How often does the MG4 fail its MOT?

5.7% of 966 first-time tests in 2024 were failures, against 12.0% for all electric cars.

What does the MG4 most often fail on?

Tyres, 76.5% of failing defects. The single most common defect was: Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements.

MG · Fully electric · 966 inspections in 2024 · Rank 12 of 81DVSA MOT analysis

Tyres are 76% of everything that fails a MG4

966 inspections in a single year make the 4 a modestly documented electric car in the data. Tyres cause 76.5% of its failures; tyres take 3.2× the share they take on petrol and diesel cars of the same age.

FIGURE 1 // WHERE IT WEARSMG4

Top three failure systems, annotated from 55 failed first-time tests. Arrows point to where the defect is found on the car.

First-time test findings

First-time failure rate

OVERALL5.7%

Overall first-time failure rate.

ALL ELECTRIC CARS12.0%

All electric cars in the data.

The MG4 fails 5.7% of first-time inspections. Tyres cause 76.5% of its failures.

FIGURE 2 // TYRE SECTION32 certificates in 2024

The tyre that wears from the inside

Tyres take 76.5% of the defects that fail this car, 3.2× the share seen on petrol and diesel cars of the same age. The most common item in that group is "Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements", recorded 32 times in 2024.

SECTION // TYRES CONCENTRATION

Where it concentrates

The 4 stays under the petrol fleet at every age we can measure. What it does fail on is unusually concentrated.

DEFECT CONCENTRATION IN FAILED TESTS:

4 tyres share76.5%

Petrol and diesel average23.7%

The single most common item on a 4 certificate is "Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements", recorded 32 times.

Source: DVSA MOT defect items, 2024 test year.

Buyer's protocolPre-purchase checklist

What to check

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. Ask for the full MOT history by registration on the free DVSA service: advisories are next year's failures.

3 inspection points:

✓ Tyre inner-edge wear and age

✓ Free DVSA MOT history check

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: 966
Passed: 896
Failed: 55
Passed after repair: 15
Failure rate: 5.7% (all EV 12.0%)
Average age: 0.0 years
Top cause: Tyres 76.5%

TABLE 1 // WHAT FAILS, BY SYSTEMshare of failing defects

System	Share	vs petrol/diesel
Tyres	76.5%	3.2× more
Suspension	0.0%	in line
Brakes	0.0%	in line
Visibility	4.7%	2.5× less
Lighting	9.4%	1.8× less
Steering	1.2%	2.6× less
Body	0.0%	in line

TABLE 2 // TOP DEFECTS ON THE CERTIFICATE

Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements32
A tyre seriously damaged25
A tyre cords visible or damaged7
An SRS malfunction indicator lamp (MIL) indicates a system malfunction3
Seat belt buckle missing, damaged or not functioning as intended2
Reflector missing or reflecting white to the rear2

Wording as printed by the tester, from the DVSA inspection manual.

Where it holds up

Suspension fail less often than on petrol and diesel cars (0.0% of defects vs 13.6%)
Brakes fail less often than on petrol and diesel cars (0.0% of defects vs 18.7%)
Visibility fail less often than on petrol and diesel cars (4.7% of defects vs 11.9%)
Lighting fail less often than on petrol and diesel cars (9.4% of defects vs 16.5%)

Where it fails

Tyres take a bigger share of failures than on petrol and diesel cars of the same age (76.5% vs 23.7%)

VERSIONS SEEN IN THE TESTSas recorded

4 SE670
4 TROPHY287
4 TROPHY EXTENDED RANGE6
4 XPOWER2
4 ELECTRIC1

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

Mercedes-Benz EQB4.7% fail · 129 tests Volkswagen ID.52.9% fail · 204 tests Mercedes-Benz EQE2.8% fail · 939 tests BYD Atto1.6% fail · 124 tests

OTHER MG ELECTRIC CARS

MG58.7% fail first time MG ZS9.4% fail first time

Three things the data shows

966 inspections in 2024 make this one of the adequately-documented electric cars in the data.
Tyres take 3.2× the share of failures they take on petrol and diesel cars of the same age.
It ranks 12 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.