FIGURE 1 // WHERE IT WEARSSmart EQ
Top three failure systems, annotated from 216 failed first-time tests. Arrows point to where the defect is found on the car.
Wiper and visibility defects fail the Smart EQ 2.7× as often as they fail a petrol or diesel car
2,590 inspections in a single year make the EQ a modestly documented electric car in the data. Tyres cause 44.0% of its failures; visibility take 2.7× the share they take on petrol and diesel cars of the same age.
First-time test findings
The three-year vs four-year picture
AT THREE YEARS OLD6.8%
EQ failure rate. Petrol cars of the same age fail 8.2%.
AT FOUR YEARS OLD10.3%
EQ failure rate, against 8.9% for petrol.
At three years old the Smart EQ fails 6.8% of the time, under the 8.2% of a petrol car the same age. By 4 years that reaches 10.3%. Tyres cause 44.0% of its failures.
FIGURE 2 // WINDSCREEN AND WIPER101 certificates in 2024
The cheapest failure on the list
Visibility take 32.7% of the defects that fail this car, 2.7× 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 101 times in 2024.
SECTION // VISIBILITY CONCENTRATIONYear 4 crossover
Where the curve bends
The crossover with petrol happens around year 4. From there the EQ'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. Ask when the brakes were last stripped and cleaned. Regenerative braking barely wears the pads, so discs and calipers corrode and seize instead. 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
✓ Rear caliper drag and disc lip
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
- 2,590
- Passed
- 2,293
- Failed
- 216
- Passed after repair
- 81
- Failure rate
- 8.3% (all EV 12.0%)
- Average age
- 3.5 years
- Best year
- 3 yrs · 6.8%
- Worst year
- 4 yrs · 10.3%
- Top cause
- Tyres 44.0%
TABLE 1 // WHAT FAILS, BY SYSTEMshare of failing defects
| System | This car (mark = petrol/diesel) | Share | vs petrol/diesel |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tyres | 44.0% | 1.9× more | |
| Suspension | 2.8% | 4.9× less | |
| Brakes | 10.8% | 1.7× less | |
| Visibility | 32.7% | 2.7× more | |
| Lighting | 6.4% | 2.6× less | |
| Steering | 0.6% | 5.2× less | |
| Body | 0.6% | 6.8× less |
TABLE 2 // TOP DEFECTS ON THE CERTIFICATE
- Wiper blade missing or obviously not clearing the windscreen101
- A tyre seriously damaged95
- A tyre cords visible or damaged27
- Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements18
- Tyres on the same axle or on twin wheels are different sizes10
- a brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm7
Wording as printed by the tester, from the DVSA inspection manual.
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Where it holds up
- Suspension fail less often than on petrol and diesel cars (2.8% of defects vs 13.6%)
- Brakes fail less often than on petrol and diesel cars (10.8% of defects vs 18.7%)
- Lighting fail less often than on petrol and diesel cars (6.4% of defects vs 16.5%)
- Steering fail less often than on petrol and diesel cars (0.6% of defects vs 3.1%)
Where it fails
- Tyres take a bigger share of failures than on petrol and diesel cars of the same age (44.0% vs 23.7%)
- Visibility take a bigger share of failures than on petrol and diesel cars of the same age (32.7% vs 11.9%)
VERSIONS SEEN IN THE TESTSas recorded
- EQ FORTWO PRIME EXCLUSIVE388
- EQ FORFOUR PREMIUM345
- EQ FORFOUR PRIME EXCLUSIVE334
- EQ FORFOUR PULSE PREMIUM326
- EQ FORTWO PULSE PREMIUM299
- EQ FORFOUR EXCLUSIVE197
- EQ FORTWO EXCLUSIVE189
- EQ FORTWO PREMIUM172
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
Hyundai Kona8.1% fail · 15,479 testsTesla Model Y8.0% fail · 1,766 testsPorsche Taycan8.5% fail · 6,264 testsVolkswagen ID.38.3% fail · 16,546 tests
OTHER SMART ELECTRIC CARS
Three things the data shows
- 2,590 inspections in 2024 make this one of the adequately-documented electric cars in the data.
- Visibility take 2.7× the share of failures they take on petrol and diesel cars of the same age.
- Failure rate rises from 6.8% at 3 years to 10.3% at 4: a gentle ageing curve.
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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