The picture
Elan: middle-of-the-pack on first-time pass
Across 1,510 MOT tests, the Elan returns 77.4% first-time pass — roughly in line with the UK fleet average. The single most-logged Major fail is a weak handbrake. Service brake efficiency below minimum requirement and brakes imbalance across an axle such round out the top three. Average tested mileage sits at 75,025, which is the lens to read those failure rankings through. If you own one and the next test is close, the ranked list below is a sensible pre-test checklist.
Top ten reasons for rejection.
- 01
Parking brake efficiency below minimum requirement
77 occurrences · 5.1% of tests
- 02
Service brake efficiency below minimum requirement
49 occurrences · 3.2% of tests
- 03
Brakes imbalance across an axle such that the braking effort from any wheel is less than 70% of the maximum effort recorded from the other wheel on the same axle.
39 occurrences · 2.6% of tests
- 04
A transmission shaft constant velocity joint boot severely deteriorated
36 occurrences · 2.4% of tests
- 05
A headlamp or light source missing, inoperative or more than ½ not functioning in the case of LED
34 occurrences · 2.3% of tests
- 06
Emissions levels exceed default limits
32 occurrences · 2.1% of tests
- 07
Parking brake efficiency less than 50% of the required value
26 occurrences · 1.7% of tests
- 08
A suspension joint dust cover severely deteriorated
26 occurrences · 1.7% of tests
- 09
Significant brake effort recorded with no brake applied indicating a binding brake
23 occurrences · 1.5% of tests
- 10
A transmission shaft constant velocity joint boot missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt etc
23 occurrences · 1.5% of tests
Counts cover Major and Dangerous defects logged at test. Advisory items excluded so this shows why a car was rejected, not just what the tester flagged in passing.
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Picked against this car's top failure patterns. Affiliate links to Amazon UK — we earn a small cut at no cost to you. Disclosed up-front, doesn't shape the data.
Buying or keeping a Elan?
Use the failure ranking as a pre-test checklist or a haggling lever. Treat the headline pass rate as a fleet-wide trend, not a guarantee on any individual car.
If you own a Elan and your last MOT looked nothing like the ranked failures above, that's normal — individual cars vary widely. The ranking shows the patterns testers flag most often across the country.