Does the Ford Cortina fail the MOT on brakes more than it should?
The Ford Cortina records 10.76 brakes failure items per 100 initial MOT tests (2019–2024), against 20.11 expected for a car of the same age mix: less than expected for its class and age (−9.35, 95% interval −10.50 to −8.20). It ranks 644 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 Cortina by registration
What exactly fails on brakes?
The most frequent DVSA defect wording in this group on the Ford Cortina is “Brakes imbalance across an axle such that the braking effort from any wheel is less than 70% of the maximum effort recorded from the other wheel on the same axle.”, recorded 129 times in 2019–2024.
| DVSA defect wording | Items | Per 100 tests |
|---|---|---|
| Brakes imbalance across an axle such that the braking effort from any wheel is less than 70% of the maximum effort recorded from the other wheel on the same axle. | 129 | 2.22 |
| Significant brake effort recorded with no brake applied indicating a binding brake | 94 | 1.62 |
| Parking brake efficiency below minimum requirement | 54 | 0.93 |
| Parking brake inoperative on one side | 45 | 0.77 |
| Parking brake efficiency less than 50% of the required value | 39 | 0.67 |
Source: DVSA MOT bulk data (OGL v3.0) · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 5,818 (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
Other pages for this model
Ford Cortina by postcode area · Ford Cortina body, chassis and structure failures · Ford Cortina lamps, reflectors and electrics failures · Ford Cortina noise, emissions and leaks failures · Ford Cortina seat belts and airbags failures · Ford Cortina steering failures · Ford Cortina suspension failures · Ford Cortina tyres failures · Ford Cortina visibility failures