FIGURE 1 // WHERE IT WEARSMaxus E
Top three failure systems, annotated from 198 failed first-time tests. Arrows point to where the defect is found on the car.
The Maxus E fails its MOT more often than almost any other electric car: 21.2% first time
936 inspections in a single year make the E a modestly documented electric car in the data. Lighting cause 23.0% of its failures; steering take 1.7× the share they take on petrol and diesel cars of the same age.
First-time test findings
The three-year picture
AT THREE YEARS OLD22.4%
E failure rate. Petrol cars of the same age fail 8.2%.
ALL ELECTRIC CARS12.0%
All electric cars in the data.
At three years old the Maxus E fails 22.4% of the time, over the 8.2% of a petrol car the same age. Lighting cause 23.0% of its failures.
FIGURE 2 // STEERING RACK AND TRACK ROD58 certificates in 2024
Play at the straight-ahead
Steering take 5.4% of the defects that fail this car, 1.7× the share seen on petrol and diesel cars of the same age. The most common item in that group is "Wiper blade missing or obviously not clearing the windscreen", recorded 58 times in 2024.
SECTION // STEERING CONCENTRATIONYear 3 crossover
Where the curve bends
The crossover with petrol happens around year 3. From there the E's failure rate climbs faster than the petrol fleet, and the defect list explains why.
Source: DVSA MOT defect items, 2024 test year.
What to check
Trivial to fix, but a car advertised with worn wipers and a fresh failure certificate tells you how it was maintained. Check tyre age and tread across the full width, inner edge included. Electric cars wear tyres faster; a cheap mismatched set on a used car tells you how it was run. Have the suspension joints, bushes and springs checked on a lift. On this car it is a leading cause of failure and it is not visible from the outside. Check headlamp aim and every lamp before the test. It is the cheapest failure on the list and the easiest to avoid. Ask for the full MOT history by registration on the free DVSA service: advisories are next year's failures.
3 inspection points:
✓ Wipers and washers
✓ Tyre inner-edge wear and age
✓ Suspension joints and bushes on a lift
FIGURE 3 // FAILURE RATE BY AGEvs petrol, diesel and all electric cars
Points hidden where fewer than 50 cars of that age were tested. Dashed lines are the same-age petrol and diesel fleets.
Data sheet
- Inspections
- 936
- Passed
- 665
- Failed
- 198
- Passed after repair
- 73
- Failure rate
- 21.2% (all EV 12.0%)
- Average age
- 3.0 years
- Best year
- 3 yrs · 22.4%
- Worst year
- 3 yrs · 22.4%
- Top cause
- Lighting 23.0%
TABLE 1 // WHAT FAILS, BY SYSTEMshare of failing defects
| System | This car (mark = petrol/diesel) | Share | vs petrol/diesel |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tyres | 22.6% | in line | |
| Suspension | 14.2% | in line | |
| Brakes | 13.8% | 1.4× less | |
| Visibility | 17.5% | 1.5× more | |
| Lighting | 23.0% | 1.4× more | |
| Steering | 5.4% | 1.7× more | |
| Body | 2.7% | 1.5× less |
TABLE 2 // TOP DEFECTS ON THE CERTIFICATE
- Wiper blade missing or obviously not clearing the windscreen58
- Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements42
- A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn37
- A tyre pressure monitoring system malfunctioning or obviously inoperative32
- A tyre seriously damaged32
- A headlamp or light source missing, inoperative or more than ½ not functioning in the case of LED25
Wording as printed by the tester, from the DVSA inspection manual.
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Where it holds up
- Brakes fail less often than on petrol and diesel cars (13.8% of defects vs 18.7%)
- Body fail less often than on petrol and diesel cars (2.7% of defects vs 4.1%)
Where it fails
- Visibility take a bigger share of failures than on petrol and diesel cars of the same age (17.5% vs 11.9%)
- Lighting take a bigger share of failures than on petrol and diesel cars of the same age (23.0% vs 16.5%)
- Steering take a bigger share of failures than on petrol and diesel cars of the same age (5.4% vs 3.1%)
- At three years old it fails 22.4% of the time, above the 8.2% of petrol cars the same age
VERSIONS SEEN IN THE TESTSas recorded
- E DELIVER 3890
- E DELIVER 946
OWNER REPORTS // MATCHED TO RECORDED DEFECTS0 read · 0 matched
No owner discussion has been matched to this car's recorded defects yet. Reports are re-collected every quarter; the figures on this page do not depend on them.
Summaries written by us, never quotes; every entry links to its source. Owner reports have no denominator and never feed the failure rate.
SIMILAR CARS IN THE DATAclosest rate and age, other brands
Three things the data shows
- 936 inspections in 2024 make this one of the adequately-documented electric cars in the data.
- Steering take 1.7× the share of failures they take on petrol and diesel cars of the same age.
- It ranks 79 of 81 electric cars by first-time failure rate.
LIMITS // WHAT THE INSPECTION DOES NOT TELL YOU
No battery health, no motor, no charging performance. The test covers brakes, suspension, steering, tyres, lights, visibility and structure. A car with a badly degraded battery passes as long as it stops and steers. Read this page as evidence about the chassis, not the powertrain. Cars are tested from their third year, so the newest model years are missing; every figure carries its sample size for that reason. Full methodology.
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