Common problems

Ford Ka common problems

What MOT testers find on the Ford Ka: the parts that fail or get advisories most often at each age, against all cars of the same age. From 743,190 DVSA MOT tests taken 2022 to 2025.

MOT data updated 28 September 2026

At 12 years, the most tested age

Suspension fails per 100 MOTs (n=70,957)16.9

All cars at 12 years (n=7,303,151)13.4

Suspension advisories and minor defects per 100 MOTs (n=70,957)41.9

All cars, same age (n=7,303,151)24.9

What stands out

Suspension fails show up on 16.9 of every 100 MOTs of a Ford Ka at 12 years old (n=70,957), against 13.4 for all cars of that age (n=7,303,151).
Lights and electrics fails are less common: 12.6 per 100 MOTs against 15.4 for all cars at the same age.
The fail item testers record most often at 12 years: suspension ball joint worn, on 4.1 per 100 MOTs (all cars 2.4).
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 12 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 Ka at 12 years (n=70,957) against all cars at 12 years (n=7,303,151). Per 100 MOTs.
Area	Fails	All cars	Advisories	All cars
Suspension	16.9	13.4	41.9	24.9
Lights and electrics	12.6	15.4	6.9	9.3
Brakes	8.6	8.2	17.6	24.0
Tyres	6.4	7.1	28.2	27.7
Windscreen, wipers and mirrors	5.5	5.2	3.0	4.4
Body and structure	4.4	4.3	15.1	6.5
Exhaust, emissions and leaks	3.4	3.7	7.3	6.9
Steering	1.5	2.8	1.7	3.1
Seat belts and airbags	0.5	1.0	0.2	0.6
Road wheels	0.4	0.5	2.2	1.1
Number plates and VIN	0.3	0.4	2.4	2.8

What testers fail most on the Ka at 12 years

Fail items on the Ford Ka at 12 years (n=70,957), per 100 MOTs, with all cars at the same age (n=7,303,151).
Item	Area	Per 100 MOTs	All cars	Typical repair (estimate)
Suspension ball joint worn	Suspension	4.1	2.4	£75 to £237 per side (rough guide)
Shock absorber leaking	Suspension	4.1	1.3	£122 to £484 per axle (pair) (rough guide)
Shock absorbers: has an excessively worn bush	Suspension	4.0	0.2	£122 to £484 per axle (pair) (rough guide)
Brake light not working	Lights and electrics	3.8	2.8	£10 to £47 per lamp
Suspension arm bush worn	Suspension	3.8	1.8	£92 to £237 per arm (rough guide)
Side/position light not working	Lights and electrics	3.0	4.1	£10 to £47 per lamp
Tyre tread below 1.6 mm	Tyres	2.7	2.9	£88 to £145 per tyre
Exhaust system: has a major leak of exhaust gases	Body and structure	2.7	1.0	£182 to £263 per section
Handbrake too weak	Brakes	2.6	1.5
Wipers not clearing screen	Windscreen, wipers and mirrors	2.4	2.0	£15 to £30 per blade

Early warnings: advisories and minor defects at 12 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 Ka at 12 years (n=70,957), per 100 MOTs, with all cars at the same age (n=7,303,151).
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	18.0	£88 to £145 per tyre
Suspension arm pins and bushes: pin or bush worn but not resulting in excessive movement	Suspension	12.9	7.3	£92 to £237 per arm (rough guide)
Coil spring: corroded	Suspension	12.8	4.7
Tyre condition: slightly damaged/cracking or perishing	Tyres	11.3	8.9	£88 to £145 per tyre
Exhaust system: has a minor leak of exhaust gases	Body and structure	11.3	2.6	£182 to £263 per section
Shock absorbers: has light misting of oil	Suspension	9.5	3.8	£122 to £484 per axle (pair) (rough guide)
Brake discs: worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened	Brakes	6.8	10.4	£148 to £376 per axle (rough guide)
Sub-frame: corroded but not seriously weakened	Suspension	5.7	3.0
Engine oil leaks: leak, but not excessive	Exhaust, emissions and leaks	5.7	6.0
Brake pads: wearing thin	Brakes	5.1	7.6	£72 to £174 per axle (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 12 years. Ages with fewer than 1,000 tests are not shown.
Age	Tests (n)	Suspension	Lights and electrics	Brakes
3 years	10,163	0.1	3.6	1.1
4 years	21,065	0.2	4.1	1.6
5 years	34,397	0.4	5.3	2.0
6 years	42,764	2.1	5.9	2.9
7 years	45,944	5.3	6.5	3.5
8 years	53,650	7.7	7.4	4.2
9 years	59,154	10.9	8.6	5.3
10 years	67,956	12.9	9.9	5.9
11 years	70,732	14.4	11.1	6.2
12 years	70,957	16.9	12.6	8.6
13 years	70,543	18.6	13.3	11.1
14 years	60,771	21.5	15.4	12.5
15 years	48,346	24.2	17.2	13.4
16 years	31,394	26.2	18.2	11.3
17 years	15,810	29.3	20.3	7.5
18 years	12,617	29.8	20.1	9.3
19 years	9,881	28.2	20.0	9.9
20 years	7,400	27.4	19.0	10.3
21 years	5,022	28.0	18.9	10.6
22 years	2,986	30.1	19.6	10.6
23 years	1,638	29.9	14.3	11.2

Mileage

At 12 years, Ford Ka cars showing under 30,000 miles failed 17.1% of MOTs (n=5,999); the band that failed most, 120,000 to 150,000 miles, failed 50.7% (n=1,301). For pass and fail rates by age, see Ford Ka MOT fail rates.

What to check on a viewing

On the Ford Ka, testers most often record suspension ball joint worn; shock absorber leaking; shock absorbers: has an excessively worn bush. Look at these first, then the areas below.

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.

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.

Brakes

On the test drive the car should stop in a straight line without pulling, juddering or grinding.
Look at the discs through the wheels for a deep lip, heavy rust or scoring.
Check that the handbrake or electronic parking brake holds the car on a slope.
Ask when the pads, discs and brake fluid were last changed, and for the receipts.

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 Ka?

At 12 years, the age with the most MOT tests (70,957), the fail items testers record most often on the Ford Ka are suspension ball joint worn (4.1 per 100 MOTs), shock absorber leaking (4.1 per 100 MOTs), shock absorbers: has an excessively worn bush (4.0 per 100 MOTs). The most common advisories or minor defects are tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge (17.1) and suspension arm pins and bushes: pin or bush worn but not resulting in excessive movement (12.9).

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

At 12 years: suspension (16.9 per 100 MOTs against 13.4 for all cars). Compared with 7,303,151 MOTs of all cars the same age.

Ford Ka 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 Ka?

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