Does the Ford Kuga fail the MOT on steering more than it should?
The Ford Kuga records 1.08 steering failure items per 100 initial MOT tests (2019–2024), against 1.46 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) (−0.38, 95% interval −0.40 to −0.36). It ranks 271 of 640 models on steering (1 = most failures above expected).
Data release dvsa-2024-v2 (24 Sep 2026) · page updated 30 Sep 2026 · all models on steering · check a Ford Kuga by registration
What exactly fails on steering?
The most frequent DVSA defect wording in this group on the Ford Kuga is “Steering rack gaiter or ball joint dust cover missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt etc”, recorded 8,066 times in 2019–2024.
| DVSA defect wording | Items | Per 100 tests |
|---|---|---|
| Steering rack gaiter or ball joint dust cover missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt etc | 8,066 | 0.61 |
| A steering ball joint with excessive wear or free play | 3,390 | 0.25 |
| Steering rack gaiter or ball joint dust cover damaged or deteriorated | 1,525 | 0.11 |
| Free play in the steering, measured at the rim of the steering wheel is excessive | 353 | 0.03 |
| Power steering fluid leaking or system malfunctioning | 339 | 0.03 |
Source: DVSA MOT bulk data (OGL v3.0) · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 1,330,203 (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 Kuga gets a steering advisory, how often does it fail next time?
10.4% of Ford Kuga MOTs with a steering advisory were followed by a fail in the same group at the next MOT, typically 12 months and 6,952 miles later (4,916 advisories followed).
Source: DVSA MOT bulk data (OGL v3.0) · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 4,916 (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 Kuga 2008 · Ford Kuga 2009 · Ford Kuga 2010 · Ford Kuga 2011 · Ford Kuga 2012 · Ford Kuga 2013 · Ford Kuga 2014 · Ford Kuga 2015 · Ford Kuga 2016 · Ford Kuga 2017 · Ford Kuga 2018 · Ford Kuga 2019 · Ford Kuga 2020 · Ford Kuga in Finland · Ford Kuga in the Netherlands · Ford Kuga in Norway · Ford Kuga by postcode area · Ford Kuga body, chassis and structure failures · Ford Kuga brakes failures · Ford Kuga vehicle identification failures · Ford Kuga lamps, reflectors and electrics failures · Ford Kuga noise, emissions and leaks failures · Ford Kuga road wheels failures · Ford Kuga seat belts and airbags failures · Ford Kuga suspension failures · Ford Kuga tyres failures · Ford Kuga visibility failures