Common problems

Ford Focus common problems

What MOT testers find on the Ford Focus: the parts that fail or get advisories most often at each age, against all cars of the same age. From 3,840,973 DVSA MOT tests taken 2022 to 2025.

MOT data updated 28 September 2026

At 10 years, the most tested age

Lights and electrics fails per 100 MOTs (n=297,664)14.9

All cars at 10 years (n=9,049,507)11.2

Tyres advisories and minor defects per 100 MOTs (n=297,664)28.8

All cars, same age (n=9,049,507)26.4

What stands out

Lights and electrics fails show up on 14.9 of every 100 MOTs of a Ford Focus at 10 years old (n=297,664), against 11.2 for all cars of that age (n=9,049,507).
Brakes fails are less common: 5.1 per 100 MOTs against 6.5 for all cars at the same age.
The fail item testers record most often at 10 years: coil spring broken, on 5.5 per 100 MOTs (all cars 3.2).
The most common advisory or minor defect: tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge, on 18.9 per 100 MOTs.

Problems by part at 10 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 Focus at 10 years (n=297,664) against all cars at 10 years (n=9,049,507). Per 100 MOTs.
Area	Fails	All cars	Advisories	All cars
Lights and electrics	14.9	11.2	4.3	5.9
Suspension	9.6	9.7	15.8	18.2
Tyres	8.6	6.9	28.8	26.4
Brakes	5.1	6.5	17.2	21.6
Windscreen, wipers and mirrors	3.8	4.4	3.0	3.9
Exhaust, emissions and leaks	3.5	2.8	2.6	4.0
Body and structure	2.0	2.9	3.5	3.9
Steering	0.8	2.1	1.0	2.4
Road wheels	0.5	0.4	0.7	0.8
Number plates and VIN	0.3	0.3	2.7	2.0
Seat belts and airbags	0.3	0.7	0.2	0.4

What testers fail most on the Focus at 10 years

Fail items on the Ford Focus at 10 years (n=297,664), per 100 MOTs, with all cars at the same age (n=9,049,507).
Item	Area	Per 100 MOTs	All cars	Typical repair (estimate)
Coil spring broken	Suspension	5.5	3.2	£64 to £236 per spring (rough guide)
Side/position light not working	Lights and electrics	3.8	2.4	£10 to £47 per lamp
Tyre tread below 1.6 mm	Tyres	3.0	2.7	£88 to £145 per tyre
Headlamp aim: projected beam image is obviously incorrect	Lights and electrics	2.8	1.0	£16 to £39 per car (rough guide)
Brake light not working	Lights and electrics	2.2	2.0	£10 to £47 per lamp
Tyre pressure monitoring system: malfunctioning or obviously inoperative	Tyres	2.2	0.7	£53 to £125 per wheel (rough guide)
Brake pads under 1.5 mm	Brakes	1.7	2.1	£72 to £174 per axle (rough guide)
Headlamp aim: too low	Lights and electrics	1.6	1.2	£16 to £39 per car (rough guide)
Tyre with cords exposed	Tyres	1.6	1.4	£88 to £145 per tyre
Washers: provides insufficient washer liquid	Windscreen, wipers and mirrors	1.3	1.5	£2 to £14 per car (rough guide)

Early warnings: advisories and minor defects at 10 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 Focus at 10 years (n=297,664), per 100 MOTs, with all cars at the same age (n=9,049,507).
Item	Area	Per 100 MOTs	All cars	If it needs replacing (estimate)
Tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge	Tyres	18.9	17.0	£88 to £145 per tyre
Tyre condition: slightly damaged/cracking or perishing	Tyres	9.5	8.6	£88 to £145 per tyre
Brake discs: worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened	Brakes	8.0	9.6	£148 to £376 per axle (rough guide)
Suspension arm pins and bushes: pin or bush worn but not resulting in excessive movement	Suspension	7.3	5.8	£92 to £237 per arm (rough guide)
Brake pads: wearing thin	Brakes	7.1	8.1	£72 to £174 per axle (rough guide)
Child Seat fitted not allowing full inspection of adult belt	Other	2.9	2.2
Registration plates: deteriorated but not likely to be misread	Number plates and VIN	2.6	2.0	£23 to £63 per plate (rough guide)
Individual direction indicators: slightly discoloured	Lights and electrics	2.5	0.8	£10 to £47 per lamp
Coil spring: corroded	Suspension	2.4	2.9
Tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge	Tyres	2.4	2.2	£88 to £145 per tyre

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 10 years. Ages with fewer than 1,000 tests are not shown.
Age	Tests (n)	Lights and electrics	Suspension	Tyres
3 years	134,403	2.8	0.5	5.1
4 years	164,641	3.0	0.6	5.3
5 years	207,403	3.8	0.7	5.9
6 years	233,113	5.4	0.9	6.3
7 years	253,151	6.9	1.2	6.6
8 years	281,338	9.6	3.1	7.1
9 years	292,862	12.6	6.8	8.0
10 years	297,664	14.9	9.6	8.6
11 years	286,522	18.0	13.0	8.1
12 years	268,184	20.3	14.7	8.0
13 years	255,603	21.8	15.8	8.5
14 years	239,313	23.0	17.3	8.9
15 years	218,895	22.8	18.1	9.0
16 years	189,426	22.4	18.6	9.0
17 years	151,025	21.5	19.4	8.8
18 years	114,624	21.8	20.1	8.5
19 years	84,214	22.5	20.7	8.0
20 years	63,148	23.1	21.5	8.0
21 years	45,277	23.3	21.9	7.9
22 years	30,221	22.4	21.5	7.6
23 years	18,361	22.6	22.0	7.5
24 years	8,367	22.6	21.6	7.1
25 years	3,218	23.0	23.2	7.5

Mileage

At 10 years, Ford Focus cars showing under 30,000 miles failed 15.0% of MOTs (n=8,677); the band that failed most, over 150,000 miles, failed 41.7% (n=9,890). For pass and fail rates by age, see Ford Focus MOT fail rates.

What to check on a viewing

On the Ford Focus, testers most often record coil spring broken; side/position light not working; tyre tread below 1.6 mm. 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 Focus?

At 10 years, the age with the most MOT tests (297,664), the fail items testers record most often on the Ford Focus are coil spring broken (5.5 per 100 MOTs), side/position light not working (3.8 per 100 MOTs), tyre tread below 1.6 mm (3.0 per 100 MOTs). The most common advisories or minor defects are tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge (18.9) and tyre condition: slightly damaged/cracking or perishing (9.5).

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

At 10 years: lights and electrics (14.9 per 100 MOTs against 11.2 for all cars); tyres (8.6 per 100 MOTs against 6.9 for all cars). Compared with 9,049,507 MOTs of all cars the same age.

Ford Focus 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 Focus?

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