Does the Ford Escort fail the MOT on brakes more than it should?
The Ford Escort records 19.53 brakes failure items per 100 initial MOT tests (2019–2024), against 21.71 expected for a car of the same age mix: less than expected for its class and age (−2.18, 95% interval −2.50 to −1.85). It ranks 463 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 Escort by registration
What exactly fails on brakes?
The most frequent DVSA defect wording in this group on the Ford Escort 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 2,552 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. | 2,552 | 3.30 |
| Brake pipe damaged or excessively corroded | 1,767 | 2.29 |
| Significant brake effort recorded with no brake applied indicating a binding brake | 1,468 | 1.90 |
| Parking brake efficiency below minimum requirement | 1,246 | 1.61 |
| Service brake efficiency below minimum requirement | 1,122 | 1.45 |
Source: DVSA MOT bulk data (OGL v3.0) · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 77,294 (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 Escort gets a brakes advisory, how often does it fail next time?
17.3% of Ford Escort MOTs with a brakes advisory were followed by a fail in the same group at the next MOT, typically 12.2 months and 1,053 miles later (9,022 advisories followed).
Source: DVSA MOT bulk data (OGL v3.0) · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 9,022 (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 Escort 1998 · Ford Escort 1999 · Ford Escort 2000 · Ford Escort 2001 · Ford Escort 2002 · Ford Escort in the Netherlands · Ford Escort by postcode area · Ford Escort body, chassis and structure failures · Ford Escort vehicle identification failures · Ford Escort lamps, reflectors and electrics failures · Ford Escort noise, emissions and leaks failures · Ford Escort road wheels failures · Ford Escort seat belts and airbags failures · Ford Escort steering failures · Ford Escort suspension failures · Ford Escort tyres failures · Ford Escort visibility failures