66.3%
Ford Ka pass rate
Used Ford Ka buying guide
In 2025, Ford Ka cars passed 66.3% of 169,328 initial MOT tests, 6 points below the 72.3% UK average. Here is where it fails and what to check before you buy.
Looking at a specific Ka? Check its finance, write-off, stolen, mileage and keeper history. £15, no account needed.
Ford Ka MOT record in brief
Initial MOT tests in 2025, retests excluded.
72.3%
UK average, all cars
−6
percentage points below average
Ranked on pass rate the Ka sits 412th of 575 models in the data. Ford as a brand averaged 68.8%, so this model runs 2.5 points behind its own brand. Ford Ka cars aged 3 to 5 years passed 87.6% of MOT tests in 2025; for examples aged 11 years and over that fell to 60%.
A pass rate is not a reliability score. The full Ford Ka MOT record has the pass rate by age, every common failure and how the Ka compares with similar cars.
Ka fuel types
Petrol was the most common fuel among Ford Ka cars tested in 2025. Diesel made up just 1.2% of tests.
Where the Ka fails its MOT
Where Ford Ka cars that failed their 2025 MOT were marked down, as a share of all recorded failure items.
The specific items testers recorded most often were pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn (5.8%), shock absorbers has a serious fluid leak (4.4%) and shock absorbers has an excessively worn bush (4.2%). See every common Ka MOT failure.
These are DVSA failure records across every Ford Ka that failed, not a claim that every Ka has these problems.
What should you check when buying a used Ka?
The areas above, most common first, and what an MOT tester looks at in each.
1
Suspension
Listen for knocks over bumps, check the car sits level, and look for leaking shock absorbers and split rubber gaiters. 31.2% of Ka failure items.
2
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment
Walk round with every light on: headlights, brake lights, indicators, fog lights and the number plate lamp. Check no warning lights stay on after starting. 21.1% of Ka failure items.
3
Brakes
Make sure the pedal feels firm, the car stops in a straight line, the handbrake holds on a slope and no brake warning light is showing. 14.3% of Ka failure items.
4
Tyres
Check tread depth across the full width of every tyre (the legal minimum is 1.6mm), and look for cuts, bulges and uneven wear. 9.7% of Ka failure items.
5
Visibility
Check the windscreen for chips or cracks in the driver's view, and that the wipers and washers clear it properly. 7.3% of Ka failure items.
None of this replaces the car's own record. Run a free MOT history check on the registration to see every test, advisory and recorded mileage for that car.
Ka vs similar cars
Head-to-head comparisons on the same 2025 DVSA data.
What the MOT record doesn't tell you
Knowing Ford Ka failures cluster around suspension and lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment tells you what to inspect. It tells you nothing about whether the car is safe to buy. An MOT does not show money still owed on the car, a write-off, a theft record or a clocked odometer.
Check the exact Ka you are looking at. One £15 report, instant results, backed by a £30,000 data guarantee. More on the Ford history check.
- Outstanding finance
- Write-off records
- Stolen markers
- Mileage history
- Previous keepers
Other used Ford models
The most-tested Ford models in 2025, with how their MOT pass rate compares with the Ka.
Used Ford Ka FAQs
Is the Ford Ka reliable?
MOT data does not measure reliability. It records whether a car met the roadworthiness standard on the day of its test. What it does show is a 66.3% first-time pass rate for the Ford Ka across 169,328 tests in 2025, below the 72.3% average for all cars.
Do older Ford Ka cars fail their MOT more often?
Ford Ka cars aged 3 to 5 years passed 87.6% of MOT tests in 2025; for examples aged 11 years and over that fell to 60%. On an older example, the car's own MOT history tells you more than the model average.
What should I check before buying a used Ford Ka?
On the car itself, start with the areas it most often fails on: suspension, lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment and brakes. Then check the individual car's history: outstanding finance, insurance write-off records, stolen markers, mileage and previous keepers. None of these appear in the MOT record or on the V5C.
How do I check a Ford Ka's history?
Enter the registration of the specific car. A Carpeep car history check reports outstanding finance, write-off category, stolen markers, mileage history, previous keepers, MOT and tax status, import and export markers and scrapped status in one £15 report.
MOT figures are aggregated from the DVSA MOT Anonymised data set for 2025 (class 4 initial tests, retests excluded), licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. MOT results describe roadworthiness at test, not mechanical reliability.