Ford Focus 1998: MOT failure rate for its age

56.1% of 773 MOT tests of the Ford Focus 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 108.5 (95% CI 98.3–118.7; 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 Focus built in 1998 at a glance
Measure	Value	Unit	Compared with	Years	Tests
Failed first time	56.1	%	all ages tested	2019–2024	773
Index against this model at the same age (95% CI 98.3–118.7)	108.5	index	100 = normal for this model at that age	2019–2024	773
Rank among this model's 23 build years	21	of 23	1 = fails least for its age	2019–2024	773
Tested in 2024	3	tests	median 126,199 miles	2024	3

Built 1998 against Ford Focus normal for the age: first-time MOT failure share at each age, age 21: 56.5% vs 53.5%; age 22: 55.6% vs 48.9%. Axis from 0% to 60%. DVSA MOT bulk data, 2019–2024.

Check a 1998 Ford Focus by registration · All Ford Focus 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 Focus 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 Focus 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	471 (rough estimate)	56.5	52–60.9	53.5	105.5
22	302 (rough estimate)	55.6	50–61.1	48.9	113.7

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 773 (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 Focus?

The most common failure group on cars built in 1998 is lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment: 55.2 items per 100 first tests, against 19.8 across all build years of the Ford Focus. These counts are not age-adjusted: cars built in 1998 were tested at ages 21 to 22.

Failure items per 100 first tests, Ford Focus built 1998 against the Ford Focus in all build years (2019–2024, not age-adjusted)
Failure group	Built 1998, per 100	All build years, per 100	Items
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment	55.2	19.8	692
Suspension	48.2	19	604
Brakes	31.3	9.1	393
Visibility	17.7	7.4	222
Body, chassis, structure	16.3	5.6	205

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 1,254 (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 23 published build years of the Ford Focus, 1998 ranks 21 (1 = fails least for its age). 1999: index 104.9.

Ford Focus build years: index against the model at the same age (2019–2024)
Build year	Index (100 = normal)	95% interval	Verdict	Tests
1998	108.5	98.3–118.7	no different (rough estimate)	773
1999	104.9	102.6–107.2	worse	15,230
2000	101.8	100.2–103.3	worse	32,486
2001	100.6	99.6–101.7	no different	70,077
2002	103.2	102.4–103.9	worse	125,991
2003	104.3	103.6–105.1	worse	148,741
2004	104.4	103.7–105.0	worse	180,453
2005	100.3	99.7–100.8	no different	250,871
2006	95.2	94.6–95.7	better	297,244
2007	96.3	95.8–96.8	better	372,584
2008	100.0	99.5–100.5	no different	382,133
2009	100.5	100.1–101.0	worse	407,321
2010	103.9	103.4–104.5	worse	370,304
2011	103.2	102.7–103.7	worse	412,801
2012	101.5	101.0–102.0	worse	432,134
2013	112.6	112.1–113.2	worse	459,270
2014	101.4	100.9–102.0	worse	460,503
2015	83.9	83.3–84.5	better	460,970
2016	87.4	86.7–88.1	better	392,503
2017	84.4	83.6–85.2	better	342,365
2018	95.0	93.9–96.2	better	193,683
2019	111.6	110.2–113.1	worse	162,798
2020	105.0	102.7–107.4	worse	62,410

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 6,033,645 (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 Focus 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-focus/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.

Other pages for this model