Ford Focus 2018: MOT failure rate for its age

13.7% of 193,683 MOT tests of the Ford Focus first registered in 2018 failed at the first attempt (2019–2024; retests excluded). Against this model's own normal rate at the same ages the index is 95.0 (95% CI 93.9–96.2; 100 = normal for this model at that age): the 2018 Ford Focus fails less often than other build years of the same model at the same age.

Ford Focus built in 2018 at a glance
Measure	Value	Unit	Compared with	Years	Tests
Failed first time	13.7	%	all ages tested	2019–2024	193683
Index against this model at the same age (95% CI 93.9–96.2)	95.0	index	100 = normal for this model at that age	2019–2024	193683
Rank among this model's 23 build years	4	of 23	1 = fails least for its age	2019–2024	193683
Tested in 2024	47710	tests	median 43,537 miles	2024	47710

Built 2018 against Ford Focus normal for the age: first-time MOT failure share at each age, age 3: 10.8% vs 11.2%; age 4: 12.5% vs 12.6%; age 5: 14.8% vs 15.1%; age 6: 16.6% vs 18.9%. Axis from 0% to 20%. DVSA MOT bulk data, 2019–2024.

Check a 2018 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 2018 Ford Focus fail at each age?

Cars built in 2018 were tested at ages 3 to 6 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 2018: 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)
3	49,474	10.8	10.6–11.1	11.2	96.7
4	48,499	12.5	12.2–12.8	12.6	99.4
5	48,000	14.8	14.5–15.2	15.1	98.6
6	47,710	16.6	16.3–17	18.9	88.1

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 193,683 (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 2018 Ford Focus?

The most common failure group on cars built in 2018 is tyres: 7 items per 100 first tests, against 10.7 across all build years of the Ford Focus. These counts are not age-adjusted: cars built in 2018 were tested at ages 3 to 6.

Failure items per 100 first tests, Ford Focus built 2018 against the Ford Focus in all build years (2019–2024, not age-adjusted)
Failure group	Built 2018, per 100	All build years, per 100	Items
Tyres	7	10.7	13,643
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment	3.7	19.8	7,191
Visibility	3	7.4	5,892
Brakes	2.9	9.1	5,784
Noise, emissions and leaks	1.5	4	2,948

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 196,239 (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 2018 compare with the years around it?

Among the 23 published build years of the Ford Focus, 2018 ranks 4 (1 = fails least for its age). 2017: index 84.4. 2019: index 111.6.

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 2018 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/2018/

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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