MOT pass rates / Ford

Ford MOT pass rates and common failures

Name: Ford MOT statistics
Creator: Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency
License: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/

Ford cars passed 68.1% of their MOTs first time in 2024, across 3,775,973 class-4 initial tests and 78 model groups. That is below the 71.2% UK average, and ranks Ford 39th of 59 makes in the dataset.

Pass rates track age more strongly than badge: an older Ford is compared here against older cars of every other make, so read the age table below before drawing conclusions about the brand.

Checking a Ford?

Make-level pass rates cannot reveal the condition or provenance of one car.

Check its registration free for the actual MOT, tax and mileage record. Before buying, the optional £9.99 full history check adds outstanding-finance, stolen and insurance write-off checks.

What Ford cars fail on

The items most often behind a first-test failure across Ford model groups, as a share of Ford tests. DVSA publishes each model group's six most common categories, so this ranks the biggest published causes rather than every possible one.

Condition — 4.1% of Ford tests. Corrosion, damage or wear on a tested component. Worth seeing in person, as the cost ranges from trivial to structural.
Suspension Arms — 3.9% of Ford tests. Worn arms or bushes. A common age-related repair that affects handling and tyre wear.
Headlamp Aim — 3.6% of Ford tests. Headlights pointing too high or low. Cheap to adjust, and common on every make.
Stop Lamp — 3.3% of Ford tests. A brake light out. Usually a bulb.
Exhaust Emissions — 2.9% of Ford tests. The car exceeded its emissions limits. Can be a sensor or a service, but on a diesel it can also mean an expensive filter or catalyst.
Position Lamps — 1.7% of Ford tests. A side or tail light out. Usually a bulb.
Headlamps — 1.4% of Ford tests. A headlight fault, from a blown bulb to a failed unit.
Mechanical Brake Components — 1.3% of Ford tests. Worn discs, pads or callipers. Routine wear, but it should be priced into the deal.

Ford MOT pass rate by age

Age at test	Tests	Initial pass rate
3–5 years	577,165	83.4%
6–9 years	1,234,098	75.5%
10–14 years	1,218,437	61.7%
15–30 years	745,992	54.5%

Ford models by MOT pass rate

Model	Tests	Initial pass rate
Fiesta	1,188,740	65%
Focus	730,444	67.6%
Transit	270,249	62.1%
Kuga	228,876	77.7%
KA	169,428	66.1%
Mondeo	168,174	66.9%
Transit Connect	142,389	64.9%
Ranger	103,442	72.3%
C-max	100,770	68.4%
Ecosport	99,552	78.3%
S-max	68,531	64.8%
Transit Custom	61,676	77.6%
Galaxy	56,268	63.2%
B-max	41,439	70.2%
Fusion	40,938	58.6%
Grand C-max	32,205	67.3%
Transit Custom 300limitd Eblue	20,974	77.8%
Transit Courier	19,337	70.1%
Transit Custom 280limitd Eblue	16,870	77%
Tourneo Connect	13,544	77.8%
Tourneo	13,282	72.5%
Transit Custom 300leader Eblue	12,134	73.4%
Puma St-line X MHEV	11,149	91.1%
Focus C-max	10,309	51.8%
Fiesta St-line Edition Turbo	10,146	85.5%
Mustang	9,630	83.4%
Puma St-line MHEV	7,899	92.6%
Fiesta St-line Edition T MHEV	7,741	87.4%
Edge	7,313	84.6%
Puma Titanium MHEV	6,371	91.2%
Fiesta Trend	5,258	86.9%
Fiesta Titanium Turbo MHEV	5,149	88.3%
Fiesta Trend Turbo	4,719	86.9%
Transit Custom 300 Trend Eblue	4,126	75.3%
Fiesta Stline X Edition T MHEV	3,904	85.5%
Transit Custom 300lmtd Eblue A	3,892	78.9%
Allied	3,750	76.9%
Focus Titanium Edition MHEV	3,486	91%
Transit Custom 280leader Eblue	3,448	77.2%
Escort	3,375	65.4%
Focus St-line Edition MHEV	3,039	89.2%
Focus St-line X Edition MHEV	3,038	88.9%
Tourneo Custom	2,758	79.7%
Focus ST	2,704	86.7%
Puma St-line X First ED MHEV	2,461	91.3%
Transit Custom 320lmtd Eblue A	2,334	84.2%
Puma	2,105	65.5%
Transit Custom 280 Trend Eblue	2,062	76.7%
Tourneo Custom 320 TI Eblue A	2,045	75.5%
Transit Custom 320limitd Eblue	1,926	80%
Fiesta Trend Turbo MHEV	1,914	87.7%
Puma Titanium	1,881	92.3%
Fiesta St-line X Edition Turbo	1,784	84.4%
Puma ST	1,774	92.2%
Tourneo Custom 320 Tnium Eblue	1,751	78%
Fiesta Active Edition Turbo	1,707	86.4%
Kuga St-line Edition Ecoblue	1,706	88.1%
Puma Titanium First ED MHEV	1,664	92.7%
Kuga St-line PHEV CVT	1,643	90.4%
Kuga St-line X Edition Ecoblue	1,549	89.7%
Focus Titanium X Edition MHEV	1,548	91.4%
Focus Active Edition MHEV	1,540	90.3%
Kuga St-line X PHEV CVT	1,501	91.1%
Puma St-line X Auto	1,445	92%
Puma St-line Vignale MHEV	1,392	92.5%
Freedom	1,385	79.7%
Transit Custom 280lmtd Eblue A	1,348	76.3%
Puma St-line X First ED + MHEV	1,340	90.9%
Fiesta Vignale Edition T MHEV	1,289	89.4%
Transit 290 Trend Ecoblue	1,229	80.9%
Fiesta Titanium X Turbo MHEV	1,225	86.2%
Puma Titanium Auto	1,217	92%
Roller Team	1,209	86.8%
Transit Custom 290 Sport Eblue	1,193	82.2%
Kuga Titanium Edition Ecoblue	1,145	87.8%
Kuga St-line Edition	1,135	92.4%
Focus Active X Edition MHEV	1,043	92.6%
Kuga St-line X ED Eblue 4X4 A	1,017	91%

How many Ford vehicles are left?

At the end of 2026 Q1, DfT recorded 5,152,768 licensed and 683,774 SORN Ford vehicles across 72 published model groups.

Licensed and SORN counts for every Ford model

Before you buy

Condition — 4.1% of tests in 2024. Corrosion, damage or wear on a tested component. Worth seeing in person, as the cost ranges from trivial to structural.
Suspension Arms — 3.9% of tests in 2024. Worn arms or bushes. A common age-related repair that affects handling and tyre wear.
Headlamp Aim — 3.6% of tests in 2024. Headlights pointing too high or low. Cheap to adjust, and common on every make.
Stop Lamp — 3.3% of tests in 2024. A brake light out. Usually a bulb.
Check the actual Ford — These figures describe the model group. Enter the registration for that vehicle's free MOT, tax and mileage record before you pay a deposit.

Common questions

What is the Ford MOT pass rate?

68.1% of 3,775,973 class-4 initial MOT tests on Ford cars passed first time in 2024 — below the 71.2% UK average across all published models.

Which Ford has the best MOT pass rate?

Of the Ford model groups with a substantial sample, the Puma St-line MHEV has the highest initial pass rate at 92.6% across 7,899 tests. Pass rates track vehicle age closely, so newer model groups tend to sit higher.

Does a good Ford pass rate mean the car I am looking at is fine?

No. A model-level rate describes a population, not one vehicle. Enter the registration for that car's own MOT, tax and mileage record, and check for outstanding finance, write-off and stolen markers before you buy.

Methodology and limitations

MOT outcomes describe testable items at the time of inspection. They are not a measure of overall mechanical reliability.

Scope: Class 4 normal initial MOT tests completed in 2024. Models require at least 1,000 qualifying tests. Duplicate source rows are removed using official DVSA test IDs.

Source: Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency anonymised MOT tests and results, 2024, published 2025-05-23 under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Check the actual car

Enter the registration for that Ford's own free MOT, tax and mileage record. Before money changes hands, the £9.99 full history check adds outstanding finance, insurance write-off and stolen checks.