Does the Ford Focus fail the MOT on lamps, reflectors and electrics more than it should?
The Ford Focus records 19.80 lamps, reflectors and electrics failure items per 100 initial MOT tests (2019–2024), against 19.77 expected for a car of the same age mix: about as expected for its class and age (the difference is within its interval or under 0.5 items per 100 tests) (+0.03, 95% interval −0.01 to +0.06). It ranks 288 of 729 models on lamps, reflectors and electrics (1 = most failures above expected).
Data release dvsa-2024-v2 (24 Sep 2026) · page updated 30 Sep 2026 · all models on lamps, reflectors and electrics · check a Ford Focus by registration
What exactly fails on lamps, reflectors and electrics?
The most frequent DVSA defect wording in this group on the Ford Focus is “The aim of a headlamp is not within limits laid down in the requirements”, recorded 230,944 times in 2019–2024.
| DVSA defect wording | Items | Per 100 tests |
|---|---|---|
| The aim of a headlamp is not within limits laid down in the requirements | 230,944 | 3.80 |
| A lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning | 146,607 | 2.41 |
| A rear registration plate lamp or light source missing or inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources | 137,082 | 2.26 |
| Lamp emitted colour, position or intensity not in accordance with the requirements | 100,641 | 1.66 |
| Stop lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning | 97,341 | 1.60 |
Source: DVSA MOT bulk data (OGL v3.0) · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 6,074,731 (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 Focus gets a lamps, reflectors and electrics advisory, how often does it fail next time?
22.2% of Ford Focus MOTs with a lamps, reflectors and electrics advisory were followed by a fail in the same group at the next MOT, typically 12 months and 6,009 miles later (120,356 advisories followed).
Source: DVSA MOT bulk data (OGL v3.0) · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 120,356 (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
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