Ford Escort 1998: MOT failure rate for its age

44.2% of 1,925 MOT tests of the Ford Escort first registered in 1998 failed at the first attempt (2019–2024; retests excluded). Against this model's own normal rate at the same ages the index is 95.4 (95% CI 89.0–101.9; 100 = normal for this model at that age): the 1998 build year is no different from other years of the same model at the same age. This is a rough estimate from a smaller sample.

Ford Escort built in 1998 at a glance
Measure	Value	Unit	Compared with	Years	Tests
Failed first time	44.2	%	all ages tested	2019–2024	1925
Index against this model at the same age (95% CI 89.0–101.9)	95.4	index	100 = normal for this model at that age	2019–2024	1925
Rank among this model's 5 build years	2	of 5	1 = fails least for its age	2019–2024	1925
Tested in 2024	14	tests	median 30,183 miles	2024	14

Built 1998 against Ford Escort normal for the age: first-time MOT failure share at each age, age 21: 46.5% vs 49.7%; age 22: 40.9% vs 41.5%. Axis from 0% to 50%. DVSA MOT bulk data, 2019–2024.

Check a 1998 Ford Escort by registration · All Ford Escort MOT statistics · Download the build-year table (CSV)

Data release dvsa-2024-v2 (24 Sep 2026) · page updated 30 Sep 2026 · full dataset (v5).

How does the 1998 Ford Escort fail at each age?

Cars built in 1998 were tested at ages 21 to 22 between 2019 and 2024. Each row compares their first-time failure share with what this model normally shows at that age, after allowing for the overall failure level of each test year.

Ford Escort built 1998: first-time MOT failure by age, against the model's normal rate at that age (2019–2024)
Age	Tests	Failed, %	95% interval	Normal for this model at that age, %	Index (100 = normal)
21	1,130	46.5	43.7–49.5	49.7	93.6
22	795	40.9	37.5–44.3	41.5	98.6

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 1,925 (initial tests) · Method: normal rate = this model's first-time failure share at that age across its build years (cells of 400+ tests), adjusted for each test year's overall level; cells of 30+ tests, under 500 marked rough · Updated: 30 Sep 2026 · Release: dvsa-2024-v2 · CSV

What fails most on the 1998 Ford Escort?

The most common failure group on cars built in 1998 is suspension: 41.8 items per 100 first tests, against 24.3 across all build years of the Ford Escort. These counts are not age-adjusted: cars built in 1998 were tested at ages 21 to 22.

Failure items per 100 first tests, Ford Escort built 1998 against the Ford Escort in all build years (2019–2024, not age-adjusted)
Failure group	Built 1998, per 100	All build years, per 100	Items
Suspension	41.8	24.3	1,590
Body, chassis, structure	39.6	20.4	1,506
Brakes	30.1	19.5	1,142
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment	21.5	19.4	816
Noise, emissions and leaks	13.8	7.1	525

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 3,800 (initial tests of this build year) · Method: failure items grouped by DVSA's top-level defect groups, per 100 initial tests; groups with 30+ items · Updated: 30 Sep 2026 · Release: dvsa-2024-v2 · CSV

How does 1998 compare with the years around it?

Among the 5 published build years of the Ford Escort, 1998 ranks 2 (1 = fails least for its age). 1999: index 95.5.

Ford Escort build years: index against the model at the same age (2019–2024)
Build year	Index (100 = normal)	95% interval	Verdict	Tests
1998	95.4	89.0–101.9	no different (rough estimate)	1,925
1999	95.5	88.3–102.7	no different (rough estimate)	1,521
2000	102.1	97.3–106.9	no different (rough estimate)	3,700
2001	95.6	91.0–100.1	no different (rough estimate)	3,762
2002	93.2	88.1–98.2	better (rough estimate)	3,000

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 13,908 (initial tests) · Method: observed failures against those expected for the same model at the same ages, test-year level adjusted; verdict follows the printed one-decimal bound · Updated: 30 Sep 2026 · Release: dvsa-2024-v2 · CSV

How to cite this page

MOT Risk Index (2026). Ford Escort 1998 MOT statistics (data release dvsa-2024-v2; full dataset motriskindex-families-2024-v5, DOI 10.5281/zenodo.22975051), updated 30 September 2026. motriskindex.co.uk/cars/ford-escort/1998/

How every figure is calculated: methodology. Age, test year and build year are tied together (age = test year − build year), so the test-year level is taken as observed, not estimated.

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