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MOT fail rates

Ford Fiesta MOT fail rate by age

How often the Ford Fiesta fails its MOT at each age, compared with all cars of the same age, and what it fails on. From 5,660,045 DVSA MOT tests taken 2022 to 2025.

MOT data updated

At 9 years, the most tested age

MOT fail rate at age 9 (n=481,387)32.7%
All cars at 9 years (n=9,949,012)27.1%
Median mileage at test58,938
All cars, median mileage68,033

242 of 315 model groups with enough tests fail less often at 9 years.

What stands out

  • At 3 years the Ford Fiesta fails 12.9% of MOTs (187,046 tests), about the same as the 12.1% for all cars that age. At 25 years it fails 47.2% (5,231 tests), 10.9 points above the 36.3% average.
  • The gap is widest at 25 years: 10.9 points above all cars.
  • Its most common structural or mechanical fail item at 9 years: Suspension ball joint worn, at 5.9 per 100 MOTs.

MOT fail rate by age

3 years 25 years 52.0%

Solid line: this model. Dashed line: all cars at the same age.

Ford Fiesta: share of MOT tests that failed, by age, against all cars. Ages with fewer than 1,000 tests are not shown.
AgeMOT fail rateTests (n)All carsDifferenceMedian mileage
3 years12.9%187,04612.1%+0.9 pts18,133 miles
4 years12.3%251,57813.4%−1.1 pts24,719 miles
5 years15.2%314,77215.3%−0.1 pts31,304 miles
6 years21.0%381,55317.8%+3.1 pts38,214 miles
7 years25.4%430,00420.6%+4.8 pts45,171 miles
8 years29.3%459,35523.8%+5.6 pts52,003 miles
9 years32.7%481,38727.1%+5.6 pts58,938 miles
10 years35.6%464,66230.3%+5.3 pts65,399 miles
11 years38.1%424,21933.3%+4.9 pts72,178 miles
12 years40.5%389,90036.0%+4.5 pts78,686 miles
13 years42.3%372,52238.3%+4.0 pts84,066 miles
14 years43.8%334,30240.3%+3.5 pts88,335 miles
15 years44.6%302,72341.6%+3.0 pts90,764 miles
16 years45.5%257,41242.6%+2.9 pts91,772 miles
17 years46.1%185,75743.1%+3.0 pts91,674 miles
18 years46.4%146,19343.3%+3.1 pts92,620 miles
19 years46.4%108,13843.2%+3.2 pts92,684 miles
20 years45.7%71,65642.8%+2.9 pts90,656 miles
21 years45.3%45,54742.1%+3.3 pts87,481 miles
22 years44.8%25,42141.0%+3.8 pts82,017 miles
23 years44.7%13,03639.6%+5.0 pts71,730 miles
24 years46.4%7,63137.8%+8.6 pts63,097 miles
25 years47.2%5,23136.3%+10.9 pts60,587 miles

Most common fail items at 9 years

Split into structural or mechanical items and wear items. Wear items (tyres, brake pads, wipers, bulbs) say more about upkeep than about the design.

Structural and mechanical

Fail itemPer 100 MOTs
Suspension ball joint worn Major5.9
Steering track rod end: ball joint play Major3.1
Coil spring broken Major2.6
Swivel pins and bushes: swivel pin and/or bush excessively worn Major2.4

Out of 481,387 MOTs. A test with two faults counts twice.

Wear and upkeep

Fail itemPer 100 MOTs
Brake light not working Major8.7
Tyre tread below 1.6 mm Dangerous3.4
Dipped headlight not working Major2.5
Headlamp aim: too low Major2.3
Brake pads under 1.5 mm Dangerous1.8
Tyre with cords exposed Dangerous1.6

Out of 481,387 MOTs. A test with two faults counts twice.

Other models at 9 years

ModelMOT fail rateTests (n)All cars
Ford Focus28.1%292,86227.1%
Ford Kuga23.1%100,13527.1%
Ford Mondeo24.9%59,70027.1%

MOT fail rate by first-use year

Each year has its own page: the fail rate for cars first used that year at each MOT from 2022 to 2025 with at least 1,000 tests, the most common faults at that age, and the car tax and ULEZ rules for that year.

First-use year data updated .

Latest MOT age with at least 1,000 tests for each first-use year.
First usedAge at testMOT fail rateTests (n)All cars
199825 years in 202348.9%1,60536.3%
199925 years in 202447.6%1,49336.3%
200025 years in 202545.1%1,18536.3%
200124 years in 202543.1%2,02737.8%
200223 years in 202543.2%5,77139.6%
200322 years in 202544.4%12,14441.0%
200421 years in 202545.8%16,27842.1%
200520 years in 202546.4%20,11942.8%
200619 years in 202547.0%34,70843.2%
200718 years in 202546.3%44,03043.3%
200817 years in 202546.5%48,96043.1%
200916 years in 202545.8%85,03642.6%
201015 years in 202544.3%81,65341.6%
201114 years in 202542.0%81,32240.3%
201213 years in 202541.3%96,15738.3%
201312 years in 202539.3%110,13536.0%
201411 years in 202537.4%120,56933.3%
201510 years in 202535.0%124,04230.3%
20169 years in 202532.4%113,18527.1%
20178 years in 202525.4%89,80323.8%
20187 years in 202517.1%93,24920.6%
20196 years in 202515.2%78,31917.8%
20205 years in 202513.9%49,76815.3%
20214 years in 202511.3%27,81313.4%
20223 years in 20258.9%25,60312.1%

More on the Ford Fiesta

Read this with care. A fail rate is not a measure of build quality. How far cars are driven, how they are used and how well owners maintain them all change it, and wear items such as tyres and brake pads are common fails. Compare a model only with cars of the same age. Methodology and limits.

Looking at one Ford Fiesta?

These are figures for the model, not for one car. The VetTheCar Buying Report looks at a single car: its MOT tests, defects, advisories and mileage readings.

See an example report Browse the car tools

Source

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data, class 4 normal MOT tests, 2022 to 2025. MOT data updated 22 September 2026.

Not affiliated with or endorsed by DVSA. How we calculate these figures · Data sources