Toyota Yaris MOT Reliability & Buying Guide

72.4%

MOT pass rate

Supermini

Segment

Petrol, hybrid

Fuel types available

Source: DS Auto Labs analysis of DVSA's anonymised 2025 MOT test results (Open Government Licence v3.0): 460,778 first-time tests of Toyota Yaris cars of all ages (test class 4, cars and light vans). A pass means a clean first-time pass; a car that failed and was repaired at the test station before passing counts as not passed, and aborted tests are excluded. Age is the car's age at the 2025 test.

What to know

In 2025, Toyota Yaris cars passed their MOT first time 72.4% of the time, across 460,778 tests. That is 2.6 points below Toyota's overall brand average of 75.0% and in line with the national average of 72.4%.

Age explains much of the difference between models. Pass rates fall steeply as cars get older, for every make, so a model with many old cars on the road looks worse than it is, and a recent model looks better. This compares the Toyota Yaris with the typical UK car of the same age.

MOT pass rate by vehicle age, 2025 first-time tests
Car age	Toyota Yaris	All UK cars	Tests
3-5 years	90.7%	87.2%	66,477
6-9 years	82.9%	79.3%	111,555
10-13 years	72.0%	67.9%	116,177
14+ years	58.1%	59.3%	165,365

Allowing for the age mix of the cars tested, a typical UK car would be expected to pass about 70.4% of the time. The Toyota Yaris passed at 72.4%, which is 2.0 points above that expected rate.

A model average says little about one particular car, so check its own MOT history for repeated advisories, past failures and mileage.

Technology: the fourth-generation Yaris

This section covers the fourth-generation Yaris, on sale in the UK since 2020. DVSA's MOT figures above include earlier Yaris generations, so the fuel mix below is wider than what Toyota sells today.

Engines and gearboxes

Explained in plain English: engines, hybrids, gearboxes.

One powertrain: every current Yaris is a 1.5-litre petrol hybrid with two electric motors, a battery pack and a CVT automatic. It is self-charging, so it is never plugged in, and there is no manual option (What Car?, carwow).
Power: carwow quotes 116hp. What Car? quotes 114bhp for the same car and 129bhp for a more powerful version of the engine that arrived in 2023. It says the gain is small and does not recommend paying extra for it on a used car.
Economy: carwow quotes official economy of up to 68.8mpg.
Warranty: three years as standard. What Car? says it can be extended to 10 years or 100,000 miles if the car is serviced at a Toyota dealer every year, so service history matters.
The GR Yaris is a separate, 1.6-litre turbo four-wheel-drive model and is not covered here.

Safety and driver aids

Explained in plain English: driver aids, Euro NCAP ratings.

Euro NCAP, 2020: five stars (tested as the 1.5 hybrid; the rating applies to all Yaris variants). Standard on the tested car: a pre-collision system with automatic emergency braking and forward collision warning using a camera and radar, lane support, and radar cruise control with road sign assist.
Euro NCAP tested the Yaris again in December 2025 and gave four stars: adult occupant 72%, child occupant 84%, vulnerable road users 83%, safety assist 72% (1.5 Hybrid 115, five-door). Euro NCAP changes its tests over time, so ratings from different years are not directly comparable.

Infotainment and connectivity

Explained in plain English: infotainment.

Screen size depends on trim and year. Icon has a 7-inch screen and Design 8-inch. A 2023 update brought 9-inch screens and a 10.5-inch screen on top trims (What Car?, carwow).
Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are standard on every Yaris. Built-in sat nav is not offered on any trim (carwow).
Adaptive cruise control with lane keeping and the pre-collision system are standard from Icon trim (carwow).

Technology to check on a used one

Hybrid system: What Car? calls reliability mixed. Some owners report hybrid warning lights and battery faults, sometimes needing several dealer visits.
Noise: carwow reports that the CVT can be noisy under hard acceleration.
Recalls: carwow lists an eCall fault (cars built 16 July 2020 to 26 March 2021) and incomplete radar sensor initialisation (cars built 6 July 2020 to 21 June 2021). Check any car by registration.

Look up any car's open recalls and MOT history by registration with the GOV.UK vehicle recall check, or use our MOT history check.

What DVSA's 2025 tests covered

Toyota Yaris first-time tests by fuel type, DVSA 2025
Fuel type	Tests	Share
Petrol	302,606	65.7%
Hybrid	137,395	29.8%
Diesel	20,319	4.4%
All other fuel types	458	0.1%

These counts cover every Yaris generation in DVSA's 2025 tests. Hybrid combines the two hybrid fuel codes DVSA uses.

Sources

Technology details checked against the sources above in October 2026. Specifications vary by trim, engine and year, so confirm the equipment on any individual car before you rely on it.

Check a specific Yaris's MOT history, tax status, and advisories by registration number.

Check MOT history

See how the Toyota range compares overall, with model-by-model pass rates.

View Toyota brand page