Ireland's Publication for the refinishing & associated Industries
Menu

194,316 more vehicles failed the NCT in 2013 than in 2010

In 2012, over one million cars went through the National Car Test for the first time, and over a half a million were also re-tested that year. In 2013 those figures rose to 1.17m and over 614,000 respectively last year.

In percentage terms the pass and failure rates don’t change very much year on year. Last year (2013), 46.6 per cent passed the NCT first time. That compares with 48.3 per cent for 2012 and 50.6 per cent in 2011, with a 51.7 per cent pass rate in 2010. That’s a fall in the pass rate of 4.7 percentage points in a four year period. It doesn’t seem like that much in those terms but the numbers translatesdifferently. Of the 277,235 more vehicles tested in 2013 than in 2010, just 82,919 of those passed first time. This means that 194,316 more vehicles failed in 2013 than in 2010.

It is not clear from the statistics, what percentage of those that were retested were at a re-test cost of €28.00, where they require the use of test equipment, or those that are free where the re-tests cover minor items. The latter would include the likes of a visual inspection to check that faulty windscreen wipers have been replaced.

4,300 (+ 628) dangerous vehicles towed-away from NCT centres
Figures for 2013 just made available to us show that 545, 201 (or 46.6%) passed the NCT last year, while 621,398 (or 53%) got a failed refusal and drove away, with the option to have a re-test. However, 4,300 (or 0.4%) were not even that lucky, they got a ‘Fail Dangerous’ and had to be towed away from the various NCTS test centers.

Interestingly, 556,450 (or 90.6%) passed their re-test, with 56,957 (or 9.3%) getting a ‘Fail Refusal’ and 628 managing a ‘Fail Dangerous’ – most of the latter I presume having been towed away for the second time.

9,663 hadn’t second NCT test after their initial failure in 2013
It then appears that as many as 9,663 of the initial failures may not have had the second test after their initial failure. At first, I thought that this figure may not be as big as that due to re-tests over-lapping in to the new year.

However, it is in fact likely that more than than 9,663 did not re-appear for an NCT, because the similarly calculated figure for the year before (2012) shows that even more did not do the re-test – the figure for that year was 20,182. Have they been scrapped, exported or are they driving illegally on our roads?

NCT Pass / Failure Rate details for 2013

Year 2013 Pass Fail Refusal Fail Dangerous Total
Full Tests 545,201
(46.6%)
621,398
(53%)
4,300
(0.4%)
1,170,899
Re-Tests 556,450
(90.6%)
56,957
(9.3%)
628
(0.1%)
614,035

Category of cars tested in 2013
2009, 2007, and 2005 registrations and all vehicles due for their 10th anniversary inspection (2003 reg. and older) were also due for their annual NCT.

Here is how each category got on last year:

2009 Reg. Vehicles: First time Pass Rate is 73% and Re-test Pass Rate is 96%
2007 Reg. Vehicles: First time Pass Rate is 65% and Re-test Pass Rate is 95%
2005 Reg. Vehicles:   First time Pass Rate is 53% and Re-test Pass Rate is 93%
2003 & older Reg. Vehicles: First time Pass Rate is 37% and Re-test Pass Rate is 89%

Vehicle aging and caring?

It is easy to get a picture from the failure rates of cars in 2013 (above) and in 2012 and 2011 (see below), how you expect the age of vehicles to result in poorer condition, but a ten year old and older cars last year had a first time NCT pass rate of 37 per cent compared to 31 per cent two years earlier (in 2011) for similarly aged vehicles.

‘Front Suspension’ still the No.1 main failure item

‘Front Suspension’ is still the number one main failure item, followed by ‘Tyre Condition’ again this year in second place. As you can see from the charts, the third worst failure item is ‘Brake Lines/ Hoses’, after rising from fourth position in the previous two ears.

‘Stop Lamp’ is up to fourth from being the fifth main failure item last year and ‘Steering Linkages’ appears in fifth this year – making the top five for the first time.

The biggest improvement over the last three years is that ‘Headlamp Aim’ has dropped from being the second worst fault in 2011, to third worst in 2012 and it does not make the top five at all for 2013.

Main NCT failure items for last 3 years

The Main failure items
for 2013 were:
The Main failure items
for 2012 were:
The Main failure items
for 2011 were:
 1  Front Suspension  1  Front Suspension 1  Front Suspension
 2  Tyre Condition  2  Tyre Condition  2  Headlamp Aim
 3  Brake Line / Hoses  3  Headlamp Aim  3  Tyre Condition
 4  Stop Lamp  4  Brake Line / Hoses  4  Brake Line / Hoses
 5  Steering Linkages  5  Stop Lamps  5 Wheels

NCT Pass / Failure Rate details for 2012 and 2011

Year 2012 Pass Fail Refusal  Fail Dangerous  Total
Full Tests 515,217
(48.3%)
548,624
(51.3%)
4,144
(0.4%)
1,067,985
Re-Tests 482,251
(90.5%)
49,747
(9.4%)
588
(0.1%)
532,586

Category of cars tested in 2012 are 08 reg. 06 reg. 04 reg.

All vehicles due for their 10th anniversary inspection (2002 reg. and older) are also due for their annual NCT.
2008 Reg Vehicles: First time Pass Rate is 73% and Re-test Pass Rate is 96%
2006 Reg Vehicles: First time Pass Rate is 63% and Re-test Pass Rate is 93%
2004 Reg Vehicles: First time Pass Rate is 50% and Re-test Pass Rate is 91%
2002 and older Reg Vehicles: First time Pass Rate is 35% and Re-test Pass Rate is 85%

——————————————————————————————————————

Year 2011 Pass Fail Refusal Fail Dangerous Total
Full Tests 498,599
(50.6%)
482,084
(49.3%)
4,325
(0.4%)
984,986
Re-Tests 420,121
(90.5%)
43,575
(9.4%)
641
(0.1%)
464,337

Category of cars tested in 2011 are 07 reg. 05 reg. 03 reg.
This year saw the introduction of the annual test for all cars due for their 10th anniversary inspection and older.
2007 Reg Vehicles: First time Pass Rate is 72% and Re-test Pass Rate is 96%
2005 Reg Vehicles: First time Pass Rate is 58% and Re-test Pass Rate is 94%
2003 Reg Vehicles: First time Pass Rate is 46% and Re-test Pass Rate is 91%
2001 and older Reg Vehicles: First time Pass Rate is 31% and Re-test Pass Rate is 86%