Common problems

Ford Fiesta common problems

What MOT testers find on the Ford Fiesta: the parts that fail or get advisories most often at each age, against all cars of the same age. From 5,660,045 DVSA MOT tests taken 2022 to 2025.

MOT data updated 28 September 2026

At 9 years, the most tested age

Lights and electrics fails per 100 MOTs (n=481,387)15.7

All cars at 9 years (n=9,949,012)9.2

Tyres advisories and minor defects per 100 MOTs (n=481,387)27.5

All cars, same age (n=9,949,012)25.8

What stands out

Lights and electrics fails show up on 15.7 of every 100 MOTs of a Ford Fiesta at 9 years old (n=481,387), against 9.2 for all cars of that age (n=9,949,012).
Brakes fails are less common: 3.6 per 100 MOTs against 5.6 for all cars at the same age.
The fail item testers record most often at 9 years: brake light not working, on 7.8 per 100 MOTs (all cars 1.7).
The most common advisory or minor defect: tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge, on 17.1 per 100 MOTs.

Problems by part at 9 years

How many of every 100 MOTs found a fail, or an advisory or minor defect, in each area. A test with faults in two areas counts in both.

Ford Fiesta at 9 years (n=481,387) against all cars at 9 years (n=9,949,012). Per 100 MOTs.
Area	Fails	All cars	Advisories	All cars
Lights and electrics	15.7	9.2	2.9	4.5
Suspension	11.1	7.9	23.7	14.9
Tyres	7.8	6.7	27.5	25.8
Windscreen, wipers and mirrors	3.8	4.0	2.7	3.7
Brakes	3.6	5.6	15.8	20.3
Exhaust, emissions and leaks	3.3	2.4	1.9	3.1
Steering	3.3	1.8	2.8	2.1
Body and structure	1.8	2.3	3.5	2.9
Seat belts and airbags	0.3	0.6	0.3	0.4
Number plates and VIN	0.2	0.3	2.5	1.7
Road wheels	0.2	0.4	1.4	0.7

What testers fail most on the Fiesta at 9 years

Fail items on the Ford Fiesta at 9 years (n=481,387), per 100 MOTs, with all cars at the same age (n=9,949,012).
Item	Area	Per 100 MOTs	All cars	Typical repair (estimate)
Brake light not working	Lights and electrics	7.8	1.7	£10 to £47 per lamp
Suspension ball joint worn	Suspension	5.3	1.5	£75 to £237 per side (rough guide)
Steering track rod end: ball joint play	Steering	2.8	1.0	£54 to £128 per side (rough guide)
Tyre tread below 1.6 mm	Tyres	2.6	2.5	£88 to £145 per tyre
Dipped headlight not working	Lights and electrics	2.4	1.5	£18 to £86 per lamp
Coil spring broken	Suspension	2.4	2.7	£64 to £236 per spring (rough guide)
Headlamp aim: too low	Lights and electrics	1.7	1.1	£16 to £39 per car (rough guide)
Brake pads under 1.5 mm	Brakes	1.6	2.0	£72 to £174 per axle (rough guide)
Tyre pressure monitoring system: malfunctioning or obviously inoperative	Tyres	1.6	0.9	£53 to £125 per wheel (rough guide)
Swivel pins and bushes: swivel pin and/or bush excessively worn	Suspension	1.5	0.1	£157 to £384 per side (rough guide)

Early warnings: advisories and minor defects at 9 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).

Advisories and minor defects on the Ford Fiesta at 9 years (n=481,387), per 100 MOTs, with all cars at the same age (n=9,949,012).
Item	Area	Per 100 MOTs	All cars	If it needs replacing (estimate)
Tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge	Tyres	17.1	16.4	£88 to £145 per tyre
Tyre condition: slightly damaged/cracking or perishing	Tyres	9.9	8.5	£88 to £145 per tyre
Brake discs: worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened	Brakes	7.5	9.2	£148 to £376 per axle (rough guide)
Brake pads: wearing thin	Brakes	6.5	8.3	£72 to £174 per axle (rough guide)
Coil spring: corroded	Suspension	6.4	2.0
Swivel pins and bushes: swivel pin and/or bush slightly worn	Suspension	6.3	0.4	£157 to £384 per side (rough guide)
Shock absorbers: has light misting of oil	Suspension	4.5	3.1	£122 to £484 per axle (pair) (rough guide)
Suspension arm ball joint: ball joint has slight play	Suspension	3.6	1.2	£75 to £237 per side (rough guide)
Track rod end: ball joint has slight play	Steering	2.5	0.9	£54 to £128 per side (rough guide)
Registration plates: deteriorated but not likely to be misread	Number plates and VIN	2.5	1.6	£23 to £63 per plate (rough guide)

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.

How problems change with age

Fails per 100 MOTs in the three most common areas at 9 years. Ages with fewer than 1,000 tests are not shown.
Age	Tests (n)	Lights and electrics	Suspension	Tyres
3 years	187,046	5.3	1.4	4.2
4 years	251,578	4.2	0.7	4.7
5 years	314,772	5.0	1.7	5.4
6 years	381,553	7.9	5.3	6.0
7 years	430,004	10.9	7.5	6.4
8 years	459,355	13.9	9.0	7.0
9 years	481,387	15.7	11.1	7.8
10 years	464,662	16.5	13.3	8.8
11 years	424,219	17.2	15.6	8.7
12 years	389,900	18.5	17.4	9.0
13 years	372,522	20.2	18.3	9.6
14 years	334,302	21.6	18.3	9.6
15 years	302,723	23.0	17.7	9.1
16 years	257,412	24.0	17.7	8.6
17 years	185,757	24.4	17.7	7.8
18 years	146,193	24.5	17.8	7.7
19 years	108,138	23.7	17.8	7.5
20 years	71,656	21.9	17.2	7.4
21 years	45,547	21.1	17.3	7.1
22 years	25,421	18.9	17.5	6.7
23 years	13,036	15.4	20.7	6.8
24 years	7,631	13.7	23.8	6.4
25 years	5,231	13.2	24.0	6.6

Mileage

At 9 years, Ford Fiesta cars showing under 30,000 miles failed 15.1% of MOTs (n=49,912); the band that failed most, 120,000 to 150,000 miles, failed 47.1% (n=11,388). For pass and fail rates by age, see Ford Fiesta MOT fail rates.

What to check on a viewing

On the Ford Fiesta, testers most often record brake light not working; suspension ball joint worn; steering track rod end: ball joint play. Look at these first, then the areas below.

Lights and electrics

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.

Suspension

Listen for knocks or clonks over speed bumps and rough roads on the test drive.
Push down hard on each corner: the car should settle at once rather than keep bouncing.
Look behind the wheels for broken or heavily rusted coil springs and split rubber bushes.
Check that the car sits level and that no tyre is worn on one edge only.

Tyres

Check the tread across the full width of all four tyres, and the spare if there is one.
Look for cuts, bulges and cracking in the sidewalls.
Wear on one edge only can point to worn suspension or the tracking being out.

Ask for the car's MOT history and service record: advisories that repeat from one year to the next show what has been left. GOV.UK MOT history.

Questions

What are the most common problems on the Ford Fiesta?

At 9 years, the age with the most MOT tests (481,387), the fail items testers record most often on the Ford Fiesta are brake light not working (7.8 per 100 MOTs), suspension ball joint worn (5.3 per 100 MOTs), steering track rod end: ball joint play (2.8 per 100 MOTs). The most common advisories or minor defects are tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge (17.1) and tyre condition: slightly damaged/cracking or perishing (9.9).

Which parts of the Ford Fiesta fail more often than on other cars?

At 9 years: lights and electrics (15.7 per 100 MOTs against 9.2 for all cars); suspension (11.1 per 100 MOTs against 7.9 for all cars); steering (3.3 per 100 MOTs against 1.8 for all cars). Compared with 9,949,012 MOTs of all cars the same age.

Ford Fiesta problems by area

Other Ford models

All Ford models · Common problems by make

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 Fiesta?

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