79.4%
Ford Kuga
Ford Kuga MOT pass rate and common problems
The Ford Kuga passed 79.4% of its initial MOT tests in 2025, 7.1 percentage points above the 72.3% UK average. The item testers recorded most often was position lamp not working.
Checking a specific car? Its own results, advisories and recorded mileages are in a free MOT history check.
How the Kuga 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 Kuga runs 10.6 points ahead of the Ford average. It is 8th of the 27 Ford models in the data. The average Kuga arrived at its test 8.1 years old with 65,821 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.
Kuga MOT pass rate by age
The same 2025 tests split by the car's age at test.
Ford Kuga cars aged 3 to 5 years passed 87.2% of MOT tests. For cars aged 11 years and over that fell to 64%, a drop of 23.3 percentage points.
| Age at test | Tests | Pass rate | vs UK average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 to 5 years | 70,065 | 87.2% | 14.9 pts above |
| 6 to 10 years | 164,159 | 79.8% | 7.5 pts above |
| 11 years and over | 56,228 | 64% | 8.3 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 Kuga failures cluster
Every failure item recorded on Ford Kuga cars in 2025, grouped into the DVSA's test areas.
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment and tyres together account for 47.2% of recorded failure items. These are recorded failures across the model, not faults every car has.
The 10 most common Kuga MOT failures
Specific items recorded on Ford Kuga cars that failed their 2025 MOT, as a share of all recorded failure items.
Together these 10 items make up 47.7% of everything testers recorded against failed Ford Kuga cars. The rest is spread across many smaller items, and one failed test often records several at once.
What to look at on a Kuga
The recorded failures above, grouped by area, biggest first.
1
Tyres
Recorded most often: tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm, condition has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords, tyre pressure monitoring system malfunctioning or obviously inoperative and condition has ply or cords exposed. 18.3% of failure items.
2
Visibility
Recorded most often: wipers does not clear the windscreen effectively and washers provides insufficient washer liquid. 8.3% of failure items.
3
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment
Recorded most often: position lamp not working. 7.9% of failure items.
4
Brakes
Recorded most often: brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick. 7.6% of failure items.
The car's own MOT history matters more than any model average. A free MOT history check shows whether a specific Kuga has failed on these items before, or had them noted as advisories. Buying one? See the used Ford Kuga buying guide.
Already found one?
Check its finance, write-off, theft, mileage and keeper history with a £15 vehicle history report.
Ford Kuga MOT FAQs
What is the Ford Kuga MOT pass rate?
79.4% of Ford Kuga cars passed their initial MOT first time in 2025, from 312,077 tests. That is 7.1 percentage points above the 72.3% average for all cars, and ranks 207th of 575 models.
What does a Ford Kuga most commonly fail its MOT on?
The item testers recorded most often on Ford Kuga cars failing their 2025 MOT was position lamp not working, on 7.9% of failure items. Next were brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick (7.6%) and tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm (7.4%).
Which area causes the most Ford Kuga MOT failures?
Across every recorded failure item, the largest area was lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment at 26.8%, followed by tyres at 20.5%.
Do older Ford Kuga cars fail their MOT more often?
Ford Kuga cars aged 3 to 5 years passed 87.2% of MOT tests in 2025, against 64% for cars aged 11 years and over.
Does this mean every Ford Kuga has these problems?
No. These are the items testers recorded across every Ford Kuga 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 Kuga'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.