65.6%
Ford Fiesta
Ford Fiesta MOT pass rate and common problems
The Ford Fiesta passed 65.6% of its initial MOT tests in 2025, 6.7 percentage points below the 72.3% UK average. The item testers recorded most often was stop lamp not working.
Checking a specific car? Its own results, advisories and recorded mileages are in a free MOT history check.
How the Fiesta compares
Initial MOT tests in 2025, retests excluded. A car that failed and was repaired at the test station counts as a fail.
68.8%
Ford average
72.3%
UK average, all cars
The Fiesta runs 3.2 points behind the Ford average. It is 22nd of the 27 Ford models in the data. The average Fiesta arrived at its test 11.6 years old with 71,188 miles recorded.
A pass rate records whether cars met the roadworthiness standard on test day. It is not a reliability score, and part of any gap reflects how old the tested cars were.
Fiesta MOT pass rate by age
The same 2025 tests split by the car's age at test.
Ford Fiesta cars aged 3 to 5 years passed 86.8% of MOT tests. For cars aged 11 years and over that fell to 56.6%, a drop of 30.1 percentage points.
| Age at test | Tests | Pass rate | vs UK average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 to 5 years | 135,015 | 86.8% | 14.5 pts above |
| 6 to 10 years | 511,026 | 71.1% | 1.2 pts below |
| 11 years and over | 692,707 | 56.6% | 15.7 pts below |
That is a steep decline with age, so the headline rate flatters older examples. The UK average of 72.3% covers cars of every age, so compare like with like.
Where Fiesta failures cluster
Every failure item recorded on Ford Fiesta cars in 2025, grouped into the DVSA's test areas.
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment and suspension together account for 52.3% of recorded failure items. These are recorded failures across the model, not faults every car has.
The 10 most common Fiesta MOT failures
Specific items recorded on Ford Fiesta cars that failed their 2025 MOT, as a share of all recorded failure items.
Together these 10 items make up 39.6% of everything testers recorded against failed Ford Fiesta cars. The rest is spread across many smaller items, and one failed test often records several at once.
What to look at on a Fiesta
The recorded failures above, grouped by area, biggest first.
1
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment
Recorded most often: stop lamp not working, position lamp not working, headlamp aim too low and headlamp not working on dipped beam. 17.8% of failure items.
2
Suspension
Recorded most often: ball joint excessively worn, coil spring fractured or broken and swivel pins and bushes swivel pin and/or bush excessively worn. 12% of failure items.
3
Tyres
Recorded most often: tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm. 3.7% of failure items.
4
Steering
Recorded most often: track rod end ball joint has excessive play. 3.6% of failure items.
The car's own MOT history matters more than any model average. A free MOT history check shows whether a specific Fiesta has failed on these items before, or had them noted as advisories. Buying one? See the used Ford Fiesta buying guide.
Already found one?
Check its finance, write-off, theft, mileage and keeper history with a £15 vehicle history report.
Ford Fiesta MOT FAQs
What is the Ford Fiesta MOT pass rate?
65.6% of Ford Fiesta cars passed their initial MOT first time in 2025, from 1,360,720 tests. That is 6.7 percentage points below the 72.3% average for all cars, and ranks 420th of 575 models.
What does a Ford Fiesta most commonly fail its MOT on?
The item testers recorded most often on Ford Fiesta cars failing their 2025 MOT was stop lamp not working, on 8.1% of failure items. Next were ball joint excessively worn (6.6%) and position lamp not working (4.1%).
Which area causes the most Ford Fiesta MOT failures?
Across every recorded failure item, the largest area was lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment at 30.2%, followed by suspension at 22.1%.
Do older Ford Fiesta cars fail their MOT more often?
Ford Fiesta cars aged 3 to 5 years passed 86.8% of MOT tests in 2025, against 56.6% for cars aged 11 years and over.
Does this mean every Ford Fiesta has these problems?
No. These are the items testers recorded across every Ford Fiesta that failed in 2025. They show where the model most often needs attention, not the condition of any individual car.
How do I see a specific Ford Fiesta's MOT history?
Enter its registration on the free Carpeep MOT history check to see that car's own test results, failures, advisories and recorded mileages.
MOT figures are aggregated from the DVSA MOT Anonymised data set for 2025: class 4 initial tests, retests excluded, with failure items from failed tests (advisories and minor defects excluded), licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. MOT results describe roadworthiness at test, not mechanical reliability.