Subaru Outback MOT pass rates & common failures

Every completed first-attempt MOT on a Subaru Outback in Great Britain in 2025 — 7,759 tests. Figures cover every Outback first-tested in 2025, all trims grouped. How the Outback ages, what it fails on, and what mileage is normal, computed directly from the official DVSA record of every test.

Pass rate 2025
75.7%
3.4 points above the class-4 average (72.3%); unadjusted for age — the age-matched comparison is below
Tests analysed
7,759
first tests, 2025
Arrived with a dangerous fault
5.8%
of Outback first tests; national 7.3%
Typical mileage at 10 years
93,750
middle half: 71,250–113,750 miles (2,500-mile-band midpoints)

How many Subaru Outback cars are still on the road?

At the end of 2025, DVLA's register held 10,417 Subaru Outback cars that were taxed or on SORN: 9,372 taxed and 1,045 on SORN (Statutory Off Road Notification — kept, but declared off the road by the keeper). The MOT figures above count tests; these count cars, across the whole United Kingdom, cars only. Subaru Outback vans, where they exist, are counted by DVLA as goods vehicles and are not in these figures.

Still taxed, end of 2025
9,372
90.0% of the 10,417 Outback cars taxed or on SORN; 38 model variants grouped
On SORN, end of 2025
1,045
declared off the road by their keepers — 10.0% of that total

How the numbers are moving

The number of taxed Outback cars is still rising: 9,372 at the end of 2025, up 149 (1.6%) on the end of 2024, and the highest in the years shown. Cars on SORN went from 123 at the end of 2014 to 1,045 at the end of 2025, up 749.6%. A car leaves the taxed count when it is scrapped, exported or declared off the road; the year-end counts do not say which.

Taxed Outback cars, year by year

Cars of this model taxed and on the road at the end of each year, 2014–2025.

02k4k6k8k10k2014201620182020202220242025Year (count at the end of the year)Taxed Outback cars, year 2014: 7kTaxed Outback cars, year 2015: 7kTaxed Outback cars, year 2016: 8kTaxed Outback cars, year 2017: 8kTaxed Outback cars, year 2018: 8kTaxed Outback cars, year 2019: 8kTaxed Outback cars, year 2020: 8kTaxed Outback cars, year 2021: 9kTaxed Outback cars, year 2022: 9kTaxed Outback cars, year 2023: 9kTaxed Outback cars, year 2024: 9kTaxed Outback cars, year 2025: 9k9k
View this chart as a table
YearTaxed Outback cars
20146,519
20157,201
20167,756
20177,891
20188,175
20198,351
20208,268
20218,511
20228,668
20238,980
20249,223
20259,372

Outback cars on SORN, year by year

Cars of this model declared off the road at the end of each year, 2014–2025. Its own scale — SORN counts are a fraction of the taxed count.

05001k2k2014201620182020202220242025Year (count at the end of the year)Outback cars on SORN, year 2014: 123Outback cars on SORN, year 2015: 146Outback cars on SORN, year 2016: 235Outback cars on SORN, year 2017: 342Outback cars on SORN, year 2018: 506Outback cars on SORN, year 2019: 591Outback cars on SORN, year 2020: 691Outback cars on SORN, year 2021: 748Outback cars on SORN, year 2022: 802Outback cars on SORN, year 2023: 885Outback cars on SORN, year 2024: 962Outback cars on SORN, year 2025: 1k1k
View this chart as a table
YearOutback cars on SORN
2014123
2015146
2016235
2017342
2018506
2019591
2020691
2021748
2022802
2023885
2024962
20251,045

Which model years survive

Taxed Outback cars at the end of 2025 by year of manufacture, and each year's share of the 9,372 taxed in all. Every build year holding at least 1% has its own row; the rest share one. A build year's count depends on how many were sold that year as well as how many have lasted.

Year of manufacture Taxed, end of 2025Share of taxed Outback cars
20256476.9%
20247217.7%
20237247.7%
20225946.3%
20216056.5%
20202512.7%
20195746.1%
20186446.9%
20174524.8%
20167357.8%
20157247.7%
20142002.1%
20132362.5%
20122482.6%
20113894.2%
20103493.7%
20092372.5%
20081461.6%
20072712.9%
20062813.0%
20051932.1%
20041381.5%
All other build years (seven years, each under 1%)130.1%

Population source: Department for Transport / DVLA vehicle licensing statistics, table VEH0124, updated 15 July 2026; counts of the cars on DVLA's register that were taxed or on SORN at the end of each year shown, United Kingdom, cars only, excluding cars recorded with no model name. SortedCars groups DVLA's model name OUTBACK under this model. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. SortedCars is not affiliated with, or endorsed by, DVLA or the Department for Transport.

How the Outback ages

First-time pass rate by vehicle age, Outback vs all cars, 2025.

Subaru OutbackAll cars
50%60%70%80%90%100%3579111315171920Vehicle age (years)Subaru Outback, vehicle age 3: 92.2%Subaru Outback, vehicle age 4: 87.4%Subaru Outback, vehicle age 6: 86.7%Subaru Outback, vehicle age 7: 87.7%Subaru Outback, vehicle age 9: 81.2%Subaru Outback, vehicle age 10: 77%All cars, vehicle age 3: 88.5%All cars, vehicle age 4: 87.2%All cars, vehicle age 5: 86%All cars, vehicle age 6: 83.5%All cars, vehicle age 7: 80.9%All cars, vehicle age 8: 78.2%All cars, vehicle age 9: 74.9%All cars, vehicle age 10: 71.9%All cars, vehicle age 11: 68.6%All cars, vehicle age 12: 65.8%All cars, vehicle age 13: 63.5%All cars, vehicle age 14: 61.2%All cars, vehicle age 15: 59.3%All cars, vehicle age 16: 58.3%All cars, vehicle age 17: 57.2%All cars, vehicle age 18: 57.4%All cars, vehicle age 19: 57%All cars, vehicle age 20: 57.6%Subaru Outback 77%All cars 57.6%
View this chart as a table
Age (years)Outback testsOutback pass rateAll cars
359992.2%88.5%
461287.4%87.2%
659586.7%83.5%
765087.7%80.9%
975781.2%74.9%
1075377.0%71.9%

Better or worse than the average car?

The Outback's pass rate minus the all-cars pass rate at each age, in percentage points. Bars above zero: the Outback beats the average car of that age. Below zero: it trails.

Outback ahead
-8-4+0+4+8Age 3: +3.7 points vs the average car3Age 4: +0.2 points vs the average carAge 6: +3.2 points vs the average carAge 7: +6.8 points vs the average car7Age 9: +6.3 points vs the average car9Age 10: +5.1 points vs the average carVehicle age (years)
View this chart as a table
Age (years)Gap (points)
3+3.7
4+0.2
6+3.2
7+6.8
9+6.3
10+5.1

The Outback fleet on the road, by age

How many took a first MOT in 2025 at each age — the shape of the Outback fleet still in use.

0200400600800Age 3: 5993Age 4: 612Age 6: 595Age 7: 6507Age 9: 7579Age 10: 75310Vehicle age (years)
View this chart as a table
Age (years)First tests
3599
4612
6595
7650
9757
10753

What an Outback fails on

Where the failure items land when an Outback fails or needs a fix at test, 2025. Use it as a pre-purchase checklist: these are the areas to look at first.

Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment26.8%
Suspension24.6%
Brakes15.3%
Tyres9.9%
Noise, emissions and leaks7.2%
Visibility7.1%
Body, chassis, structure6.3%
Steering0.9%

Share of all failure items, 2025 — the 8 biggest categories shown (98.1% of the items); smaller categories are not listed.

The advisories to watch

Where testers most often write "keep an eye on this" for a Outback, 2025 — the faults in the post.

Suspension: 32.3% of advisories32.3%Tyres: 25.9% of advisories25.9%Brakes: 25.6% of advisories25.6%Body, chassis, structure: 4.4% of advisoriesNon-component advisories: 4.1% of advisoriesNoise, emissions and leaks: 3.2% of advisories
SuspensionTyresBrakesBody, chassis, structureNon-component advisoriesNoise, emissions and leaks
View this chart as a table
CategoryShare of advisories
Suspension32.3%
Tyres25.9%
Brakes25.6%
Body, chassis, structure4.4%
Non-component advisories4.1%
Noise, emissions and leaks3.2%

Petrol, diesel or hybrid Outback?

First-time pass rate for the two most-tested Outback fuel types, 2025, against the all-cars average. Fleet ages differ by fuel — newer fleets help the electrified bars.

50%60%70%80%90%100%all cars 72.3%Petrol: 77.3% of 5,380 tests77.3%Petrol5,380 testsDiesel: 72.4% of 2,369 tests72.4%Diesel2,369 tests
View this chart as a table
FuelTestsPass rate
Petrol5,38077.3%
Diesel2,36972.4%

What mileage is normal for an Outback?

Mileage recorded at test by vehicle age, 2025. The line is the typical (median) Outback; the shaded band holds the middle half. A car far outside the band, in either direction, is worth questions the recorded history can answer.

Typical Outback (median)
0k25k50k75k100k125k37910Vehicle age (years)Age 3: typical 26,250 miles (middle half 18,750–33,750)Age 4: typical 33,750 miles (middle half 23,750–46,250)Age 6: typical 46,250 miles (middle half 33,750–61,250)Age 7: typical 58,750 miles (middle half 41,250–76,250)Age 9: typical 81,250 miles (middle half 61,250–101,250)Age 10: typical 93,750 miles (middle half 71,250–113,750)93k mi

Mileage values are midpoints of 2,500-mile bands.

View this chart as a table
Age (years)Lower quarterTypical (median)Upper quarter
318,75026,25033,750
423,75033,75046,250
633,75046,25061,250
741,25058,75076,250
961,25081,250101,250
1071,25093,750113,750

What fails at each age

The Outback's failure mix by age band, 2025 — each band's top categories at their true share of that band's failure items; the pale remainder is everything else. How the mix shifts with age is the point of the chart.

TyresBrakesVisibilityLamps, reflectors and electrical equipmentSuspensionBody, chassis, structureNoise, emissions and leaksEverything else
View this chart as a table
Age bandCategoryShare of the band's failure items
3-5 yrsTyres37.9%
3-5 yrsBrakes28.7%
3-5 yrsVisibility14.9%
3-5 yrsLamps, reflectors and electrical equipment11.3%
3-5 yrsSuspension4.6%
3-5 yrsEverything else2.6%
6-9 yrsSuspension27.6%
6-9 yrsTyres26.9%
6-9 yrsBrakes19.4%
6-9 yrsLamps, reflectors and electrical equipment10.7%
6-9 yrsVisibility8.2%
6-9 yrsEverything else7.2%
10-13 yrsSuspension33.7%
10-13 yrsLamps, reflectors and electrical equipment22.6%
10-13 yrsBrakes15.7%
10-13 yrsTyres8.2%
10-13 yrsBody, chassis, structure6.0%
10-13 yrsEverything else13.8%
14+ yrsSuspension27.2%
14+ yrsLamps, reflectors and electrical equipment24.8%
14+ yrsBrakes15.3%
14+ yrsNoise, emissions and leaks9.5%
14+ yrsBody, chassis, structure8.9%
14+ yrsEverything else14.3%
How these figures are computed. Every number on this page is calculated by SortedCars from the DVSA anonymised MOT results dataset (every MOT test in Great Britain — 2025 for single-year figures; trend figures state their span, currently 2023–2025). Where a figure comes from a sample or uses banded values (mileage is banded to 2,500 miles), the page says so beside the figure. Test class 4 only, first tests only — retests are excluded. Class 4 is the car MOT class and also covers car-derived vans, pickups and motorhomes tested to the same standard; where this page says "cars" it means class 4. Pass rate = passes ÷ (passes + failures + pass-after-rectification): a vehicle that failed and was fixed during the visit counts as a fail. Pass rates describe fleets, not individual machines: they reflect how cars were driven, maintained and used as well as how they were built, and beyond recorded mileage none of that is in the data. A well-kept example of a model with a weak average can still pass; a neglected example of a strong one can still fail. No figure is shown for any group with fewer than 500 tests. Alias spellings of a make in the DVSA file are counted under one make name, and all trims and variants of a model are grouped under one model name, using SortedCars' grouping tables. The taxed and SORN counts on this page are the one exception: they are not computed from MOT records but taken from the Department for Transport's vehicle licensing statistics (DfT/DVLA table VEH0124, updated 15 July 2026, Open Government Licence v3.0), which count the cars on DVLA's register that were taxed or on SORN at the end of each year shown, UK-wide, cars only. They describe a model as a whole, grouped under SortedCars' model names, and say nothing about any one car. “Dangerous” is DVSA's statutory defect category (in force since May 2018): a defect posing an immediate risk to road safety — driving the vehicle before repair is an offence. What these figures are for. These statistics are general information about groups of vehicles. They are not advice, a valuation or a recommendation to buy, avoid or price any particular vehicle, and no decision about one car should rest on them alone — check the car itself and its own records. We take care over the calculations, but we cannot guarantee they are complete, current or free of error, and we accept no liability for loss arising from reliance on them. This does not limit any liability that cannot lawfully be limited — see our Terms & Conditions. If you believe any figure on this page is inaccurate, contact us. SortedCars is not affiliated with, or endorsed by, the DVSA or DVLA. DVSA publishes the raw test records; the statistics on this page are SortedCars' own calculations from them. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.