All generations and engines together · 11,259 MOT tests in the 2025 data · typical mileage at age 7: 57k
Split by first-registration year. Cars registered in a changeover year can belong to either generation.
Computed from DVSA MOT results, all of Great Britain, 2025. Nothing here is opinion.
Share of tests where each item was recorded. The dark tick is the class average across all tracked models; bars are scaled within each group.
The rows that judge the model rather than its keeper. 3,759 tests in this band.
Tyres, pads and stone chips say more about how the car was driven and maintained than about how it was built.
Owner folklore from forums and the motoring press. Most of it never shows up in an MOT, which is why this section exists at all.
The ZF 9HP48 auto fitted to higher-spec Compass diesels and 4xe models can be jerky pulling away, hesitate on the 1-2 upshift when cold, and thump into gear when slowing to a stop. It is widely reported from around 30,000 miles and a TCM software reflash at the dealer often cures it; if not, expect a valve body or mechatronic bill running into four figures. Manual gearbox cars are not affected.
The 1.4 MultiAir turbo petrol (140/170hp, first-generation Compass) is known for a metallic rattle on cold start once the timing chain and hydraulic camshaft phasers start to wear, usually somewhere in the 40,000-70,000 mile range. It is oil-quality sensitive, so cars that have missed proper full-synthetic services are the ones most likely to suffer. A chain and tensioner replacement is a few hundred pounds; ignoring the rattle risks it stretching further and costing more.
The 1.6 and 2.0 MultiJet diesels need a sustained motorway run to burn off soot; cars used mainly for short urban trips build up a clogged DPF, throw a warning light and can drop into limp mode. A dealer forced regen is cheap, but a hardened filter needing specialist cleaning or replacement runs to four figures. This is a diesel-specific issue, not something petrol or hybrid buyers need to worry about.
Owners across model years report the Uconnect screen freezing mid-drive, rebooting on its own, or going blank, sometimes taking the reversing camera and climate controls with it. It is not officially acknowledged as a fault, but it is a recurring theme in owner troubleshooting threads rather than a one-off. A soft reset (holding the volume and tune buttons) often brings it back; persistent cases need a head unit software update or replacement.
A long-running owner complaint: a clunk or knock from the front end on bumps and speed humps, traced to worn front lower control arm bushes, sway bar links, or on some early cars, control arm mounting bolts that were under-torqued from the factory. Suspension is the model's measured MOT weak point, and this is the folklore version of it, showing up well before the MOT would flag a failed component. Bushes and links are a few hundred pounds; a full front-end refresh (arms, links, wheel bearings) can run higher.
On early Compass models the body control module software could let the engine stop-start system run outside emissions certification; Jeep issued a recall covering cars built between April and October 2018 to fix it with a software update. A separate recall covers a rear seatback latch that could fail to hold in a crash on 2017-2018 cars. Both are free dealer fixes if not already done, so check the VIN against the recall register.
Built from the two sections above.
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