MOT Risk Index.co.uk

Ford Kuga — MOT statistics 2024

The Ford Kuga failed 20.4% of 396,566 first MOT attempts in 2024 ("first-time", excluding retests). Adjusted for the age of the fleet, its initial-failure ratio is 91.3 (100 = expected for its age profile). This car fails its MOT about 9% less often than expected for its age.

MOT risk index 91.3, 95% CI 90.8–91.9 (100 = national average) 100 91.3 60 160
Index
91.3
100 = age-normal
Raw fail rate
20.4%
n = 396,566
Dangerous /100
11
national ≈13
Diesel − petrol
+5.5 pp
fail-rate gap
Rank
19 of 56
lower index = better

Age-adjusted peer: Audi A1 (index 91.3) — the two published results are 0.0 index points apart.

Ford Kuga common problems: what actually fails the MOT

Suspension stands out at 5.9 per 100 tests, against 19.9 per 100 tests nationally.

higher bar = fails more oftenrate per 100 tests

Ford Kuga common problems: what actually fails the MOT — 2024 UK MOT data

family vs national — top component groups, per 100 tests. Legend: This family · National avg.

Component-group comparison table
GroupThis familyNationalFamily / national
Lamps & electrical13.023.50.55×
Visibility9.812.00.82×
Tyres9.210.30.90×
Brakes8.914.30.62×
Suspension5.919.90.30×
Body & structure3.78.40.44×
Named defects — items per 100 initial tests, this family vs UK national average, 2024
What failedper 100 tests (this family)per 100 tests (UK average)ratio family / UKWhat to check
Brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mma brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm3.942.451.61×Feel for brake judder and pulling on the test drive
Lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a…A lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning3.032.561.18×Try every light and switch — lamps are a top failure
Wiper blade defectiveWiper blade defective2.312.041.13×Check wipers, washers and windscreen chips in the driver's view
Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the…Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements3.943.821.03×Check tyre tread depth across the full width
Windscreen washers not working or not providing…Windscreen washers not working or not providing sufficient fluid to clear the windscreen1.842.030.91×Check wipers, washers and windscreen chips in the driver's view
Wiper blade missing or obviously not clearing the…Wiper blade missing or obviously not clearing the windscreen1.982.180.91×Check wipers, washers and windscreen chips in the driver's view
Tyre cords visible or damagedA tyre cords visible or damaged1.802.000.90×Check tyre tread depth across the full width
Tyre seriously damagedA tyre seriously damaged2.193.290.66×Check tyre tread depth across the full width
Windscreen or window damaged or seriously…Windscreen or window damaged or seriously discoloured but not adversely affecting driver's view3.084.270.72×Check wipers, washers and windscreen chips in the driver's view
Rear registration plate lamp or light source…A rear registration plate lamp or light source missing or inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources3.224.430.73×Try every light and switch — lamps are a top failure

Named defects ranked by how much more often they appear than the national average — not by raw rate.

Ford Kuga MOT advisories: what gets flagged

Tyres are highest at 74.1 per 100 tests; Body & structure are lowest at 4 per 100 tests — the gap is 70.1 per 100 tests.

higher bar = flagged more oftenadvisory items per 100 initial tests

Ford Kuga MOT advisories: what gets flagged — 2024 UK MOT data
Advisory rates table
GroupAdvisories per 100
Tyres74.1
Brakes53.3
Suspension33.4
Non-component advisories16.5
Emissions & leaks5.7
Body & structure4

Advisories are wear the tester noted but didn't fail — what will need money soon.

How does the Ford Kuga perform as it gets older?

At age 11 stands out at 25.7%, against 30.6% for all cars of the same age.

higher = larger sharecompare shares in percentage points

How does the Ford Kuga perform as it gets older? — 2024 UK MOT data

Chart axes: car age, years · failure-rate scale 0–46%.

Takeaway: a 10-year-old Kuga has roughly a 25% chance of failing its MOT; from about age 5 it stays above the national age curve.

Data table
AgeFord KugaAll carsGap
49.9%11.6%-1.7 pp
513.5%13.5%+0.0 pp
614.2%15.6%-1.4 pp
714.9%18.2%-3.3 pp
818.3%21.3%-3.0 pp
921.8%24.4%-2.6 pp
1024.9%27.7%-2.8 pp
1125.7%30.6%-4.9 pp
1234.5%33.4%+1.1 pp
1336.0%36.0%+0.0 pp
1438.8%38.6%+0.2 pp
1538.0%39.9%-1.9 pp
1638.1%41.5%-3.4 pp

Is a Ford Kuga ULEZ compliant?

The share of classifiable 2024 Ford Kuga MOT tests likely ULEZ compliant by first-registration date is 66.0%.

Based on 396,561 classifiable initial MOT tests. This describes the tested fleet, not a specific car. MOT data do not record Euro class, so likely compliance is inferred from fuel and first-registration date. For the only authoritative answer, check the registration with TfL's official ULEZ checker.

higher = larger share likely compliantinferred from fuel and first-registration date; not a recorded Euro class

Age-band estimate from classifiable initial MOT tests
Vehicle age at testLikely ULEZ-compliant shareTests
Under 3 yearsSuppressed — sample below publication threshold
Check a registration with TfL
n = 16
3–5 years100.0%
Check a registration with TfL
n = 68,256
6–7 years100.0%
Check a registration with TfL
n = 118,444
8 years100.0%
Check a registration with TfL
n = 50,378
9 years44.6%
Check a registration with TfL
n = 46,344
10–14 years4.0%
Check a registration with TfL
n = 97,202
15–17 years1.5%
Check a registration with TfL
n = 15,921
18 yearsSuppressed — sample below publication threshold
Check a registration with TfL
n = 0
19 yearsSuppressed — sample below publication threshold
Check a registration with TfL
n = 0
20+ yearsSuppressed — sample below publication threshold
Check a registration with TfL
n = 0

Ford Kuga petrol vs diesel: which ages best

Diesel is highest at 21.4%; Petrol is lowest at 15.9% — the gap is 5.5 percentage points.

higher = larger sharecompare shares in percentage points

Ford Kuga petrol vs diesel: which ages best — 2024 UK MOT data
Fuel split table
FuelTests% failingGap vs best
Diesel324,45121.4%+5.5 pp
Petrol72,01915.9%+0.0 pp

Chart sample sizes: n=324k · n=72k.

How dangerous are Ford Kuga MOT failures?

Major defects stand out at 31.3 per 100 tests, against 63.3 per 100 tests nationally.

higher bar = fails more oftenrate per 100 tests

How dangerous are Ford Kuga MOT failures? — 2024 UK MOT data
Severity table
SeverityThis family /100National /100Family / national
Minor13.1524.380.54×
Major31.2563.260.49×
Dangerous11.3812.890.88×

Chart values: Minor 13.2 · Major 31.3 · Dangerous 11.4.

Per 100 tests on this family. National average: Minor 24.4 · Major 63.3 · Dangerous 12.9 per 100.

Does the month of a Ford Kuga MOT matter?

Oct is highest at 21.8%; Jun is lowest at 19.1% — the gap is 2.8 percentage points.

higher = larger sharecompare shares in percentage points

Does the month of a Ford Kuga MOT matter? — 2024 UK MOT data

Chart scale: 18%–29%.

bars: Ford Kuga · dashed: all class-4 cars

Month-by-month table
MonthFord KugaAll carsGap
Jan20.63%27.37%-6.7 pp
Feb19.37%26.14%-6.8 pp
Mar19.3%24.75%-5.4 pp
Apr20.58%26.01%-5.4 pp
May19.69%25.01%-5.3 pp
Jun19.05%25.01%-6.0 pp
Jul20.84%26.04%-5.2 pp
Aug21%25.79%-4.8 pp
Sep20.24%25.19%-5.0 pp
Oct21.81%27.13%-5.3 pp
Nov21.35%27.2%-5.8 pp
Dec21%26.29%-5.3 pp

Takeaway: the spread between best and worst month is 2.8 percentage points — booking month barely matters for this family. Seasonality partly reflects registration-date clustering, not weather.

Before reading the shape: most of it is not about cars. Britain changes its registration plates twice a year, and 19.5% of these cars were first registered in March with another17% in September — 37% in two months against the 17% an even spread would give. An MOT falls due three years after first registration, so the buying calendar becomes the testing calendar. Peaks here mark when cars are tested, not when they are worse.

Ford Kuga average mileage by age

At age 8, the middle half of Kugas runs from 49,509 miles to 79,319 miles, against 63,458 miles as the median.

further right = more milesmedian is the typical car; band is p25–p75

Bars: Ford Kuga · dashed: all class-4 cars — 2024 UK MOT data

Chart axes: car age, years · odometer scale 0–153k mi.

Does high mileage mean more Ford Kuga MOT failures?

Same age band (6–14 years), split by odometer — this separates wear from age: 11.4% of the lowest-mileage cars failed versus 37.7% of the highest.

Does high mileage mean more Ford Kuga MOT failures? — 2024 UK MOT data
Odometer% failingTestsGap vs lowest-mileage band
<40k miles11.4%46,209+0.0 pp
40-70k miles16.1%124,003+4.7 pp
70-100k miles25.1%88,152+13.7 pp
100-140k miles33.2%43,209+21.8 pp
140k+ miles37.7%10,349+26.3 pp

line: median · band: middle half of the fleet (p25–p75)

Mileage by age (p25 / median / p75)
Agep25Medianp75Tests
420,68729,19239,9952,175
526,31935,82646,80065,644
633,82045,08057,60060,514
742,45554,85368,70657,930
849,50963,45879,31950,378
957,82872,70689,24446,344
1064,77780,93898,01035,291
1173,36290,546108,71519,778
1281,10699,791119,82513,999
1387,586107,131128,15113,816
1496,439116,059136,76814,323
15102,428122,143142,63611,855
16108,224126,169146,0004,064

A typical 8-year-old Kuga has ~63,458 miles on the clock. Much more — ask why; much less — check for gaps in the MOT history.

Where in Britain the Ford Kuga fails its MOT most

Plymouth area is highest at 26.2%; Romford area is lowest at 14.0% — the gap is 12.2 percentage points.

higher = larger sharecompare shares in percentage points

Ford Kuga line: median · band: middle half of the fleet (p25–p75) — 2024 UK MOT data
Toughest areas% failingvs model overall
Plymouth (PL)26.19%+5.8 pp
Bournemouth (BH)25.83%+5.4 pp
Brighton (BN)25.67%+5.3 pp
Kirkcaldy (KY)25.44%+5.0 pp
Bristol (BS)25.4%+5.0 pp
Easiest areas% failingvs model overall
Romford (RM)14.03%-6.4 pp
Oldham (OL)17.36%-3.0 pp
Stoke-on-Trent (ST)17.46%-2.9 pp
Durham (DH)17.56%-2.8 pp
Coventry (CV)17.72%-2.7 pp

Why do areas differ?

For each external factor we correlate the area fail rate with the factor across postcode areas that have ≥800 tests of this family, then compare the bottom vs top fifth (quintile) of the factor. Correlation, not causation — factors travel together (the north is colder and often poorer; urban areas are denser and less salted). Road surface condition is joined now, for the 91 English areas the DfT publishes, and it explains nothing: the correlation with suspension failures is −0.01 and with body and structure failures 0.07. Potholes wreck wheels and tyres between tests, but by the time a car reaches the bay the road it drives on leaves no measurable trace.

In areas with the highest mot centre density this model fails 4.6 pp more often than in the lowest fifth (r=0.44, n=106 areas with ≥800 tests).

In areas with the highest urban share this model fails 4.2 pp less often than in the lowest fifth (r=-0.37, n=106 areas with ≥800 tests).

In areas with the highest terrain gradient this model fails 3.1 pp more often than in the lowest fifth (r=0.36, n=63 areas with ≥800 tests).

Ford Kuga Why do areas differ? — 2024 UK MOT data
Values shown in the quintile chart
FactorLow QHigh QGapCorrelation
MOT centre density17.4%22.0%+4.6 ppr=0.44
Urban share21.9%17.7%-4.2 ppr=-0.37
Terrain gradient19.9%23.0%+3.1 ppr=0.36

Factors that only mean something combined

Some conditions are useless on their own and informative multiplied together. Frost days alone say little — Britain barely freezes. Salt tonnage alone says little — it tracks frost. Distance to the sea alone says little. Multiply the first two and divide by the third and you get an index of how hard an area attacks a car's underside, and it lines up with the corrosion defects we actually record. We built five such combinations and tested each against our own data. Three survived; two did not, and the failures are listed here on purpose — a proxy that was never checked is decoration. One survivor only survived on the second attempt: built from a crude stand-in for street parking it failed outright, and rebuilt from the census — terraced streets carrying more cars than they have driveways — it works, and carries information the salt index does not.

Composite area indicators, each tested against a defect rate we measure
CompositeBuilt fromTested againstrVerdict
Underbody corrosionfrost days × salt load ÷ (distance to coast + 1)share of tests with a corrosion defect+0.42holds (116 areas)
Tyre wearrain days × annual miles ÷ age at first tyre advisoryshare of tests failing on tyres+0.45holds (116 areas)
Overnight corrosionterraced housing × cars per household × frost daysshare with a corrosion defect+0.41holds (102 areas) — and adds signal beyond the first index
Deferred maintenancedeprivation × advisory-to-failure conversion ÷ labour ratecars repeating the same advisory−0.26fails (118 areas)
Powertrain stressengine capacity ÷ kerb weightsuspension, brake and emissions failures−0.16fails (22 models)

The deprivation result is the one worth dwelling on. The intuition that poorer areas defer repairs is strong enough that most people treat it as established. We tested it twice — once on raw failure rates (r = 0.04) and again, more fairly, on whether an advisory turns into a failure — and it did not hold any of the three times we tried it — on raw failure rates, on advisory-to-failure conversion, and again with deprivation measured properly inside each nation rather than England alone. We are closing it. What does predict local failure rates is the density of test centres, which is a statement about testing, not about cars.

All external-factor correlations (machine-readable)
Factorrn areasLow-Q fail %High-Q fail %Gap ppLow-Q factorHigh-Q factor
MOT centre density (per 10k vehicles)0.44410617.422.0+4.65.18.7
Urban share (0–1)-0.37010621.917.7-4.20.41
Terrain gradient (% grade)0.3626319.923.0+3.10.53.5
Distance to coast (km)-0.31910622.720.0-2.7679.7
Income deprivation (score)-0.1378920.619.7-0.80.10.2
Road-salt proxy (g/m²-yr)0.04910619.620.7+1.1222.4680
Frost days (days/year)0.04610620.820.7-0.211.638.4

Deprivation uses England IMD 2019 income score only (Scotland SIMD is a different scale). Salt proxy is a simplified NWSRG-style dry-salt sum from air Tmin; coastalness is distance from the area centroid to the nearest coastline.

Every dot is a postcode area — size = how many were tested there, colour = share failing. These figures are not age-adjusted: coastal and rural areas often run older fleets and salted roads, so higher raw fail rates do not automatically mean a worse local stock of this model.

Map labels: Scotland · N. England · Wales · London · S. West. Colour scale: 15%–26% failing.

Ford Kuga survival: which cars are still on the road

By age 16 stands out at 9.5%, against 100% at the ages 4–6 reference level.

higher = larger sharecompare shares in percentage points

Ford Kuga survival: which cars are still on the road — 2024 UK MOT data

Chart axes: car age, years · survival vs ages 4–6 · scale 0–105%.

Survival vs fail rate by age
AgeTestsSurvival vs ages 4–6Fail %
34371%10.07%
42,1755.1%9.89%
565,644100%13.47%
660,514100%14.18%
757,930100%14.87%
850,378100%18.29%
946,344100%21.81%
1035,29182.5%24.95%
1119,77846.2%25.7%
1213,99932.7%34.5%
1313,81632.3%36.05%
1414,32333.5%38.77%
1511,85527.7%37.95%
164,0649.5%38.07%

DfT licensed stock: peak 367,678 (2026 Q1) → latest 367,678 (100% of peak).

By age 16, only about 10% as many cars of this family present for MOT as at ages 4–6 (reference n≈42,777); survivors still fail at 38.1% vs 9.9% at age 4. Older cars that still appear are a selected subset — weaker ones have already left. DfT licensed stock is 100% of its 2026 Q1 peak (367,678 → 367,678).

How many miles does a Ford Kuga last?

100,000+ miles is highest at 16.8%; 200,000+ miles is lowest at 0.2% — the gap is 16.6 percentage points.

higher = larger sharecompare shares in percentage points

OdometerTests ≥ thresholdShare of sample
100,000+ miles66,44816.78%
150,000+ miles9,4832.39%
200,000+ miles7150.18%

Of 396,008 tests of this family with a usable odometer in 2024, 16.8% had already reached 100k miles, 2.4% reached 150k, and 0.2% reached 200k — a cross-section of cars still presenting for MOT, not a full birth cohort.

How many years is a Ford Kuga likely to last?

Bought at age 5 is highest at 7.1 years; Bought at age 15 is lowest at 0.8 years — the gap is 6.3 years.

bigger number = longer remaining lifeyears on the observed survival curve

Age nowTypical mileage (p50)Expected years left
535,8267.1
863,4584.1
1080,9382.7
1299,7913.6
15122,1430.8

estimateEstimate only — not a warranty: a typical 10-year-old example of this family (~80,938 miles median) has about 2.7 expected years of further MOT-present life on the 2024 survival curve. Derived from how many cars of each age still appear for test, not from a longitudinal panel.

Ford Kuga faults that come together

Body & structure + Emissions & leaks stand out at 15.98×, against if the faults were independent.

above 1.0× = more than expectedbelow 1.0× = less

Group AGroup BTogetherLift
Body, chassis, structureNoise, emissions and leaks1,03315.98×
SteeringSuspension77513.25×
Noise, emissions and leaksSteering39212.95×
Body, chassis, structureSteering39510.46×
Noise, emissions and leaksSuspension8958.94×
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipmentSteering1,0738.88×
Body, chassis, structureSuspension1,0048.04×
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipmentNoise, emissions and leaks1,6537.99×

Defects in «Body, chassis, structure» and «Noise, emissions and leaks» appear together 15.98× more often than chance (1,033 co-occurrences in the same test; lift≥1.3, n≥300).

Lift = how many times more often both groups appear on the same test than if independent. Thresholds: lift ≥ 1.3, co-occurrences ≥ 300.

Is low mileage better for a Ford Kuga?

Cars driven under 5,000 miles a year stands out at 11.5%, against 20.0% for cars driven 8,000–12,000 miles a year.

higher = larger sharecompare shares in percentage points

BandFail %Tests
<5k miles/year11.52%51,286
8–12k miles/year19.98%146,187
Gap (low − normal)-8.47 pp
By fuel and age

Diesel

AgeLow-use fail %nNormal fail %nGap pp
58.636,09315.7813,472-7.15 pp
68.615,53015.2716,247-6.66 pp
79.924,99816.2619,723-6.34 pp
810.873,95522.0718,008-11.2 pp
910.63,32225.8318,245-15.24 pp
1013.942,77728.4914,843-14.56 pp
1116.991,30728.878,847-11.88 pp
1221.9789237.516,363-15.54 pp
1327.9188538.276,381-10.36 pp
1426.8574541.26,937-14.35 pp

Petrol

AgeLow-use fail %nNormal fail %nGap pp
510.138,45016.26,717-6.07 pp
611.385,288174,311-5.62 pp
712.332,93521.492,192-9.15 pp
811.952,02521.731,781-9.78 pp
912.841,23825.561,123-12.71 pp
1015.8852938.98490-23.1 pp

At matched ages 5–14, cars averaging under 5k miles/year fail at 11.5% vs 20.0% for 8–12k miles/year — 8.5 pp lower (n_low=51,286, n_normal=146,187). In this family low annual use is associated with fewer MOT fails, not more — the ‘garage queen’ penalty is not visible in overall fail rates. Diesel alone: 11.6% low-use vs 21.3% normal (-9.7 pp).

Ford Kuga real MPG against official fuel economy

petrol/electric (2022) real-world fuel use stands out at +330.21%, against 0% for an exact match to the official figure.

higher = larger sharecompare shares in percentage points

On-board meters against the official test, by cohort
YearFuelRealOfficialGapVehicles
2021diesel6.71 l5.73 l+17.12%46,867
2021petrol6.99 l5.84 l+19.72%112,909
2021petrol/electric5.92 l1.85 l+220.93%21,845
2022diesel6.81 l5.86 l+16.14%41,902
2022petrol6.69 l5.62 l+19.03%102,359
2022petrol/electric5.15 l1.2 l+330.21%27,927
2023diesel7.46 l6.56 l+13.74%14,968
2023petrol6.72 l5.61 l+19.83%70,524

Since 2021 every new car in Europe records its own fuel use, and the regulator publishes what those meters say next to the laboratory figure the car was sold on. For this manufacturer the worst gap is 19.83% — petrol cars of 2023 burning 6.72 litres per 100 km against an official 5.61, with CO₂ higher by the same proportion.

This is the manufacturer, not the model. The regulator aggregates by legal manufacturer (FORD WERKE GMBH), so these figures are context for the badge rather than a measurement of this particular car — a point we would rather state plainly than let a reader assume otherwise. The gap itself is not a scandal, it is the known distance between a standardised laboratory cycle and real roads, but it is the distance you actually pay for at the pump. The plug-in hybrid rows are not a data error and deserve a sentence of their own: an official figure of 1.85 litres assumes the car spends most of its life on the battery, and the meters say these ones burned 5.92. Owners are not plugging them in, and a plug-in hybrid that is never charged is simply a heavy petrol car. Source: European Environment Agency (EEA), Real-world CO2 emissions from new cars and vans, reporting year 2024, v3, 2023_Cars_Aggregated.csv, CC BY 4.0 — copyright holder: European Environment Agency (EEA).

Which Ford Kuga engine is best?

diesel 1.2–1.5 is highest at 116.7; diesel 1.8–2.0 is lowest at 98.4 — the gap is 18.3 points.

below 100 is betterabove 100 is worse100 = normal for this model at that age

Engine bands against this model's own failure rate at the same ages
FuelCapacityvs own age normRaw fail %Tests
diesel1.8–2.0 litre98.422.04%284,520
petrol1.2–1.5 litre101.315.22%67,817
diesel1.2–1.5 litre116.716.73%39,123

Splitting this model by fuel alone hides the thing that actually differs. Within the same badge, the diesel 1.2–1.5 runs at 116.7 against this model's own age norm while the diesel 1.8–2.0 runs at 98.4 — a spread of 18.3 points between two cars that share a name.

Read this one with more care than the rest of the page. Age is held constant, but who buys which engine is not: the largest capacity in a range is often a performance or executive variant that is garaged, cherished and lightly driven, while the smallest is frequently a fleet or entry car worked hard from new. The gap below is real in the test records; how much of it is the engine and how much is the owner, this data cannot separate. Bands under 5,000 tests are not shown.

Best year for a Ford Kuga, and the years to avoid

Build year 2012 is highest at 117.2; Build year 2017 is lowest at 89.7 — the gap is 27.5 points.

below 100 is betterabove 100 is worse100 = normal for this model at that age

build year vs the same model at the same age · 100 = as expected

Ford Kuga build year vs the same model at the same age · 100 = as expected — 2024 UK MOT data
Ford Kuga by build year, tests 2019–2024. Below 100 is better than the model's own age norm.
Every build year with its confidence interval
Build yearvs own age norm95% CIRaw fail %TestsVerdict
2019107.6106.1–109.112.93%148,702worse
2018101.7100.4–10313.24%178,447worse
201789.788.6–90.712.5%215,803better
201695.694.6–96.714.88%219,544better
201596.895.8–97.817.79%201,398better
20149896.9–99.121.12%150,026better
201393.392–94.623.06%85,074better
2012117.2115.6–118.833.14%62,558worse
2011112.8111.3–114.335.53%61,088worse
2010114112.6–115.439.12%65,230worse
2009108.4106.9–109.839.22%55,172worse
2008101.298.9–103.537.94%20,027no different

The best build year here is 2017 and the weakest is 2012. Comparing build years sounds simple and is not: within a single year of testing, a car's build year and its age are the same number, so a naive comparison of years is a comparison of ages wearing a disguise. Each year below is measured against the same model at the same age in other cohorts, across six years of testing — 11 of 12 years come out distinguishable from their own model's age norm.

Two limits worth knowing before you act on this. Age, test year and build year are locked together by arithmetic, so the test-year effect is taken from the observed national failure level of each year rather than estimated — it is an adjustment, not a solution. And for cars built before about 2004, a good score says more about which examples survived to be tested than about how that year was built: survivors are self-selected for care.

Ford Kuga MOT repair costs

The MOT-failure repair budget per test runs from £50.45 to £95.85, against £54.85 for the test itself.

bigger number = costs morepounds per test, MOT-failing faults only

MOT repairs, budget
£50–96
per test, repairs only
The test itself
£54.85
statutory cap, unchanged since 2010
How the figure is built: chance of failing × typical price of that repair
ComponentFails per 100 testsTypical repairIts priceContribution
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment13.0 (nat. 23.52)Battery replacement (standard 12V lead-acid)£140£18.20
Brakes8.9 (nat. 14.34)Front brake pads (parts + labour, typical hatchback)£150£13.35
Suspension5.9 (nat. 19.9)Suspension coil spring (single corner)£180£10.62
Tyres9.2 (nat. 10.27)Tyre (single mid-range 16" fitted)£90£8.28

Multiply how often each component fails on this model by what that repair usually costs, and you get the amount an owner should expect to budget per test for MOT-failing faults only — roughly £50 to £96, on top of the test fee itself. It is a budgeting figure, not a quote: the spread between a set of pads and a set of discs is most of the range.

Prices are modal quotes from a hand-kept catalogue of published UK garage guides — we do not scrape the booking sites, their terms forbid it, so this list is short and updated by hand with a source and date against each line. Each line prices one typical repair in that group, not a full remedy, and only groups our catalogue actually covers are counted. The contrast worth noticing is the second card: the legal maximum for the test has been £54.85 since 2010, while the repairs it uncovers have followed inflation the whole time.

For scale from a different direction: Warrantywise, which sees used-car warranty claims rather than test failures, puts the average claim at £2,052 across the ten highest-claim models it ranks and £539 for Honda, the lowest-claim make in its index (Warrantywise index 2026, 1.6 million claims, cars aged 3–15). Those sit an order of magnitude above the figures in this table, and the gap is the point: a warranty claim is a gearbox or an engine, which almost never fails an MOT, while the faults that do fail one are corrosion, lamps and tyres, which no warranty pays for. The two numbers answer different questions and neither replaces the other.

Ford Kuga running costs for a fleet

Vehicles failing at age 10 stand out at 25%, against 13% at age 5 in the same 100-vehicle fleet.

higher = larger sharecompare shares in percentage points

Fails per 100 at age 5
13
vehicles needing work
At age 10
25
same fleet, five years on
Repairs per 100
£5,045
plus £5,485 in test fees
Off the road
0d
median; 50.65% cleared same day
Failure rate and typical odometer by age
AgeFailsMedian odometerTestsGap vs age 5
49.89%29,1922,175-3.6 pp
513.47%35,82665,644+0.0 pp
614.18%45,08060,514+0.7 pp
714.87%54,85357,930+1.4 pp
818.29%63,45850,378+4.8 pp
921.81%72,70646,344+8.3 pp
1024.95%80,93835,291+11.5 pp
1125.7%90,54619,778+12.2 pp
1234.5%99,79113,999+21.0 pp
1336.05%107,13113,816+22.6 pp
1438.77%116,05914,323+25.3 pp
1537.95%122,14311,855+24.5 pp
1638.07%126,1694,064+24.6 pp

The number a fleet manager needs is not the failure rate, it is the year the car starts costing more. Between age 11 and 12 the failure rate of this model jumps by 8.8 percentage points — the steepest single step in its life, and the natural planning point for replacement.

Repair spend uses the same modal prices as the section above, so it inherits the same limits: one typical repair per component group, not a full remedy. Downtime is the gap between the failed test and the passed re-test, which is the window a vehicle is legally off the road.

Ford Kuga rust problems: where they corrode

Age-standardised corrosion susceptibility stands out at 0.22×, against for the national age-standardised rate.

above 1.0× = rusts more than averagebelow 1.0× = rusts less

How it rusts
0.22×
0.24% of tests record a corrosion defect vs 1.07% typical — age-standardised
Salt Belt exposure
highest
percentile among the models published here, from its tests across 106 postcode areas

This Ford Kuga fails on corrosion much less often than average once age is held constant, and its owners live in areas that are saltier than most for the models we publish. Both point the same way and reinforce each other: it resists corrosion even though its owners live in saltier areas than most.

Corrosion is the one failure mode that is as much about geography as about the car. We keep the two apart on purpose: a model can look rusty simply because it is popular in Scotland, and a model can look clean simply because it is bought in Surrey. Blending them into a single score would hide which of the two is doing the work.

Exposure is this model's tests weighted by an area corrosion index built from frost days, salt load and distance to the coast — the composite validated at r = 0.42 against corrosion defects we actually record. It is published as a rank, not a raw score, because every mainstream model skews towards low-corrosion areas for the simple reason that most of Britain's cars are in the south. Susceptibility is standardised to the national age profile, so an old fleet does not get labelled a rusty model.

Does a Ford Kuga advisory become a failure?

Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment are highest at 13.3%; Identification of the vehicle is lowest at 2.0% — the gap is 11.3 percentage points.

higher = more likelypercentage is the observed transition probability

chance the same component fails at the next MOT, given an advisory now

Ford Kuga chance the same component fails at the next MOT, given an advisory now — 2024 UK MOT data
Ford Kuga, advisory → failure conversion by component group, chained tests 2019–2024. Chart labels and rates: Lamps & electrical 13.3% · Steering 10.4% · Suspension 10.3% · Body & chassis 10% · Brakes 8% · Tyres 7.7% · Visibility 7.7% · Noise, emissions, leaks 5.1%.
Advisory today → failure at the next test, with how long you have
ComponentFails next timeTypical lead timeMiles of warningAdvisories tracked
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment13.3%12 months7,9843,840
Steering10.4%12 months6,9524,916
Suspension10.3%12 months7,09564,222
Body, chassis, structure10.0%12 months7,2798,599
Brakes8.0%12 months7,704186,528
Tyres7.7%12 months7,814249,538
Visibility7.7%12 months8,1961,030
Noise, emissions and leaks5.1%12 months7,55219,777
Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems3.0%11.9 months7,8833,011
Identification of the vehicle2.0%12 months8,66411,295

This is the question an advisory note actually raises, and it needs six years of test history to answer. We followed the same vehicles from one MOT to the next across 2019–2024 and measured how often a component that was merely advised came back as a genuine failure at the next test.

Read it as a budgeting horizon, not a prophecy: the most likely component above turns into a failure for about 13 in 100 cars, and the median gap is 12 months and roughly 7,984 miles. The rest were repaired, sold, scrapped, or simply held. Rows with fewer than 500 tracked advisories are not shown.

What will fail next on a Ford Kuga?

Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment after a failure at age 12-14 are highest at 22.7%; Brakes after a passed at age <3 are lowest at 1.8% — the gap is 20.9 percentage points.

higher = more likelypercentage is the observed transition probability

Probability of each component failing at the next test, by age and last result
AgeLast testMost likely next failuresCars tracked
<3passedVisibility 3.7% · Tyres 2.5% · Brakes 1.8%83,993
<3advisoryVisibility 5.2% · Tyres 3.6% · Brakes 3.2%31,634
<3failureVisibility 5.9%11,786
3-5passedVisibility 4.6% · Tyres 3.4% · Brakes 2.4%263,684
3-5advisoryVisibility 6.7% · Tyres 5.2% · Brakes 4.8%144,540
3-5failureVisibility 7.2% · Tyres 6.6% · Brakes 5.0%63,981
6-8passedLamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 5.5% · Tyres 4.7% · Visibility 4.1%135,770
6-8advisoryLamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 7.7% · Tyres 7.1% · Brakes 5.9%90,686
6-8failureLamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 11.4% · Tyres 8.8% · Brakes 7.0%62,235
9-11passedLamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 11.4% · Suspension 9.8% · Tyres 5.4%49,849
9-11advisoryLamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 15.0% · Suspension 12.0% · Tyres 8.1%39,707
9-11failureLamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 19.0% · Suspension 14.3% · Tyres 8.8%48,165
12-14passedLamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 14.4% · Suspension 11.4% · Visibility 6.7%13,988
12-14advisoryLamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 18.9% · Suspension 13.9% · Visibility 8.2%14,025
12-14failureLamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 22.7% · Suspension 14.9% · Visibility 10.8%18,692

The same chains, cut differently: given a car's age and how its last test went, which component most often causes trouble at the following one.

The pattern that repeats across every family: a failure at one test roughly doubles the chance of a failure on the same component at the next one, and an advisory sits about half-way between a clean pass and a failure. Age bands in years; probabilities are per car, not per defect item.

Ford Kuga ownership: what six years of MOTs show

The same-day re-test pass rate is highest at 50.7%; The later re-test pass rate is lowest at 1.8% — the gap is 48.9 percentage points.

higher = larger sharecompare shares in percentage points

Fixed same day
50.65%
of failures re-tested
Fails /10k miles
0.282
miles actually driven
Clean streaks
40.36%
3+ tests, nothing noted
Odometer anomaly
0.528%
reading went backwards

Failing is usually a same-week event, not a disaster. Of 190,021 failures followed through to their re-test, 50.65% were repaired and passed the same day and 47.58% within ten days; the median gap is 0 days. 382,701 defect items were cleared in the process.

Per mile driven, not per year. Dividing failures by the miles that actually went onto the odometers between consecutive tests gives 0.282 failures per 10,000 miles, on a median of 6,799 miles a year across 258,347 chains. This is the number to compare between models — an annual rate quietly rewards cars that barely leave the drive.

Two populations hide inside one model. 40.36% of these cars strung together three or more tests with nothing recorded at all, while 21.98% carried the same advisory three times or more — the same fault, noted, ignored, noted again. When you buy used you are buying one of those two histories, and the MOT record shows which.

Odometer anomalies: 0.528% of 258,359 chains show a reading lower than the previous test, with a median drop of 14,624 miles. We call this an anomaly and not fraud on purpose — instrument swaps, imports, unit mix-ups and keying errors all land in the same bucket. Obvious typos (drops under 100 miles or over 90% of the reading) are already excluded.

Ford Kuga safety recalls and how to check yours

DVSA recall campaigns stand out at 132, against 3.59 campaigns per 10,000 licensed cars after fleet size is accounted for.

bigger number = more recorded casescompare like-for-like scope, not sample size alone

recall campaigns launched per year

Ford Kuga recall campaigns launched per year — 2024 UK MOT data
Campaigns launched per year for the Ford Kuga. Source: DVSA vehicle safety recalls. Chart values: 2017: 1 · 2018: 0 · 2019: 0 · 2020: 0 · 2021: 0 · 2022: 1 · 2023: 0 · 2024: 0 · 2025: 5 · 2026: 1.
Most recent safety recall campaigns for the Ford Kuga
ReferenceLaunchedVehiclesConcern
R/2026/26830/06/20269,702Affected vehicles may experience erratic behaviour of the Glare Free High Beam function under certain circumstances.…
R/2025/16230/04/20253On affected vehicles software from a previous recall may not have been installed correctly. Vehicles may have Hybrid Powertrain Control Module (HPCM) software …
R/2025/16230/04/20252On affected vehicles software from a previous recall may not have been installed correctly. Vehicles may have Hybrid Powertrain Control Module (HPCM) software …
R/2025/16230/04/20253On affected vehicles software from a previous recall may not have been installed correctly. Vehicles may have Hybrid Powertrain Control Module (HPCM) software …
R/2025/16230/04/20251On affected vehicles software from a previous recall may not have been installed correctly. Vehicles may have Hybrid Powertrain Control Module (HPCM) software …
All 8 campaigns
ReferenceLaunchedBuild datesVehiclesConcern
R/2026/26830/06/202623/09/2025 – 14/04/20269,702Affected vehicles may experience erratic behaviour of the Glare Free High Beam function under certain circumstances.…
R/2025/16230/04/202528/02/2020 – 11/05/20203On affected vehicles software from a previous recall may not have been installed correctly. Vehicles may have Hybrid Powertrain Control Module (HPCM) software that can result in a forced neutral condition while driving.…
R/2025/16230/04/202506/07/2020 – 09/07/20202On affected vehicles software from a previous recall may not have been installed correctly. Vehicles may have Hybrid Powertrain Control Module (HPCM) software that can result in a forced neutral condition while driving.…
R/2025/16230/04/202529/01/2021 – 11/02/20223On affected vehicles software from a previous recall may not have been installed correctly. Vehicles may have Hybrid Powertrain Control Module (HPCM) software that can result in a forced neutral condition while driving.…
R/2025/16230/04/202513/05/2021 – 13/05/20211On affected vehicles software from a previous recall may not have been installed correctly. Vehicles may have Hybrid Powertrain Control Module (HPCM) software that can result in a forced neutral condition while driving.…
R/2025/16230/04/202514/01/2022 – 24/01/20222On affected vehicles software from a previous recall may not have been installed correctly. Vehicles may have Hybrid Powertrain Control Module (HPCM) software that can result in a forced neutral condition while driving.…
R/2022/32530/11/202219/04/2021 – 19/11/20212,359Some Kuga vehicles with a panoramic roof may have a fixed glass panel with poor adhesion to the roof frame assembly. As a result there is a possibility that the fixed glass panel could detach during driving causing a haz…
R/2017/23830/08/201717/07/2012 – 19/06/201429,904In the event of a colision which deploys the front seat belt retractor pre-tensioner there is a possibility that the insulation material on the inner face of lower 'B' pillar trim could be subjected to a concentrated hea…

DVSA lists 132 safety recall campaigns for the Ford Kuga — 3.59 campaigns per 10,000 of these cars licensed in Great Britain, covering roughly 41,976 vehicles in total. A recall is the manufacturer fixing a fault for free, so an open recall on your car costs nothing to clear.

Counter-intuitive, and measured on our own data: across the 25 families published here, more recalls go with a lower MOT Risk Index (r = −0.52). Heavily recalled models are not worse cars in the test bay — an active manufacturer removes the fault before it becomes an MOT failure.

Check whether a specific car has an outstanding recall — free, by registration — at DVSA's recall service. Source: DVSA vehicle safety recalls (check-vehicle-recalls.service.gov.uk), OGL.

Ford Kuga technical service bulletins: what dealers are told

NHTSA manufacturer communications are 634.

bigger number = more recorded dealer communicationsnot affected vehicles or confirmed faults

These are the issues the manufacturer fixes quietly: service communications sent to dealers without a public recall campaign. They show what the service network has been told even when the issue never became news.

United States · NHTSA manufacturer communications

US technical service bulletins by communication year; leading subjects cover the full file
Communication yearBulletinsLeading subjects across all years
20144
  • Electrical system (210)
  • Equipment (175)
  • Powertrain (107)
  • Engine and cooling (78)
  • Other / uncategorised (61)
  • Engine (51)
  • Structure (38)
  • Visibility (19)
201525
201673
201750
201876
201958
202071
202181
202263
202342
202443
202530
202618

Caveat worth stating plainly: this is NHTSA data about US-specification cars. British cars sold under the same name often use different gearboxes, engines and equipment, so a bulletin may describe a component that was never fitted here. The file counts dealer communications, not affected vehicles or confirmed failures, and it cannot tell you whether an individual UK car has the issue. A communication can carry more than one subject tag, so topic counts do not have to add up to the total. Source: NHTSA Manufacturer Communications API (US-market vehicles; queried model years 2015-2022). Licence: U.S. Government work / public domain · retrieved 2026-08-03.

Ford Kuga owner complaints: what goes wrong

Engine (not MOT-tested) is highest at 4,606; Brakes are lowest at 251 — the gap is 4,355.

bigger number = more recorded casescompare like-for-like scope, not sample size alone

Owner complaints (US) against actual MOT failures (UK) for the same component groups
ComponentComplaintsShareMOT fail items per 100MOT rankAgreement
Engine (not MOT-tested)4,60650.7%not in top 6complained about, rarely an MOT failure
Transmission (not MOT-tested)1,67118.4%not in top 6complained about, rarely an MOT failure
Body & structure8629.5%3.7#6complained about, fails occasionally
Lamps & electrical7558.3%13.0#1complained about and fails often
Steering2703.0%not in top 6complained about, rarely an MOT failure
Brakes2512.8%8.9#4complained about, fails occasionally

Two different populations answering two different questions: the MOT records what an inspector can measure once a year, the complaint file records what annoyed or frightened an owner on the road. A component high in one column and absent from the other is the interesting case — driver-assistance and electronics dominate complaints while almost never appearing as an MOT failure item.

What the reports actually say
2018 Ford escape ecoboost coolant leak and engine overheating. If not repaired, will destroy the entire engine.
NHTSA complaint, filed 07/23/2026 · POWER TRAIN
engine light on solid. replaced per code solenoid purge sensor. after a month light back on. Replaced per code solenoid purge sensor. Light came back on after 3 wks. Went to Ford dealership. Says coolant leaked into cylinders. Out of warranty 91,000 miles. Over 7 yrs, 84,000 miles. Need to replace engine at my expense. Seems unfair. I'm elderly and like most people these days on fixed budget.
NHTSA complaint, filed 07/22/2026 · ENGINE

US owners have filed 9,093 complaints about the equivalent Ford Kuga to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, including 184 that mention a crash, 69 a fire and 205 an injury. These are owner reports, not verified findings — but they are the only large public record of what drivers themselves notice, and they cover the years between MOT tests.

Caveat worth stating plainly: US-specification cars, self-selected reporters, no denominator — complaint counts scale with how many cars were sold there and how motivated owners are to file. The mechanical gap matters as much as the statistical one: American cars of the same name often carry different gearboxes, engines and equipment — automatics where Britain buys manuals — so a drivetrain complaint filed in Ohio may describe a part that was never fitted here. Read the ranking inside a model, not between models, and treat drivetrain entries with particular caution. Source: NHTSA ODI consumer complaints (US market, public domain) — US-spec vehicles, indicative only.

Ford Kuga inspection results in other countries

Netherlands APK stands out at 34.5%, against 50.9% nationally.

higher = larger sharecompare shares in percentage points

Same model, different national inspection regimes
CountryTestThis model failsNational averagePositionSample
United KingdomMOT (class 4)20.4%26.01%-5.6 pp396,566
NetherlandsAPK34.5%50.9%-16.4 pp11,718
FinlandKatsastus14.5%26.3%-11.8 pp4,188
NorwayPKK29.4%33.5%-4.1 pp2,725

The verdict is consistent across every regime we can measure, which is the strongest form this comparison takes: independent inspectorates, different rulebooks, same direction of travel.

What Finland fails it for — share of recorded faults
Fault areaShare
Axles, wheels and suspension45.2%
Brake systems29.5%
Steering equipment11.9%
Environmental hazards7.5%
Lighting devices and electrical equipment2.1%

Useful as a cross-check on the UK defect table above: the categories are named differently, but a component that dominates in both regimes is a genuine weak point of the model rather than an artefact of one country's testing style.

The exact faults Netherlands records — APK defect codes, 2024
CodeFaultRecordedType
210Tyre pressure not at the correct value1,896failure
205Tyre with insufficient tread1,204failure
516Dipped headlight incorrectly aimed889failure
AC1Tyre down to 1.6–2.5 mm of tread588advisory
391Wipers leave insufficient visibility481failure
203Tyre damaged323failure
AC5Mechanical brake parts showing wear306advisory
312Brake disc severely corroded294failure

Worth dwelling on how mundane the top of that list is: tyre pressure, tread depth, headlight aim. The Dutch APK records 0.736 defects per inspection against a much higher national failure rate than Britain's, and the reason is not that Dutch cars are worse — it is that the two regimes draw the line between "note it" and "fail it" in different places. Codes are the RDW's own; the English wording here is our translation of the Dutch original.

Britain is not the only country that inspects every car every year, and the Ford Kuga is on the road in all of them. Each national regime writes its own rules, so the pass rates below are not comparable to each other — what does travel across a border is whether a model sits above or below its own country's average.

Rows with fewer than 500 inspections are not published. Sources: RDW open data — Meldingen Keuringsinstantie + Geconstateerde Gebreken + Gekentekende voertuigen (2024), CC0. Not an RDW endorsement.; Traficom — Periodic inspections of cars by model / by model and fault object 2024, CC BY 4.0; Statens vegvesen — Periodisk kjøretøykontroll (PKK) 2024, CC BY 4.0.

Ford Kuga MOT: quick answers

Ford Kuga MOT Risk Index stands out at 91.3, against 100 for a car with the same age profile.

below 100 is betterabove 100 is worse100 = normal for this model at that age

What is the Ford Kuga first-time MOT pass rate?
79.6% of first attempts passed in 2024 (396,566 tests). This is the first-time figure: retests after repair are excluded. Basis: first-time, excluding retests.
Why does this number differ from other sites?
Other sites often report a pass rate that includes retests or counts all attempts. Our 20.4% figure is the first-time initial failure rate, using 396,566 primary tests as the denominator (first-time, excluding retests). The age-adjusted MOT initial-failure ratio 91.3 is shown separately because raw rates compare fleet age as well as cars.

Compare the Ford Kuga with other cars

Seat Leon is highest at 92.0; Ford Kuga is lowest at 91.3 — the gap is 0.7 points.

below 100 is betterabove 100 is worse100 = normal for this model at that age

Head-to-head

Nissan Qashqai head-to-headKia Sportage head-to-head

Same brand

All Ford MOT statisticsFord Mondeo MOT statsFord Focus MOT stats

Similar risk

Audi A1 (index 91.3)Mercedes A Class (index 91.3)Seat Leon (index 92.0)

Same size class

how Kia Sportage compareshow Volkswagen Tiguan compareshow Audi A4 compares


Data details & how to cite

Scope: class-4 vehicles (cars), initial tests only, outcomes pass / fail / fixed-on-the-spot at the station (PRS counts towards the failure rate — the defect was present at arrival). Index = observed initial failures ÷ failures expected for this fleet's exact age profile, ×100; margin of error is a 95% confidence interval. Covers ALL generations together — a 3-year-old and a 15-year-old are very different cars; a generation split is on the roadmap. Dataset release dataset_release_id=dvsa-2024-v1, frozen baseline; headline claim_id=family-stats:ford-kuga:dvsa-2024-v1. Full method: methodology.

Cite: MOT Risk Index (2026). Ford Kuga MOT statistics 2024 (dvsa-2024-v1). https://motriskindex.co.uk/cars/ford-kuga/ · Published 2026-07-30.