Does the Ford Focus fail the MOT on seat belts and airbags more than it should?
The Ford Focus records 1.00 seat belts and airbags failure items per 100 initial MOT tests (2019–2024), against 1.25 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) (−0.25, 95% interval −0.25 to −0.24). It ranks 388 of 627 models on seat belts and airbags (1 = most failures above expected).
Data release dvsa-2024-v2 (24 Sep 2026) · page updated 30 Sep 2026 · all models on seat belts and airbags · check a Ford Focus by registration
What exactly fails on seat belts and airbags?
The most frequent DVSA defect wording in this group on the Ford Focus is “The strength or continuity of the load bearing structure within 30cm of any seat belt anchorage (a 'prescribed area') is significantly reduced or inadequately repaired”, recorded 33,655 times in 2019–2024.
| DVSA defect wording | Items | Per 100 tests |
|---|---|---|
| The strength or continuity of the load bearing structure within 30cm of any seat belt anchorage (a 'prescribed area') is significantly reduced or inadequately repaired | 33,655 | 0.55 |
| An SRS malfunction indicator lamp (MIL) indicates a system malfunction | 11,905 | 0.20 |
| Seat belt buckle missing, damaged or not functioning as intended | 6,144 | 0.10 |
| Seat belt not functioning as intended or of an incorrect type | 3,375 | 0.06 |
| Seat belt retractor not functioning as intended | 1,577 | 0.03 |
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 seat belts and airbags advisory, how often does it fail next time?
7.0% of Ford Focus MOTs with a seat belts and airbags advisory were followed by a fail in the same group at the next MOT, typically 12 months and 4,373 miles later (24,220 advisories followed).
Source: DVSA MOT bulk data (OGL v3.0) · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 24,220 (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 Focus 1998 · Ford Focus 1999 · Ford Focus 2000 · Ford Focus 2001 · Ford Focus 2002 · Ford Focus 2003 · Ford Focus 2004 · Ford Focus 2005 · Ford Focus 2006 · Ford Focus 2007 · Ford Focus 2008 · Ford Focus 2009 · Ford Focus 2010 · Ford Focus 2011 · Ford Focus 2012 · Ford Focus 2013 · Ford Focus 2014 · Ford Focus 2015 · Ford Focus 2016 · Ford Focus 2017 · Ford Focus 2018 · Ford Focus 2019 · Ford Focus 2020 · Ford Focus in Finland · Ford Focus in the Netherlands · Ford Focus in Norway · Ford Focus by postcode area · Ford Focus body, chassis and structure failures · Ford Focus brakes failures · Ford Focus vehicle identification failures · Ford Focus lamps, reflectors and electrics failures · Ford Focus noise, emissions and leaks failures · Ford Focus road wheels failures · Ford Focus steering failures · Ford Focus suspension failures · Ford Focus tyres failures · Ford Focus visibility failures