Does the Ford Fiesta fail the MOT on steering more than it should?
The Ford Fiesta records 3.76 steering failure items per 100 initial MOT tests (2019–2024), against 2.83 expected for a car of the same age mix: more than expected for its class and age (+0.93, 95% interval +0.91 to +0.94). It ranks 164 of 640 models on steering (1 = most failures above expected).
Data release dvsa-2024-v2 (24 Sep 2026) · page updated 30 Sep 2026 · all models on steering · check a Ford Fiesta by registration
What exactly fails on steering?
The most frequent DVSA defect wording in this group on the Ford Fiesta is “A steering ball joint with excessive wear or free play”, recorded 213,581 times in 2019–2024.
| DVSA defect wording | Items | Per 100 tests |
|---|---|---|
| A steering ball joint with excessive wear or free play | 213,581 | 2.55 |
| Steering rack gaiter or ball joint dust cover missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt etc | 38,021 | 0.45 |
| Steering rack gaiter or ball joint dust cover damaged or deteriorated | 23,717 | 0.28 |
| A steering ball joint worn to the extent there is a serious risk of detachment | 8,936 | 0.11 |
| Power steering fluid leaking or system malfunctioning | 7,682 | 0.09 |
Source: DVSA MOT bulk data (OGL v3.0) · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 8,370,825 (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 Fiesta gets a steering advisory, how often does it fail next time?
15.8% of Ford Fiesta MOTs with a steering advisory were followed by a fail in the same group at the next MOT, typically 12 months and 5,546 miles later (184,025 advisories followed).
Source: DVSA MOT bulk data (OGL v3.0) · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 184,025 (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 Fiesta 1998 · Ford Fiesta 1999 · Ford Fiesta 2000 · Ford Fiesta 2001 · Ford Fiesta 2002 · Ford Fiesta 2003 · Ford Fiesta 2004 · Ford Fiesta 2005 · Ford Fiesta 2006 · Ford Fiesta 2007 · Ford Fiesta 2008 · Ford Fiesta 2009 · Ford Fiesta 2010 · Ford Fiesta 2011 · Ford Fiesta 2012 · Ford Fiesta 2013 · Ford Fiesta 2014 · Ford Fiesta 2015 · Ford Fiesta 2016 · Ford Fiesta 2017 · Ford Fiesta 2018 · Ford Fiesta 2019 · Ford Fiesta 2020 · Ford Fiesta in Finland · Ford Fiesta in the Netherlands · Ford Fiesta in Norway · Ford Fiesta by postcode area · Ford Fiesta body, chassis and structure failures · Ford Fiesta brakes failures · Ford Fiesta vehicle identification failures · Ford Fiesta lamps, reflectors and electrics failures · Ford Fiesta noise, emissions and leaks failures · Ford Fiesta road wheels failures · Ford Fiesta seat belts and airbags failures · Ford Fiesta suspension failures · Ford Fiesta tyres failures · Ford Fiesta visibility failures