64.6%
Ford S-MAX
Ford S-MAX MOT pass rate and common problems
The Ford S-MAX passed 64.6% of its initial MOT tests in 2025, 7.7 percentage points below the 72.3% UK average. The item testers recorded most often was tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm.
Checking a specific car? Its own results, advisories and recorded mileages are in a free MOT history check.
How the S-MAX 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 S-MAX runs 4.2 points behind the Ford average. It is 24th of the 27 Ford models in the data. The average S-MAX arrived at its test 12 years old with 106,103 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.
S-MAX MOT pass rate by age
The same 2025 tests split by the car's age at test.
Ford S-MAX cars aged 3 to 5 years passed 77.8% of MOT tests. For cars aged 11 years and over that fell to 58.3%, a drop of 19.5 percentage points.
| Age at test | Tests | Pass rate | vs UK average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 to 5 years | 3,537 | 77.8% | 5.5 pts above |
| 6 to 10 years | 21,718 | 74.3% | 2 pts above |
| 11 years and over | 42,026 | 58.3% | 14 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 S-MAX failures cluster
Every failure item recorded on Ford S-MAX cars in 2025, grouped into the DVSA's test areas.
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment and suspension together account for 43.5% of recorded failure items. These are recorded failures across the model, not faults every car has.
The 10 most common S-MAX MOT failures
Specific items recorded on Ford S-MAX cars that failed their 2025 MOT, as a share of all recorded failure items.
Together these 10 items make up 38.9% of everything testers recorded against failed Ford S-MAX cars. The rest is spread across many smaller items, and one failed test often records several at once.
What to look at on a S-MAX
The recorded failures above, grouped by area, biggest first.
1
Tyres
Recorded most often: tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm, condition has ply or cords exposed and condition has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords. 12.7% of failure items.
2
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment
Recorded most often: position lamp not working, registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of a single lamp or all lamps and stop lamp not working. 10.2% of failure items.
3
Suspension
Recorded most often: pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn and linkage ball joint dust cover ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt. 7.6% of failure items.
4
Brakes
Recorded most often: brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick. 4.9% of failure items.
The car's own MOT history matters more than any model average. A free MOT history check shows whether a specific S-MAX has failed on these items before, or had them noted as advisories. Buying one? See the used Ford S-MAX buying guide.
Already found one?
Check its finance, write-off, theft, mileage and keeper history with a £15 vehicle history report.
Ford S-MAX MOT FAQs
What is the Ford S-MAX MOT pass rate?
64.6% of Ford S-MAX cars passed their initial MOT first time in 2025, from 67,952 tests. That is 7.7 percentage points below the 72.3% average for all cars, and ranks 439th of 575 models.
What does a Ford S-MAX most commonly fail its MOT on?
The item testers recorded most often on Ford S-MAX cars failing their 2025 MOT was tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm, on 5.9% of failure items. Next were brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick (4.9%) and pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn (4.9%).
Which area causes the most Ford S-MAX MOT failures?
Across every recorded failure item, the largest area was lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment at 24.9%, followed by suspension at 18.6%.
Do older Ford S-MAX cars fail their MOT more often?
Ford S-MAX cars aged 3 to 5 years passed 77.8% of MOT tests in 2025, against 58.3% for cars aged 11 years and over.
Does this mean every Ford S-MAX has these problems?
No. These are the items testers recorded across every Ford S-MAX 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 S-MAX'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.