MOT cost .
Peugeot 207
MOT 2023
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Peugeot

207

215,706 MOT tests analysed. runs below the UK fleet average — here's where 207s pass, fail, and end up on the retest sheet.

That's 12.6 points below the UK fleet average across our 1,988 tracked models — buyers should expect more first-time fails than the typical UK car.

Pass

63.2%

Pass-after-fix

7.5%

Fail

28.7%

Avg miles

84,990

Pass + Pass-after-fix + Fail = 100%

The picture

63.17% pass rate — among the worst in its class

Just 63.17% of Peugeot 207s pass their MOT first time, across 215,706 tests at an average of 84,990 miles. Number plate lamps are the most common failure, but fractured spring components and missing CV joint boots are the ones that cost money. At this pass rate, the 207 is statistically likely to fail — not a question of if but which item goes first.

Owner reports explain why. A cracked screenwash reservoir lets plain water freeze, depositing liquid across the wiring loom. Blocked vent well drains in the bulkhead — a known 207 fault — led to swamped electronics and a £3,500 repair bill on one car; Peugeot contributed half. Power-assisted steering failures on 2011 cars are well documented. None of this gets better with age. If you own a high-mileage 207, a pre-MOT inspection at an independent garage is money better spent than a retest fee.

Top ten reasons for rejection.

  1. 01

    A rear registration plate lamp or light source missing or inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources

    17,733 occurrences · 8.2% of tests

  2. 02

    A transmission shaft constant velocity joint boot missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt etc

    15,505 occurrences · 7.2% of tests

  3. 03

    A spring or spring component fractured or seriously weakened

    12,693 occurrences · 5.9% of tests

  4. 04

    A lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning

    11,236 occurrences · 5.2% of tests

  5. 05

    Headlamp reflector or lens slightly defective

    8,612 occurrences · 4.0% of tests

  6. 06

    The aim of a headlamp is not within limits laid down in the requirements

    8,141 occurrences · 3.8% of tests

  7. 07

    A transmission shaft constant velocity joint boot severely deteriorated

    7,771 occurrences · 3.6% of tests

  8. 08

    Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements

    7,431 occurrences · 3.4% of tests

  9. 09

    Stop lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning

    6,550 occurrences · 3.0% of tests

  10. 10

    A headlamp or light source missing, inoperative or more than ½ not functioning in the case of LED

    6,191 occurrences · 2.9% of tests

Counts cover Major and Dangerous defects logged at test. Advisory items excluded so this shows why a car was rejected, not just what the tester flagged in passing.

Worst-case fix budget · top 3 failures

£98–£355

If every one of this 207's most-logged Major fails hit at the same MOT, that's the real-world UK garage range. Reality is usually one or two items, not all of them. Open the estimator →

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Build your own retest budget.

Tools that pre-empt a retest.

Picked against this car's top failure patterns. Affiliate links to Amazon UK — we earn a small cut at no cost to you. Disclosed up-front, doesn't shape the data.

Item 01 · Amazon UK

H7 / W21W bulb pack

A spare-bulb kit lives in the boot. Test morning is not the time to find your stop-lamp's gone.

Search Amazon UK

Item 02 · Amazon UK

Headlight restoration kit

Yellowed lenses fail the light-output test. A restoration kit lifts the haze in an afternoon for £20.

Search Amazon UK

Owner reports · Honest John

What owners actually report.

Verbatim faults logged by owners on honestjohn.co.uk over recent years. We didn't summarise — these are the words people typed in.

Recent owner-reported faults

  1. 24 Feb 2018

    Report that screen wash reservoir can crack if plain water in it freezes. That then deposits the contents on the wiring loom, causing mayhem. Vital to use screenwash with sufficient anti-freeze. 23 dated faults reported since January 2011

  2. 27 Feb 2017

    Complaint of PAS of 2011 Peugeot 207 failing.

  3. 2 Dec 2016

    Report that flooded bulkhead vent wells of 2012 Peugeot 207 due to blocked vent well drains led to swamped electronics and a £3,500 repair bill of which Peugeot offered to pay half. See: 4-12-2013; 19-1-2014; 14-6-2015 and 25-6-2015. Vital to clear debris from vent well drains regularly.

  4. 2 Jan 2016

    Failure of rear lightbulb led to fitting of replacement wiring harness kit which itself failed because male and female parts of connector suffered failed earth pins. This led to need to to replace entire rear light unit.

  5. 12 Nov 2015

    Fault with 4-speed automatic transmission of Peugeot 207 1.6 SW: Under certain conditions, a warning light appears with a clunk from gearbox. According to driver's manual, this means gearbox is stuck in 3rd gear. Resets itself when engine restarted. Fault is known to Peugeot as it is described in handbook. According to internet forums, other similar vehicles have same fault and software update could be solution. Automatic gearbox has been checked by specialist and has no fault.

  6. 25 Jun 2015

    Report of another wiring loom failure, this one on a 25,000 mile 2009 Peugeot 207. New ECU costing £700 fitted in May 2015. Then failed MoT due to failed sidelights. Apparently coolant had got into the fusebox and rotted some of the pins and the wiring. Peugeot will only supply a complete new wiring loom at a cost of £900, plus the cost of fitting it. No goodwill if the car is repaired at an independent garage.

  7. 14 Jun 2015

    Wiring loom failed on 4 year old 207. Quoted £2,400 to replace it of which Peugeot would pay half.

  8. 15 Apr 2015

    Nightmare series of problems with a Peugeot 207 1.4 VTi SW: 'Antipollution' and 'Engine management' lights came on and car had reduced power when the engine reached its operating temperature. While cold, the car performed normally, although the lights were showing. Mileage on this car is currently 56,000 and previously had the timing set and dephaser cleaned by Peugeot agents at 49,000 for similar problems. After a fault diagnosis, the timing was set again and a new VVT solenoid valve fitted at a cost of £320 which included 4 hours of labour costs. The lights appeared again the day after the car was returned, oil was leaking from the engine head and the engine was extremely noisy when cold and idling. A faulty cam dephasing pulley was diagnosed and replaced at a further £520 including 8 hours of labour.

  9. 9 Mar 2015

    Peugeot 207 petrol models can suffer a lot of expensive faults after 7 year and 100,000 miles.

  10. 7 Jul 2014

    60k mile 2010 Peugeot 207 1.6 VTI 120 SW suddenly pulled violently to the right. Diagnostics came up with fault code 0303. Fault was with the EPAS. Quoted £450 to repair.

  11. 17 Feb 2014

    Eolys fluid bag burst on a 207 diesel and after complaining to VOSA, Peugeot not only replaced the readers Eolys bag free of charge but also paid to have his driveway resurfaced.

  12. 19 Jan 2014

    Fusebox problem caused by water ingress. Needs drying out (carefully, with a hairdryer), then resealing.

Source: honestjohn.co.uk · 24 reports indexed, top 12 shown

Buying or keeping a 207?

Use the failure ranking as a pre-test checklist or a haggling lever. Treat the headline pass rate as a fleet-wide trend, not a guarantee on any individual car.

If you own a 207 and your last MOT looked nothing like the ranked failures above, that's normal — individual cars vary widely. The ranking shows the patterns testers flag most often across the country.