Does the Ford B-MAX fail the MOT on seat belts and airbags more than it should?
The Ford B-MAX records 0.57 seat belts and airbags failure items per 100 initial MOT tests (2019–2024), against 0.46 expected for a car of the same age mix: about as expected for its class and age (the difference is within its interval or under 0.5 items per 100 tests) (+0.11, 95% interval +0.09 to +0.14). It ranks 223 of 627 models on seat belts and airbags (1 = most failures above expected).
Data release dvsa-2024-v2 (24 Sep 2026) · page updated 30 Sep 2026 · all models on seat belts and airbags · check a Ford B-MAX by registration
What exactly fails on seat belts and airbags?
The most frequent DVSA defect wording in this group on the Ford B-MAX is “Seat belt buckle missing, damaged or not functioning as intended”, recorded 868 times in 2019–2024.
| DVSA defect wording | Items | Per 100 tests |
|---|---|---|
| Seat belt buckle missing, damaged or not functioning as intended | 868 | 0.27 |
| A seat belt webbing or flexible stalk significantly stretched or weakened | 315 | 0.10 |
| An SRS malfunction indicator lamp (MIL) indicates a system malfunction | 225 | 0.07 |
| A seat belt or flexible stalk damaged | 195 | 0.06 |
| Seat belt not functioning as intended or of an incorrect type | 166 | 0.05 |
Source: DVSA MOT bulk data (OGL v3.0) · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 325,411 (initial tests) · Method: failure items (major and minor) grouped by DVSA's defect tree; wordings with 30+ items · Updated: 30 Sep 2026 · Release: dvsa-2024-v2 · CSV
If a Ford B-MAX gets a seat belts and airbags advisory, how often does it fail next time?
2.0% of Ford B-MAX MOTs with a seat belts and airbags advisory were followed by a fail in the same group at the next MOT, typically 12 months and 5,971 miles later (6,469 advisories followed).
Source: DVSA MOT bulk data (OGL v3.0) · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 6,469 (advisories followed) · Method: the same vehicles followed to their next ordinary MOT · Updated: 30 Sep 2026 · Release: dvsa-2024-v2 · CSV
Other pages for this model
Ford B-MAX 2012 · Ford B-MAX 2013 · Ford B-MAX 2014 · Ford B-MAX 2015 · Ford B-MAX 2016 · Ford B-MAX 2017 · Ford B-MAX 2018 · Ford B-MAX in Norway · Ford B-MAX in Finland · Ford B-MAX in the Netherlands · Ford B-MAX by postcode area · Ford B-MAX body, chassis and structure failures · Ford B-MAX brakes failures · Ford B-MAX vehicle identification failures · Ford B-MAX lamps, reflectors and electrics failures · Ford B-MAX noise, emissions and leaks failures · Ford B-MAX road wheels failures · Ford B-MAX steering failures · Ford B-MAX suspension failures · Ford B-MAX tyres failures · Ford B-MAX visibility failures