All generations and engines together · 73,059 MOT tests in the 2025 data · typical mileage at age 7: 30k
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. 2,786 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.
Owners report creaking, knocking or a duck-call noise from the front end, usually blamed on the front upper control arm ball joints or the lower control arm's rubber bushings tearing. It tends to show up from around 40,000 miles and gets worse by 70,000 to 90,000 miles as the bushings fully perish. This lines up with the measured MOT data for the model, where suspension is the standout signature fault, so the folklore and the numbers agree on where the weak spot is. Repairs run from roughly £150 for a single bush or link to around £1,000 for a control arm, and Tesla has since redesigned the part on newer cars.
The centre screen can go blank mid-charge because the infotainment computer overheats on a Supercharger, taking the reversing camera and warning lights down with it. This one is officially acknowledged: Tesla issued NHTSA recall 22V296000 for 2017-2022 Model 3s, fixed with a software update rather than new hardware. Owners have also reported a similar blank-screen fault away from the charger that needed a dealer visit and a multi-week wait rather than a simple reboot.
On heat pump-equipped cars from the 2021 update onward, a software fault could let the heat pump valve open when it shouldn't, trapping refrigerant and leaving the demister unable to clear the windscreen properly in cold weather, a genuine safety issue on a British winter morning. Tesla covered it with NHTSA recall 22V050000, fixed over the air rather than needing a workshop visit.
A minority of owners report the whole system freezing, main screen and instrument strip both blank, leaving the car unable to select drive or reverse until it's rebooted or, in worse cases, taken in for days at a dealer. It's not tied to one specific software version or age of car and Tesla has not issued a recall for it, unlike the charging-specific screen fault above, so it sits as owner folklore rather than an acknowledged defect. Most cases clear with the two-scroll-wheel reboot; the ones that don't have needed a service centre visit.
Built from the two sections above.
Same segment (Saloons & estates), best MOT record first. Compare before you shortlist.