Does the Ford C-MAX fail the MOT on brakes more than it should?

The Ford C-MAX records 8.21 brakes failure items per 100 initial MOT tests (2019–2024), against 10.62 expected for a car of the same age mix: less than expected for its class and age (−2.41, 95% interval −2.49 to −2.34). It ranks 474 of 712 models on brakes (1 = most failures above expected).

Data release dvsa-2024-v2 (24 Sep 2026) · page updated 30 Sep 2026 · all models on brakes · check a Ford C-MAX by registration

What exactly fails on brakes?

The most frequent DVSA defect wording in this group on the Ford C-MAX is “a brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm”, recorded 24,961 times in 2019–2024.

Ford C-MAX: most frequent brakes defect wordings, 2019–2024 (30+ items each)
DVSA defect wording	Items	Per 100 tests
a brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm	24,961	3.50
Brake disc or drum significantly and obviously worn	5,093	0.71
Significant brake effort recorded with no brake applied indicating a binding brake	3,896	0.55
Parking brake efficiency below minimum requirement	3,838	0.54
Parking brake inoperative on one side	2,509	0.35

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data (OGL v3.0) · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 712,923 (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 C-MAX gets a brakes advisory, how often does it fail next time?

10.4% of Ford C-MAX MOTs with a brakes advisory were followed by a fail in the same group at the next MOT, typically 12 months and 6,566 miles later (113,491 advisories followed).

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data (OGL v3.0) · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 113,491 (advisories followed) · Method: the same vehicles followed to their next ordinary MOT · Updated: 30 Sep 2026 · Release: dvsa-2024-v2 · CSV

Does the Ford C-MAX fail the MOT on brakes more than it should?

What exactly fails on brakes?

If a Ford C-MAX gets a brakes advisory, how often does it fail next time?

Related pages

Other pages for this model