Ford Ka 2004: MOT failure rate for its age

55.3% of 31,178 MOT tests of the Ford Ka first registered in 2004 failed at the first attempt (2019–2024; retests excluded). Against this model's own normal rate at the same ages the index is 102.7 (95% CI 101.2–104.2; 100 = normal for this model at that age): close to other build years of the same model at the same age (within 5 points of normal).

Ford Ka built in 2004 at a glance
Measure	Value	Unit	Compared with	Years	Tests
Failed first time	55.3	%	all ages tested	2019–2024	31178
Index against this model at the same age (95% CI 101.2–104.2)	102.7	index	100 = normal for this model at that age	2019–2024	31178
Rank among this model's 22 build years	16	of 22	1 = fails least for its age	2019–2024	31178
Tested in 2024	1930	tests	median 51,554 miles	2024	1930

Built 2004 against Ford Ka normal for the age: first-time MOT failure share at each age, age 15: 58.3% vs 56.2%; age 16: 55.5% vs 54.8%; age 17: 54.1% vs 53.6%; age 18: 53.2% vs 51%; age 19: 50.9% vs 50%; age 20: 50.9% vs 48.5%. Axis from 0% to 60%. DVSA MOT bulk data, 2019–2024.

Check a 2004 Ford Ka by registration · All Ford Ka 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 2004 Ford Ka fail at each age?

Cars built in 2004 were tested at ages 15 to 20 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 Ka built 2004: 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)
15	11,092	58.3	57.3–59.2	56.2	103.7
16	6,897	55.5	54.3–56.6	54.8	101.2
17	5,015	54.1	52.7–55.5	53.6	100.9
18	3,605	53.2	51.6–54.9	51	104.4
19	2,639	50.9	49–52.8	50	101.8
20	1,930	50.9	48.7–53.1	48.5	104.9

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 31,178 (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 2004 Ford Ka?

The most common failure group on cars built in 2004 is suspension: 75.8 items per 100 first tests, against 30.5 across all build years of the Ford Ka. These counts are not age-adjusted: cars built in 2004 were tested at ages 15 to 20.

Failure items per 100 first tests, Ford Ka built 2004 against the Ford Ka in all build years (2019–2024, not age-adjusted)
Failure group	Built 2004, per 100	All build years, per 100	Items
Suspension	75.8	30.5	23,619
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment	37	15.7	11,521
Brakes	24.2	12.1	7,559
Body, chassis, structure	23	7.6	7,177
Visibility	15.8	8.7	4,932

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 31,178 (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 2004 compare with the years around it?

Among the 22 published build years of the Ford Ka, 2004 ranks 16 (1 = fails least for its age). 2003: index 100.7. 2005: index 103.9.

Ford Ka build years: index against the model at the same age (2019–2024)
Build year	Index (100 = normal)	95% interval	Verdict	Tests
1998	94.4	84.6–104.2	no different (rough estimate)	732
1999	96.9	90.3–103.6	no different (rough estimate)	1,612
2000	98.5	93.7–103.3	no different (rough estimate)	3,126
2001	99.1	96.0–102.2	no different	7,496
2002	100.4	98.2–102.5	no different	15,830
2003	100.7	99.0–102.4	no different	23,895
2004	102.7	101.2–104.2	worse	31,178
2005	103.9	102.5–105.4	worse	35,662
2006	104.8	103.4–106.2	worse	41,704
2007	111.8	110.5–113.1	worse	54,494
2008	116.0	114.8–117.2	worse	64,035
2009	93.6	92.8–94.5	better	115,062
2010	98.1	97.2–99.0	better	115,778
2011	93.2	92.2–94.2	better	98,645
2012	95.0	94.0–96.1	better	104,470
2013	96.8	95.7–97.9	better	112,856
2014	99.3	98.1–100.5	no different	111,801
2015	109.6	108.0–111.1	worse	79,922
2016	110.1	107.9–112.3	worse	50,051
2017	74.6	73.0–76.3	better	68,867
2018	91.5	89.2–93.9	better	43,991
2019	81.6	78.6–84.5	better	30,165

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 1,211,372 (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 Ka 2004 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-ka/2004/

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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