Over 1.7 million NCT’s were carried out in 2024, (1,732,095 to be precise) and nearly half of those (875,901) failed on the full test.
We’ve looked at the failure hotspots, the pass highlights, and the top reasons for failed tests…
There are two types of NCT failures:
Fail Major – where a vehicle has failed the NCT, but the owner will have 30 days in order to have the item repaired and returned to the centre for re-inspection.
Fail Dangerous – where a vehicle is failed because of a dangerous defect that constitutes a direct or immediate risk to road safety. Due to nature of the NCT fail the vehicle can not be used on the road under any circumstances until it’s fixed, presented for re-inspection and receives a Pass Result.
The test centres with the highest percentage of all NCT failures over 2024 are shown on the map below. Cavan test centre also had the top spot in 2023 and its 61% of fails is a total of 1.8k vehicles failing their NCT.
While these five test centres hold the top spots for Fail Dangerous by percentage, it should be noted that by the total number of vehicles failed it would be an entirely different list. Northpoint 2 (Exit 4, M50) had the highest number of Fail Dangerous at 7.9k vehicles and the fifth test centre in that list is Greenhills (Exit 11, M50) with 4.8k vehicles – significantly higher than the 1.8k Fail Dangerous vehicles recorded over 2024 by Cavan at the top of the list by percentage.
The top 5 of this list are all in exactly the same order as last year! So it should be easy for vehicle owners to target the areas of their car that are likely to need attention through maintenance! Topping the list is steering and suspension, which accounted for 15% of failures. Lighting and electrical faults were a very close second, with fails for the slip slide test coming in third. (The Side Slip Test simulates driving on a straight, flat road without touching the steering wheel. The test measures how many metres a vehicle would deviate to the left or right over a distance of 1km.)
The most tested vehicle make in 2024 was Ford, with 182374 Ford models being put through their NCT. Of the 53% that failed, the majority did so on lighting and electrical defects.
We’ve looked at the makes that received the most passes or fails on their full NCT tests (looking at all car makes that had over 500 vehicles tested). Of course, the age of the vehicle, usage, mileage and the care the owner has taken, will all play a huge part in whether it passed the test.
MG has knocked Porsche off the top sport for the highest percentage of passes this year. Lexus and Land Rover also appeared in 2023’s top 5 and have maintained impressed figures in 2024.
The National Car Test (NCT) is a compulsory vehicle inspection programme in Ireland. Cars older than 10 years must undergo an annual inspection, while vehicles younger than 10 years must be inspected every 2 years.
The National Car Test helps to reduce the number of road accidents by identifying defects such as faulty brakes, worn tyres and defective headlight aim. The test also helps to improve air quality and protect the environment by reducing exhaust emissions.
We’ve put together a useful blog on everything you need to know about NCT’s including a link to how the National car Testing Service recommends how you can give your vehicle a pre-NCT check.
If your car fails its NCT and the cost of repairs are more than the value of the car, scrapping your car may be the best option. You can get an instant quote and arrange free collection of your car.
