Common problems

Ford Escort electrical and lighting problems

How often MOT testers find lights and electrics faults on the Ford Escort at each age, against all cars of the same age, and which items come up most. From 6,428 DVSA MOT tests taken 2022 to 2025.

MOT data updated 28 September 2026

At 25 years, the most tested age

Lights and electrics fails per 100 MOTs (n=1,777)14.2

All cars at 25 years (n=313,355)16.3

Lights and electrics advisories and minor defects per 100 MOTs (n=1,777)6.3

All cars, same age (n=313,355)11.1

What stands out

At 25 years, 14.2 of every 100 MOTs of the Ford Escort found a lights and electrics fail (n=1,777), against 16.3 for all cars of that age (n=313,355).
It is level with or below the all-car rate at every age with at least 1,000 tests.
The gap is widest at 23 years: 13.2 per 100 MOTs against 18.6 for all cars.
The lights and electrics fail item recorded most often at 25 years: registration plate lamp(s): inoperative in the case of a single lamp or all lamps, on 2.9 per 100 MOTs.
The most common lights and electrics advisory or minor defect: battery(ies): insecure but not likely to fall from carrier, on 1.8 per 100 MOTs.

Lights and electrics fails by age

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

Ford Escort: lights and electrics fails and advisories per 100 MOTs, by age, against all cars. Ages with fewer than 1,000 tests are not shown.
Age	Tests (n)	Fails	All cars	Advisories	All cars
22 years	1,460	15.2	19.7	10.0	15.5
23 years	1,497	13.2	18.6	9.2	14.2
24 years	1,694	12.5	17.2	7.4	12.5
25 years	1,777	14.2	16.3	6.3	11.1

Lights and electrics fail items at 25 years

Lights and electrics fail items on the Ford Escort at 25 years (n=1,777), per 100 MOTs, with all cars at the same age (n=313,355).
Item	Per 100 MOTs	All cars	Typical repair (estimate)
Registration plate lamp(s): inoperative in the case of a single lamp or all lamps	2.9	1.1	£10 to £47 per lamp
Side/position light not working	2.4	3.4	£10 to £47 per lamp
Headlamp aim: too low	2.3	1.8	£16 to £39 per car (rough guide)
Brake light not working	1.7	2.6	£10 to £47 per lamp

Lights and electrics advisories and minor defects at 25 years

Advisories and minor defects are recorded, but the car still passes. Across all cars, a part with an advisory or minor defect failed at the next MOT 5.5 times in 100 (n=88,666,940 pairs of consecutive MOTs), against 0.3 times in 100 when the same part had none (n=12,936,860,350).

Lights and electrics advisories and minor defects on the Ford Escort at 25 years (n=1,777), per 100 MOTs, with all cars at the same age (n=313,355).
Item	Per 100 MOTs	All cars
Battery(ies): insecure but not likely to fall from carrier	1.8	1.1

Repair estimates are a guide for an independent garage: labour at the national median local garage rate (median £78 an hour from 65 garages, ONS price quotes) times estimated labour hours, plus a parts band. Labour hours and most parts bands are estimates, not quotes, and prices vary by model, engine and region. A warning light fault shows the cost of the diagnosis only.

What to check on a viewing

On the Ford Escort, the lights and electrics items testers fail most are registration plate lamp(s): inoperative in the case of a single lamp or all lamps; side/position light not working; headlamp aim: too low.

With someone outside, try every light: dipped and main beam, indicators, brake lights, fog lights and number plate lamps.
Check that the warning lights come on with the ignition and go out once the engine runs.
Look for misted, cracked or yellowed headlamp lenses.

Ask for the car's MOT history: a lights and electrics advisory that repeats from year to year has not been fixed. GOV.UK MOT history.

Questions

What are the common electrical and lighting problems on the Ford Escort?

At 25 years (1,777 MOTs), the lights and electrics fail items testers record most often are registration plate lamp(s): inoperative in the case of a single lamp or all lamps (2.9 per 100 MOTs), side/position light not working (2.4 per 100 MOTs), headlamp aim: too low (2.3 per 100 MOTs). The most common lights and electrics advisories or minor defects are battery(ies): insecure but not likely to fall from carrier (1.8).

Does the Ford Escort have more electrical and lighting problems than other cars?

At 25 years it has 14.2 lights and electrics fails per 100 MOTs against 16.3 for all cars of the same age (2.1 fewer). It is level with or below the all-car rate at every age with enough tests.

What does a lights and electrics repair cost on the Ford Escort?

For registration plate lamp(s): inoperative in the case of a single lamp or all lamps, an independent garage estimate is £10 to £47 per lamp. This is a guide built from the national median garage labour rate and estimated labour hours, not a quote.

Electrical and lighting problems on other Ford models

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.

The all cars figures cover all class 4 vehicles (cars and light vans) tested at the same age.

Looking at a Ford Escort?

These figures describe the model, not the car in front of you. Found one you might buy? See what the VetTheCar Buying Report covers, or use the tools that work without a registration.

See a sample report Car tools · MOT fail rates by model · Compare models by MOT record

Repair estimates: ONS consumer price quotes for local garage labour (09/2025 to 08/2026), the MOT inspection manual for defect wording, and estimated labour hours and parts bands. Not affiliated with or endorsed by ONS.

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 28 September 2026.

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