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MOT fail rates

Ford KA MOT fail rate by age

How often the Ford KA fails its MOT at each age, compared with all cars of the same age, and what it fails on. From 743,190 DVSA MOT tests taken 2022 to 2025.

MOT data updated

At 12 years, the most tested age

MOT fail rate at age 12 (n=70,957)36.2%
All cars at 12 years (n=7,303,151)36.0%
Median mileage at test62,572
All cars, median mileage87,673

165 of 299 model groups with enough tests fail less often at 12 years.

What stands out

  • At 3 years the Ford KA fails 8.1% of MOTs (10,163 tests), 3.9 points below the 12.1% for all cars that age. At 23 years it fails 47.0% (1,638 tests), 7.4 points above the 39.6% average.
  • The gap is widest at 22 years: 8.0 points above all cars.
  • Its most common structural or mechanical fail item at 12 years: Shock absorbers: has an excessively worn bush, at 6.1 per 100 MOTs.

MOT fail rate by age

3 years 23 years 55.1%

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

Ford KA: 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 years8.1%10,16312.1%−3.9 pts13,524 miles
4 years10.4%21,06513.4%−3.0 pts18,696 miles
5 years12.4%34,39715.3%−2.9 pts23,851 miles
6 years16.3%42,76417.8%−1.6 pts29,040 miles
7 years20.8%45,94420.6%+0.1 pts34,267 miles
8 years23.7%53,65023.8%−0.1 pts39,666 miles
9 years27.8%59,15427.1%+0.6 pts45,513 miles
10 years30.4%67,95630.3%+0.1 pts50,954 miles
11 years32.2%70,73233.3%−1.0 pts56,602 miles
12 years36.2%70,95736.0%+0.2 pts62,572 miles
13 years38.6%70,54338.3%+0.4 pts67,507 miles
14 years42.6%60,77140.3%+2.4 pts69,317 miles
15 years46.0%48,34641.6%+4.4 pts68,967 miles
16 years47.2%31,39442.6%+4.7 pts64,128 miles
17 years50.1%15,81043.1%+7.0 pts52,077 miles
18 years50.0%12,61743.3%+6.8 pts52,108 miles
19 years49.5%9,88143.2%+6.3 pts51,727 miles
20 years48.5%7,40042.8%+5.7 pts50,651 miles
21 years47.8%5,02242.1%+5.7 pts49,694 miles
22 years49.0%2,98641.0%+8.0 pts49,318 miles
23 years47.0%1,63839.6%+7.4 pts46,641 miles

Most common fail items at 12 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
Shock absorbers: has an excessively worn bush Major6.1
Suspension arm bush worn Major5.4
Shock absorber leaking Major4.6
Suspension ball joint worn Major4.5
Exhaust system: has a major leak of exhaust gases Major2.8
Handbrake too weak Major2.6

Out of 70,957 MOTs. A test with two faults counts twice.

Wear and upkeep

Fail itemPer 100 MOTs
Brake light not working Major4.1
Tyre tread below 1.6 mm Dangerous3.5
Side/position light not working Major3.3
Wipers not clearing screen Major3

Out of 70,957 MOTs. A test with two faults counts twice.

Other models at 12 years

ModelMOT fail rateTests (n)All cars
Ford Fiesta40.5%389,90036.0%
Ford Focus38.6%268,18436.0%
Ford Mondeo36.4%62,37236.0%

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
200221 years in 202346.5%1,21342.1%
200322 years in 202549.4%1,09841.0%
200421 years in 202548.8%1,47242.1%
200520 years in 202545.9%1,74842.8%
200619 years in 202549.0%2,09743.2%
200718 years in 202549.2%2,89543.3%
200817 years in 202549.1%3,64943.1%
200916 years in 202544.0%15,72242.6%
201015 years in 202543.4%16,95041.6%
201114 years in 202538.3%15,07740.3%
201213 years in 202535.5%16,26838.3%
201312 years in 202533.8%18,18936.0%
201411 years in 202530.8%18,28833.3%
201510 years in 202531.5%13,11730.3%
20169 years in 202527.9%8,27127.1%
20178 years in 202518.9%13,26923.8%
20187 years in 202520.0%10,96120.6%
20196 years in 202513.7%10,01617.8%

More on the Ford KA

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 KA?

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