023: 81% → 2024: 70% → 2025: 72%

Most common failures

Exhaust system: has a major leak of exhaust gases (8.3%)
Horn: not working (5.6%)
Non catalyst emissions: emissions carbon monoxide content excessive (5.6%)
Washers: not working (5.6%)
Catalyst emissions: Lambda reading after 2nd fast idle outside specified limits (2.8%)

1985 diesel

2 MOTs

These figures come from only 2 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 50%. Typical mileage 128,550 (most between 128,548 and 128,551).

2006: 67% → 2009: 0% → 2010: 50% → 2011: 100% → 2012: 100% → 2013: 100% → 2017: 100% → 2020: 100% → 2022: 0% → 2023: 0% → 2024: 100% → 2025: 50%

Most common failures

Pins and bushes: pin or bush excessively worn (50.0%)

Where 1985 SD1s fail

Lights & electrics

19.4%

Body, structure & corrosion

11.1%

Exhaust, emissions & leaks

11.1%

Brakes

5.6%

Suspension & axles

5.6%

Visibility & wipers

5.6%

Steering

2.8%

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.