Common problems

Ford S-Max common problems

What MOT testers find on the Ford S-Max: the parts that fail or get advisories most often at each age, against all cars of the same age. From 301,431 DVSA MOT tests taken 2022 to 2025.

MOT data updated 28 September 2026

At 13 years, the most tested age

Lights and electrics fails per 100 MOTs (n=29,983)16.9

All cars at 13 years (n=6,612,160)17.0

Suspension advisories and minor defects per 100 MOTs (n=29,983)36.4

All cars, same age (n=6,612,160)27.9

What stands out

Tyres fails show up on 9.9 of every 100 MOTs of a Ford S-Max at 13 years old (n=29,983), against 7.3 for all cars of that age (n=6,612,160).
Suspension fails are less common: 12.1 per 100 MOTs against 14.9 for all cars at the same age.
The fail item testers record most often at 13 years: side/position light not working, on 4.2 per 100 MOTs (all cars 4.8).
The most common advisory or minor defect: tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge, on 26.6 per 100 MOTs.

Problems by part at 13 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 S-Max at 13 years (n=29,983) against all cars at 13 years (n=6,612,160). Per 100 MOTs.
Area	Fails	All cars	Advisories	All cars
Lights and electrics	16.9	17.0	16.3	10.8
Suspension	12.1	14.9	36.4	27.9
Tyres	9.9	7.3	34.6	28.1
Brakes	7.9	9.1	27.8	25.0
Body and structure	7.5	5.0	11.2	8.0
Exhaust, emissions and leaks	4.7	4.3	9.4	8.2
Windscreen, wipers and mirrors	4.7	5.6	6.2	4.7
Steering	3.5	2.9	4.0	3.5
Seat belts and airbags	2.4	1.2	1.7	0.7
Road wheels	0.7	0.5	0.9	1.3
Number plates and VIN	0.6	0.4	6.2	3.4

What testers fail most on the S-Max at 13 years

Fail items on the Ford S-Max at 13 years (n=29,983), per 100 MOTs, with all cars at the same age (n=6,612,160).
Item	Area	Per 100 MOTs	All cars	Typical repair (estimate)
Side/position light not working	Lights and electrics	4.2	4.8	£10 to £47 per lamp
Tyre tread below 1.6 mm	Tyres	4.1	3.0	£88 to £145 per tyre
Suspension arm bush worn	Suspension	4.1	2.0	£92 to £237 per arm (rough guide)
Brake pads under 1.5 mm	Brakes	3.6	2.1	£72 to £174 per axle (rough guide)
Tyre with cords exposed	Tyres	3.5	1.8	£88 to £145 per tyre
Driveshaft CV boot split	Body and structure	3.3	2.0	£88 to £196 per boot (rough guide)
Registration plate lamp(s): inoperative in the case of a single lamp or all lamps	Lights and electrics	3.2	1.8	£10 to £47 per lamp
Brake light not working	Lights and electrics	2.7	3.1	£10 to £47 per lamp
Steering track rod end: ball joint play	Steering	2.0	1.9	£54 to £128 per side (rough guide)
Exhaust system: has a major leak of exhaust gases	Body and structure	1.8	1.2	£182 to £263 per section

Early warnings: advisories and minor defects at 13 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 S-Max at 13 years (n=29,983), per 100 MOTs, with all cars at the same age (n=6,612,160).
Item	Area	Per 100 MOTs	All cars	If it needs replacing (estimate)
Tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge	Tyres	26.6	18.2	£88 to £145 per tyre
Brake pads: wearing thin	Brakes	13.9	7.3	£72 to £174 per axle (rough guide)
Suspension arm pins and bushes: pin or bush worn but not resulting in excessive movement	Suspension	13.8	8.0	£92 to £237 per arm (rough guide)
Brake discs: worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened	Brakes	13.4	10.6	£148 to £376 per axle (rough guide)
Coil spring: corroded	Suspension	12.1	5.6
Registration plate lamp(s): inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources	Lights and electrics	9.9	5.2
Engine oil leaks: leak, but not excessive	Exhaust, emissions and leaks	8.7	7.2
Suspension arm: corroded but not seriously weakened	Suspension	6.6	2.1	£92 to £237 per arm (rough guide)
Registration plates: deteriorated but not likely to be misread	Number plates and VIN	6.2	3.3	£23 to £63 per plate (rough guide)
Tyre condition: slightly damaged/cracking or perishing	Tyres	6.1	9.1	£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 13 years. Ages with fewer than 1,000 tests are not shown.
Age	Tests (n)	Lights and electrics	Suspension	Tyres
3 years	5,090	6.2	0.2	6.5
4 years	6,687	5.7	0.2	6.0
5 years	11,269	5.1	0.2	6.7
6 years	17,032	5.3	0.6	7.2
7 years	17,960	5.3	0.7	8.3
8 years	22,175	7.6	1.9	9.3
9 years	23,488	9.9	4.2	10.9
10 years	23,670	12.1	7.1	10.6
11 years	26,897	12.6	8.7	10.4
12 years	29,910	14.5	9.8	9.7
13 years	29,983	16.9	12.1	9.9
14 years	27,832	19.3	14.5	9.8
15 years	26,396	21.5	17.7	10.0
16 years	18,105	23.4	21.2	10.1
17 years	10,179	24.0	23.5	10.5
18 years	4,758	24.4	23.6	10.0

Mileage

At 13 years, Ford S-Max cars showing 60,000 to 90,000 miles failed 34.6% of MOTs (n=4,774); the band that failed most, over 150,000 miles, failed 43.1% (n=5,020). For pass and fail rates by age, see Ford S-Max MOT fail rates.

What to check on a viewing

On the Ford S-Max, testers most often record side/position light not working; tyre tread below 1.6 mm; suspension arm bush worn. 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 S-Max?

At 13 years, the age with the most MOT tests (29,983), the fail items testers record most often on the Ford S-Max are side/position light not working (4.2 per 100 MOTs), tyre tread below 1.6 mm (4.1 per 100 MOTs), suspension arm bush worn (4.1 per 100 MOTs). The most common advisories or minor defects are tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge (26.6) and brake pads: wearing thin (13.9).

Which parts of the Ford S-Max fail more often than on other cars?

At 13 years: tyres (9.9 per 100 MOTs against 7.3 for all cars); body and structure (7.5 per 100 MOTs against 5.0 for all cars); seat belts and airbags (2.4 per 100 MOTs against 1.2 for all cars). Compared with 6,612,160 MOTs of all cars the same age.

Ford S-Max 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 S-Max?

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