Common problems

Ford Puma (before 2019) common problems

What MOT testers find on the Ford Puma (before 2019): the parts that fail or get advisories most often at each age, against all cars of the same age. From 8,309 DVSA MOT tests taken 2022 to 2025. These figures cover cars first used before 2019. Later cars sold under the same name are not included; see Ford Puma cars first used 2019 or later.

MOT data updated 28 September 2026

At 23 years, the most tested age

Suspension fails per 100 MOTs (n=2,140)18.8

All cars at 23 years (n=619,531)14.5

Suspension advisories and minor defects per 100 MOTs (n=2,140)34.9

All cars, same age (n=619,531)33.8

What stands out

Suspension fails show up on 18.8 of every 100 MOTs of a Ford Puma (before 2019) at 23 years old (n=2,140), against 14.5 for all cars of that age (n=619,531).
Lights and electrics fails are less common: 12.2 per 100 MOTs against 18.6 for all cars at the same age.
The fail item testers record most often at 23 years: component mounting prescribed areas: prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength, on 8.6 per 100 MOTs (all cars 3.9).
The most common advisory or minor defect: engine oil leaks: leak, but not excessive, on 22.7 per 100 MOTs.

Problems by part at 23 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 Puma (before 2019) at 23 years (n=2,140) against all cars at 23 years (n=619,531). Per 100 MOTs.
Area	Fails	All cars	Advisories	All cars
Suspension	18.8	14.5	34.9	33.8
Brakes	15.2	12.7	34.1	32.2
Lights and electrics	12.2	18.6	12.1	14.2
Body and structure	11.1	9.5	16.3	16.6
Seat belts and airbags	6.2	3.2	2.1	1.8
Exhaust, emissions and leaks	5.7	6.9	23.9	17.0
Windscreen, wipers and mirrors	5.6	7.3	4.2	6.2
Tyres	4.8	5.1	20.7	22.8
Steering	0.7	3.9	3.7	6.8
Number plates and VIN	0.5	0.8	4.4	6.7
Road wheels	0.4	0.3	5.0	0.8

What testers fail most on the Puma (before 2019) at 23 years

Fail items on the Ford Puma (before 2019) at 23 years (n=2,140), per 100 MOTs, with all cars at the same age (n=619,531).
Item	Area	Per 100 MOTs	All cars	Typical repair (estimate)
Component mounting prescribed areas: prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength	Suspension	8.6	3.9
Seat belt prescribed areas: prescribed area strength or continuity significantly reduced	Seat belts and airbags	5.5	1.5
Driveshaft CV boot split	Body and structure	4.0	2.7	£88 to £196 per boot (rough guide)
Rigid brake pipes: excessively corroded	Brakes	3.5	2.2	£137 to £392 per car (rough guide)
Handbrake too weak	Brakes	2.8	2.4
Anti-lock braking system: warning lamp indicates an ABS fault	Brakes	2.7	1.2	diagnosis from £59 (rough guide)
Suspension arm bush worn	Suspension	2.7	1.5	£92 to £237 per arm (rough guide)
Headlamp aim: projected beam image is obviously incorrect	Lights and electrics	2.4	2.7	£16 to £39 per car (rough guide)
Side/position light not working	Lights and electrics	2.2	4.2	£10 to £47 per lamp
Wipers not clearing screen	Windscreen, wipers and mirrors	2.2	3.5	£15 to £30 per blade

Early warnings: advisories and minor defects at 23 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 Puma (before 2019) at 23 years (n=2,140), per 100 MOTs, with all cars at the same age (n=619,531).
Item	Area	Per 100 MOTs	All cars	If it needs replacing (estimate)
Engine oil leaks: leak, but not excessive	Exhaust, emissions and leaks	22.7	15.2
Rigid brake pipes: corroded, covered in grease or other material	Brakes	19.5	15.4	£137 to £392 per car (rough guide)
Tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge	Tyres	10.6	12.6	£88 to £145 per tyre
Suspension arm pins and bushes: pin or bush worn but not resulting in excessive movement	Suspension	10.6	6.1	£92 to £237 per arm (rough guide)
Tyre condition: slightly damaged/cracking or perishing	Tyres	10.1	10.3	£88 to £145 per tyre
Component mounting prescribed areas: prescribed area is corroded but not considered excessive	Suspension	8.2	4.0
Flexible brake hoses: slightly deteriorated	Brakes	7.4	2.5
Brake discs: worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened	Brakes	6.9	9.9	£148 to £376 per axle (rough guide)
Drive shaft joints: constant velocity boot severely deteriorated	Body and structure	5.2	3.5
Road wheel condition: slightly distorted	Road wheels	5.0	0.8

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 23 years. Ages with fewer than 1,000 tests are not shown.
Age	Tests (n)	Suspension	Brakes	Lights and electrics
21 years	1,475	25.2	14.6	14.1
22 years	2,013	20.6	14.3	11.2
23 years	2,140	18.8	15.2	12.2
24 years	1,667	18.8	15.0	12.3
25 years	1,014	18.3	15.5	11.0

What to check on a viewing

On the Ford Puma (before 2019), testers most often record component mounting prescribed areas: prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength; seat belt prescribed areas: prescribed area strength or continuity significantly reduced; driveshaft CV boot split. 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.

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.

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.

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 Puma (before 2019)?

At 23 years, the age with the most MOT tests (2,140), the fail items testers record most often on the Ford Puma (before 2019) are component mounting prescribed areas: prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength (8.6 per 100 MOTs), seat belt prescribed areas: prescribed area strength or continuity significantly reduced (5.5 per 100 MOTs), driveshaft CV boot split (4.0 per 100 MOTs). The most common advisories or minor defects are engine oil leaks: leak, but not excessive (22.7) and rigid brake pipes: corroded, covered in grease or other material (19.5).

Which parts of the Ford Puma (before 2019) fail more often than on other cars?

At 23 years: suspension (18.8 per 100 MOTs against 14.5 for all cars); seat belts and airbags (6.2 per 100 MOTs against 3.2 for all cars); brakes (15.2 per 100 MOTs against 12.7 for all cars). Compared with 619,531 MOTs of all cars the same age.

Ford Puma (before 2019) 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 Puma (before 2019)?

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