Ford S-MAX — MOT statistics 2024
The Ford S-MAX failed 35.19% of 73,047 first MOT attempts in 2024 ("first-time", excluding retests). Adjusted for the age of the fleet, its initial-failure ratio is 107.6 (100 = expected for its age profile). This car fails its MOT about 8% more often than expected for its age.
Age-adjusted peer: Volvo V40 (index 108.1) — the two published results are 0.5 index points apart.
Ford S-MAX common problems: what actually fails the MOT
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment stand out at 24.3 per 100 tests, against 18.0 per 100 tests across UK vehicles of the same ages.
higher bar = fails more oftenrate per 100 tests
family vs national — matched to UK vehicles of the same ages — top component groups, per 100 tests. Legend: This family · National avg. Combined labels: family / national average. A gap here reflects how these vehicles are driven, used and maintained as well as how they were built — an MOT defect is a test outcome, not a breakdown.
Component-group comparison table
Each ratio carries a 95% interval. With 6 groups compared here, roughly one apparent difference in twenty is chance alone.
| Group | This family | Cases behind it | UK, same ages | Family / national |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lamps & electrical | 24.3 | 115,776 | 18.0 | 1.35×1.34–1.35 |
| Suspension | 15.7 | 74,734 | 16.3 | 0.96×0.95–0.97 |
| Tyres | 13.2 | 63,103 | 9.3 | 1.41×1.40–1.43 |
| Brakes | 11.0 | 52,625 | 11.8 | 0.93×0.93–0.95 |
| Visibility | 8.8 | 41,894 | 7.9 | 1.11×1.10–1.12 |
| Body & structure | 7.8 | 37,023 | 5.3 | 1.48×1.46–1.49 |
| What failed | per 100 tests (this family) | per 100 tests (UK average) | ratio family / UK | What to check |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 sources | 6.07 | 2.83 | 2.15× | Try every light and switch — lamps are a top failure |
| Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the…Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements | 5.95 | 3.59 | 1.66× | Check tyre tread depth across the full width |
| Brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mma brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm | 4.50 | 2.15 | 2.09× | Feel for brake judder and pulling on the test drive |
| Tyre cords visible or damagedA tyre cords visible or damaged | 3.44 | 1.63 | 2.11× | Check tyre tread depth across the full width |
| Suspension pin, bush or joint excessively wornA suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn | 6.34 | 4.87 | 1.30× | Listen for knocks over bumps — worn joints show up on the test |
| Exhaust system leaking or insecureExhaust system leaking or insecure | 2.29 | 1.16 | 1.98× | Watch for smoke on a cold start — emissions failures are costly |
| Transmission shaft constant velocity joint boot…A transmission shaft constant velocity joint boot missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt etc | 2.60 | 1.56 | 1.67× | Ask the seller about: A transmission shaft constant velocity joint boot missing or |
| 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 functioning | 2.82 | 2.09 | 1.35× | Try every light and switch — lamps are a top failure |
| Windscreen or window damaged or seriously…Windscreen or window damaged or seriously discoloured but not adversely affecting driver's view | 2.82 | 2.36 | 1.20× | Check wipers, washers and windscreen chips in the driver's view |
| Tyre seriously damagedA tyre seriously damaged | 2.82 | 2.54 | 1.11× | Check tyre tread depth across the full width |
Named defects ranked by how much more often they appear than the national average — not by raw rate.
Ford S-MAX MOT advisories: what gets flagged
Tyres are highest at 52.1 per 100 tests; Body & structure are lowest at 5.1 per 100 tests — the gap is 47.0 per 100 tests.
higher bar = flagged more oftenadvisory items per 100 initial tests
Advisory rates table
| Group | Advisories per 100 |
|---|---|
| Tyres | 52.1 |
| Suspension | 43 |
| Brakes | 40.3 |
| Non-component advisories | 16.2 |
| Emissions & leaks | 5.5 |
| Body & structure | 5.1 |
Advisories are wear the tester noted but didn't fail — what will need money soon.
Tyres, brakes and suspension: Ford S-MAX against cars of the same age
| Age | Part | Ford S-MAX | Same age, petrol and diesel | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 years | Tyres | 5.72 | 4.17 | 1.55 |
| 3 years | Brakes | 3.36 | 1.77 | 1.59 |
| 3 years | Suspension | 0.17 | 0.63 | -0.46 |
| 4 years | Tyres | 6.03 | 4.54 | 1.49 |
| 4 years | Brakes | 3.82 | 2.43 | 1.39 |
| 4 years | Suspension | 0.24 | 1.21 | -0.97 |
| 5 years | Tyres | 7.06 | 5.06 | 2.00 |
| 5 years | Brakes | 4.63 | 3.09 | 1.54 |
| 5 years | Suspension | 0.66 | 2.19 | -1.53 |
| 6 years | Tyres | 7.96 | 5.54 | 2.42 |
| 6 years | Brakes | 5.4 | 3.81 | 1.59 |
| 6 years | Suspension | 2.06 | 3.72 | -1.66 |
| 7 years | Tyres | 8.82 | 5.95 | 2.87 |
| 7 years | Brakes | 5.7 | 4.55 | 1.15 |
| 7 years | Suspension | 3.5 | 5.68 | -2.18 |
| 8 years | Tyres | 9.3 | 6.31 | 2.99 |
| 8 years | Brakes | 6.11 | 5.38 | 0.73 |
| 8 years | Suspension | 5.13 | 7.78 | -2.65 |
Failing items per 100 initial tests, 2019-2024. The comparison group is every petrol or diesel car tested at the same age, so weight and drivetrain show up rather than fleet age.
If a car like this fails, does it fail again?
A failure rate does not say whether a failure is a one-off or the start of something. This follows the same vehicles into their next ordinary MOT a year later — retests after a repair are excluded, because they follow a failure by definition. 2019-2024.
| After this year's test | Fails next year | Vehicles followed |
|---|---|---|
| It failed | 38.6% | 29,380 |
| It passed | 29.6% | 241,847 |
A failed test raises next year's chance of failing again by 9.0 percentage points. The failure most likely to come back is visibility — 38.9% of those vehicles fail again next year. Some of this is the vehicle and some is the owner: a car that was let go once tends to be let go again. One caveat: a car that fails may be sold or scrapped rather than tested again, so these figures describe the vehicles that came back.
Adjusted for how much these are actually driven
The headline index adjusts for the fleet's age. Wear, though, follows mileage: a three-year-old taxi and a three-year-old garage queen sit in the same age band. These two rows compare every car with vehicles of the same age, and then with vehicles of the same age and the same annual mileage, 2019-2024, on 473,594 tests. Both stand on the six-year corpus so they are measured on identical data — compare them with each other, not with the headline index above, which is measured on 2024 alone.
| Standardised for | Index | Reading |
|---|---|---|
| Age only | 109.2 | fails more often than expected |
| Age and annual mileage | 101.4 | fails more often than vehicles driven as much |
| Share doing under 3,000 miles a year | 0.7% | a normal spread of use |
Mileage matters here: matching on how much these are driven moves the figure by 7.8 points — this fleet works harder than the vehicles it is measured against, so the age-only view penalises it — but it does not change which side of normal the car sits on. One limit to keep in mind: mileage is partly a result of how often a car breaks down — one that spends weeks in the workshop covers fewer miles — so the mileage-matched figure can understate a real weakness. Tests with no usable odometer reading are left out of it.
How the Ford S-MAX compares with cars of its own age and size
Not against the whole fleet — against cars of the same size class tested at the same age, 2019-2024.
| Age | Ford S-MAX | Same class, same age | Difference | Tests |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 years | 15.03% | 11.67% | +3.35 pp | 21,217 |
| 4 years | 16.72% | 13.27% | +3.45 pp | 21,529 |
| 5 years | 20.4% | 15.02% | +5.37 pp | 27,279 |
| 6 years | 23.24% | 17.28% | +5.95 pp | 31,287 |
| 7 years | 27.06% | 20.08% | +6.98 pp | 36,320 |
| 8 years | 30.5% | 23.12% | +7.37 pp | 38,088 |
| 9 years | 35.05% | 26.61% | +8.43 pp | 41,757 |
| 10 years | 37.22% | 29.9% | +7.32 pp | 45,694 |
| 11 years | 39.18% | 33.34% | +5.84 pp | 46,122 |
| 12 years | 40.54% | 36.38% | +4.16 pp | 48,120 |
| 13 years | 42.47% | 38.82% | +3.65 pp | 42,685 |
| 14 years | 44.65% | 40.77% | +3.88 pp | 33,226 |
| 15 years | 46.7% | 42.25% | +4.45 pp | 21,579 |
| 16 years | 47.86% | 43.09% | +4.77 pp | 12,996 |
| 17 years | 48.91% | 43.48% | +5.42 pp | 6,502 |
| 18 years | 49.01% | 43.62% | +5.39 pp | 1,420 |
Raw first-time failure rates within each age, so fleet age cannot flatter either side. A positive difference means this model fails more often than its own class at that age.
How does the Ford S-MAX perform as it gets older?
The S-MAX at age 5 stands out at 24.2%, against 15.1% for all vehicles of the same age.
higher = larger sharecompare shares in percentage points
Chart axes: car age, years · failure-rate scale 0–53%.
Takeaway: a 10-year-old S-MAX has roughly a 36% chance of failing its MOT; from about age 14 it stays above the national age curve.
Data table
| Age | Ford S-MAX | All vehicles | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 18.6% | 12.4% | +6.2 pp |
| 4 | 17.7% | 13.1% | +4.6 pp |
| 5 | 24.2% | 15.1% | +9.1 pp |
| 6 | 19.6% | 17.5% | +2.1 pp |
| 7 | 20.2% | 20.2% | +0.0 pp |
| 8 | 21.6% | 23.3% | -1.7 pp |
| 9 | 28.7% | 26.5% | +2.1 pp |
| 10 | 36.4% | 30.1% | +6.3 pp |
| 11 | 37.6% | 33.2% | +4.4 pp |
| 12 | 37.2% | 35.7% | +1.5 pp |
| 13 | 37.5% | 38.2% | -0.7 pp |
| 14 | 41.1% | 40.4% | +0.7 pp |
| 15 | 46.0% | 41.6% | +4.4 pp |
| 16 | 45.6% | 43.1% | +2.5 pp |
| 17 | 48.1% | 43.1% | +4.9 pp |
| 18 | 49.0% | 43.9% | +5.1 pp |
Is a Ford S-MAX ULEZ compliant?
The share of classifiable 2024 Ford S-MAX MOT tests likely ULEZ compliant by first-registration date is 34.6%.
Based on 72,904 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
| Vehicle age at test | Likely ULEZ-compliant share | Tests |
|---|---|---|
| Under 3 years | Suppressed — sample below publication threshold Check a registration with TfL | n = 49 |
| 3–5 years | 100.0% Check a registration with TfL | n = 4,256 |
| 6–7 years | 100.0% Check a registration with TfL | n = 7,685 |
| 8 years | 100.0% Check a registration with TfL | n = 6,848 |
| 9 years | 60.0% Check a registration with TfL | n = 3,301 |
| 10–14 years | 8.0% Check a registration with TfL | n = 34,664 |
| 15–17 years | 9.0% Check a registration with TfL | n = 14,680 |
| 18 years | 19.7% Check a registration with TfL | n = 1,419 |
| 19 years | Suppressed — sample below publication threshold Check a registration with TfL | n = 1 |
| 20+ years | Suppressed — sample below publication threshold Check a registration with TfL | n = 1 |
How dangerous are Ford S-MAX MOT failures?
Dangerous defects stand out at 17.6 per 100 tests, against 11.2 per 100 tests nationally.
higher bar = fails more oftenrate per 100 tests
Severity table
| Severity | This family /100 | National /100 | Family / national |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minor | 19.86 | 14.22 | 1.40× |
| Major | 53.90 | 52.75 | 1.02× |
| Dangerous | 17.55 | 11.15 | 1.57× |
Chart values: Minor 19.9 · Major 53.9 · Dangerous 17.6.
Per 100 tests on this family. National average: Minor 14.2 · Major 52.8 · Dangerous 11.2 per 100.
Does the month of a Ford S-MAX MOT matter?
Oct is highest at 34.9%; Sep is lowest at 33.2% — the gap is 1.6 percentage points.
higher = larger sharecompare shares in percentage points
Chart scale: 27%–36%.
bars: Ford S-MAX · dashed: all class-4 cars
Month-by-month table
| Month | Ford S-MAX | All vehicles | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 34.58% | 31.12% | +3.5 pp |
| Feb | 34.37% | 29.99% | +4.4 pp |
| Mar | 33.74% | 28.26% | +5.5 pp |
| Apr | 34.47% | 29.78% | +4.7 pp |
| May | 34.41% | 28.79% | +5.6 pp |
| Jun | 33.75% | 28.15% | +5.6 pp |
| Jul | 34.44% | 29.33% | +5.1 pp |
| Aug | 34.79% | 29.2% | +5.6 pp |
| Sep | 33.22% | 28.19% | +5.0 pp |
| Oct | 34.86% | 30.34% | +4.5 pp |
| Nov | 34.79% | 30.58% | +4.2 pp |
| Dec | 34.35% | 29.33% | +5.0 pp |
Takeaway: the spread between best and worst month is 1.6 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 18.9% of these cars were first registered in March with another17.1% in September — 36% 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. That shapes how many cars are tested each month — not how often they fail: the busiest months here are not the worst ones, so read the failure line on its own and the volume behind it separately.
Ford S-MAX average mileage by age
At age 8, the middle half of S-MAX models runs from 54,571 miles to 84,992 miles, against 68,632 miles as the median.
further right = more milesmedian is the typical car; band is p25–p75
Chart axes: car age, years · odometer scale 0–174k mi.
Does high mileage mean more Ford S-MAX MOT failures at the same age?
Within the same age group, split by odometer (2024 MOTs), so this separates wear from age: at ages 10–14, 17% of those with under 40,000 miles failed first time versus 42.3% of those with over 140,000 miles.Inside this age group, higher mileage goes with more failures.
| Age | Odometer | % failing | 95% interval | Tests |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3–5 | <40k miles | 18.2% | 16.6–19.8% | 2,358 |
| 3–5 | 40-70k miles | 24.9% | 22.8–27% | 1,605 |
| 3–5 | 70-100k miles | 30.9% | 25.3–37.1% | 230 (rough estimate) |
| 3–5 | 100-140k miles | 26% | 15.9–39.6% | 50 (rough estimate) |
| 6–9 | <40k miles | 14.9% | 13.4–16.6% | 1,906 |
| 6–9 | 40-70k miles | 19.9% | 19–20.8% | 8,340 |
| 6–9 | 70-100k miles | 26% | 24.9–27.2% | 5,645 |
| 6–9 | 100-140k miles | 28.3% | 26.1–30.5% | 1,602 |
| 6–9 | 140k+ miles | 29.4% | 24.8–34.5% | 340 (rough estimate) |
| 10–14 | <40k miles | 17% | 13–21.9% | 271 (rough estimate) |
| 10–14 | 40-70k miles | 29.3% | 27.7–30.8% | 3,274 |
| 10–14 | 70-100k miles | 36.7% | 35.8–37.6% | 10,702 |
| 10–14 | 100-140k miles | 39.8% | 39–40.7% | 14,046 |
| 10–14 | 140k+ miles | 42.3% | 41.1–43.5% | 6,331 |
| 15+ | 40-70k miles | 35.2% | 30.2–40.5% | 324 (rough estimate) |
| 15+ | 70-100k miles | 40.5% | 38.2–42.8% | 1,756 |
| 15+ | 100-140k miles | 46.2% | 45–47.4% | 6,451 |
| 15+ | 140k+ miles | 48.8% | 47.7–50% | 7,321 |
line: median · band: middle half of the fleet (p25–p75)
Mileage by age (p25 / median / p75)
| Age | p25 | Median | p75 | Tests |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 19,555 | 27,617 | 38,010 | 756 |
| 4 | 24,006 | 33,092 | 46,138 | 1,166 |
| 5 | 32,263 | 42,701 | 55,709 | 2,334 |
| 6 | 38,439 | 49,366 | 62,392 | 2,387 |
| 7 | 49,786 | 62,398 | 76,925 | 5,298 |
| 8 | 54,571 | 68,632 | 84,992 | 6,848 |
| 9 | 61,984 | 76,885 | 94,810 | 3,301 |
| 10 | 72,133 | 88,663 | 108,324 | 6,498 |
| 11 | 80,468 | 97,189 | 116,975 | 6,233 |
| 12 | 88,136 | 107,154 | 129,082 | 6,910 |
| 13 | 96,602 | 116,885 | 140,407 | 6,343 |
| 14 | 101,898 | 122,631 | 144,521 | 8,680 |
| 15 | 110,101 | 131,622 | 153,879 | 5,798 |
| 16 | 116,650 | 138,511 | 163,868 | 4,435 |
| 17 | 118,327 | 141,707 | 165,505 | 4,449 |
| 18 | 114,597 | 138,005 | 164,490 | 1,419 |
A typical 8-year-old S-MAX has ~68,632 miles on the clock. Much more — ask why; much less — check for gaps in the MOT history.
Where in Britain the Ford S-MAX fails its MOT most
Exeter area is highest at 47.0%; Ilford area is lowest at 24.4% — the gap is 22.6 percentage points.
higher = larger sharecompare shares in percentage points
| Toughest areas | % failing | vs model overall |
|---|---|---|
| Exeter (EX) | 46.96% | +12.6 pp |
| Plymouth (PL) | 44.58% | +10.3 pp |
| Truro (TR) | 44.18% | +9.9 pp |
| Torquay (TQ) | 43.92% | +9.6 pp |
| Kirkcaldy (KY) | 43.36% | +9.0 pp |
| Easiest areas | % failing | vs model overall |
|---|---|---|
| Ilford (IG) | 24.39% | -9.9 pp |
| Romford (RM) | 25.35% | -9.0 pp |
| Enfield (EN) | 25.47% | -8.8 pp |
| London E (E) | 25.83% | -8.5 pp |
| Croydon (CR) | 25.86% | -8.5 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 9.8 pp more often than in the lowest fifth (r=0.67, n=109 areas with ≥800 tests).
In areas with the highest urban share this model fails 9.0 pp less often than in the lowest fifth (r=-0.56, n=109 areas with ≥800 tests).
In areas with the highest terrain gradient this model fails 3.3 pp more often than in the lowest fifth (r=0.32, n=65 areas with ≥800 tests).
| Factor | Low Q | High Q | Gap | Correlation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MOT centre density | 28.8% | 38.6% | +9.8 pp | r=0.67 |
| Urban share | 37.7% | 28.8% | -8.9 pp | r=-0.56 |
| Terrain gradient | 34.1% | 37.3% | +3.2 pp | r=0.32 |
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 | Built from | Tested against | r | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Underbody corrosion | frost days × salt load ÷ (distance to coast + 1) | share of tests with a corrosion defect | +0.42 | holds (116 areas) |
| Tyre wear | rain days × annual miles ÷ age at first tyre advisory | share of tests failing on tyres | +0.45 | holds (116 areas) |
| Overnight corrosion | terraced housing × cars per household × frost days | share with a corrosion defect | +0.41 | holds (102 areas) — and adds signal beyond the first index |
| Deferred maintenance | deprivation × advisory-to-failure conversion ÷ labour rate | cars repeating the same advisory | −0.26 | fails (118 areas) |
| Powertrain stress | engine capacity ÷ kerb weight | suspension, brake and emissions failures | −0.16 | fails (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)
| Factor | r | n areas | Low-Q fail % | High-Q fail % | Gap pp | Low-Q factor | High-Q factor |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MOT centre density (per 10k vehicles) | 0.673 | 109 | 28.8 | 38.6 | +9.8 | 5 | 8.4 |
| Urban share (0–1) | -0.560 | 109 | 37.7 | 28.8 | -9.0 | 0.4 | 1 |
| Terrain gradient (% grade) | 0.321 | 65 | 34.1 | 37.3 | +3.3 | 0.5 | 3.4 |
| Distance to coast (km) | -0.305 | 109 | 37.6 | 33.7 | -3.9 | 6 | 80 |
| Frost days (days/year) | 0.204 | 109 | 34.3 | 36.0 | +1.7 | 11.5 | 35.8 |
| Road-salt proxy (g/m²-yr) | 0.193 | 109 | 32.6 | 35.9 | +3.4 | 219.6 | 630.1 |
| Income deprivation (score) | -0.116 | 95 | 34.0 | 32.9 | -1.2 | 0.1 | 0.2 |
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: 26%–42% failing.
Ford S-MAX survival: which cars are still on the road
By age 18 is well below the reference at 5.3%, against 100.0% at the ages 4–6 reference level.
higher = larger sharecompare shares in percentage points
Chart axes: car age, years · survival vs ages 4–6 · scale 0–105%.
Survival vs fail rate by age
| Age | Tests | Survival vs ages 4–6 | Fail % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 21,217 | 79.5% | 15.03% |
| 4 | 21,529 | 80.6% | 16.72% |
| 5 | 27,279 | 100% | 20.4% |
| 6 | 31,287 | 100% | 23.24% |
| 7 | 36,320 | 100% | 27.06% |
| 8 | 38,088 | 100% | 30.5% |
| 9 | 41,757 | 100% | 35.05% |
| 10 | 45,694 | 100% | 37.22% |
| 11 | 46,122 | 100% | 39.18% |
| 12 | 48,120 | 100% | 40.54% |
| 13 | 42,685 | 100% | 42.47% |
| 14 | 33,226 | 100% | 44.65% |
| 15 | 21,579 | 80.8% | 46.7% |
| 16 | 12,996 | 48.7% | 47.86% |
| 17 | 6,502 | 24.4% | 48.91% |
| 18 | 1,420 | 5.3% | 49.01% |
By age 18, only about 5% as many cars of this family present for MOT as at ages 4–6 (reference n≈26,698); survivors still fail at 49.0% vs 16.7% at age 4. Older cars that still appear are a selected subset — weaker ones have already left.
How many miles does a Ford S-MAX last?
100,000+ miles is highest at 40.9%; 200,000+ miles is lowest at 1.4% — the gap is 39.5 percentage points.
higher = larger sharecompare shares in percentage points
| Odometer | Tests ≥ threshold | Share of sample |
|---|---|---|
| 100,000+ miles | 193,509 | 40.85% |
| 150,000+ miles | 47,538 | 10.03% |
| 200,000+ miles | 6,515 | 1.38% |
Of 473,742 tests of this family with a usable odometer in 2024, 40.9% had reached 100k miles, 10.0% had reached 150k miles, 1.4% had reached 200k miles. This is a cross-section of cars still presenting for MOT, not a full birth cohort.
How many years is a Ford S-MAX likely to last?
Bought at age 5 is highest at 11.1 years; Bought at age 15 is lowest at 1.5 years — the gap is 9.6 years.
bigger number = longer remaining lifeyears on the observed survival curve
| Age now | Typical mileage (p50) | Expected years left |
|---|---|---|
| 5 | — | 11.1 |
| 8 | — | 8.1 |
| 10 | — | 6.1 |
| 12 | — | 4.1 |
| 15 | — | at least 1.5 |
estimateEstimate only — not a warranty: a typical 10-year-old example of this family has about 6.1 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 S-MAX faults that come together
Road Wheels + Seatbelts & SRS stand out at 5.03×, against 1.00× if the faults were independent.
above 1.0× = more than expectedbelow 1.0× = less
| Group A | Group B | Together | Lift |
|---|---|---|---|
| Road Wheels | Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | 200 | 5.03× (rough estimate) |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Speedometer and speed limiter | 23 | 4.79× (rough estimate) |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | Road Wheels | 297 | 4.22× (rough estimate) |
| Identification of the vehicle | Road Wheels | 41 | 4.09× (rough estimate) |
| Identification of the vehicle | Noise, emissions and leaks | 247 | 4.01× (rough estimate) |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | 938 | 3.84× |
| Body, chassis, structure | Noise, emissions and leaks | 3,578 | 3.75× |
| Identification of the vehicle | Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | 124 | 3.56× (rough estimate) |
| Brakes | Road Wheels | 583 | 3.49× |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Seat belt installation check | 31 | 3.46× (rough estimate) |
| Road Wheels | Suspension | 804 | 3.39× |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | Suspension | 4,868 | 3.34× |
| Road Wheels | Steering | 256 | 3.32× (rough estimate) |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Road Wheels | 1,210 | 3.23× |
| Identification of the vehicle | Suspension | 660 | 3.18× |
| Brakes | Identification of the vehicle | 466 | 3.18× (rough estimate) |
| Brakes | Noise, emissions and leaks | 3,246 | 3.16× |
| Body, chassis, structure | Road Wheels | 477 | 3.07× (rough estimate) |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Noise, emissions and leaks | 7,016 | 3.05× |
| Brakes | Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | 1,753 | 3.02× |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | 3,903 | 3.01× |
| Identification of the vehicle | Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 964 | 2.94× |
| Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | Suspension | 2,372 | 2.89× |
| Road Wheels | Tyres | 611 | 2.87× |
| Identification of the vehicle | Tyres | 530 | 2.85× |
| Steering | Suspension | 4,528 | 2.84× |
| Body, chassis, structure | Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | 1,469 | 2.73× |
| Brakes | Suspension | 9,278 | 2.68× |
| Identification of the vehicle | Visibility | 409 | 2.67× (rough estimate) |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | Steering | 1,254 | 2.65× |
| Road Wheels | Visibility | 463 | 2.64× (rough estimate) |
| Body, chassis, structure | Suspension | 8,323 | 2.59× |
| Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | Visibility | 1,573 | 2.59× |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | Visibility | 2,771 | 2.58× |
| Brakes | Tyres | 7,975 | 2.57× |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Suspension | 19,736 | 2.55× |
| Body, chassis, structure | Identification of the vehicle | 345 | 2.54× (rough estimate) |
| Body, chassis, structure | Steering | 2,626 | 2.52× |
| Brakes | Steering | 2,817 | 2.51× |
| Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | Steering | 662 | 2.48× |
| Brakes | Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 13,424 | 2.46× |
| Body, chassis, structure | Brakes | 5,542 | 2.45× |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | Tyres | 3,157 | 2.42× |
| Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | Tyres | 1,785 | 2.42× |
| Body, chassis, structure | Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 11,912 | 2.35× |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Steering | 5,842 | 2.32× |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Visibility | 12,781 | 2.24× |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Tyres | 15,232 | 2.19× |
| Identification of the vehicle | Steering | 146 | 2.17× (rough estimate) |
| Suspension | Tyres | 9,275 | 2.11× |
| Body, chassis, structure | Tyres | 5,991 | 2.08× |
| Brakes | Visibility | 5,326 | 2.08× |
| Suspension | Visibility | 7,345 | 2.03× |
| Steering | Tyres | 2,856 | 2× |
| Tyres | Visibility | 6,326 | 1.94× |
| Body, chassis, structure | Visibility | 4,375 | 1.84× |
| Steering | Visibility | 2,093 | 1.78× |
| Brakes | Seat belt installation check | 17 | too few (rough estimate) |
| Seat belt installation check | Tyres | 17 | too few (rough estimate) |
| Seat belt installation check | Suspension | 11 | too few (rough estimate) |
| Speedometer and speed limiter | Suspension | 10 | too few (rough estimate) |
| Body, chassis, structure | Seat belt installation check | 10 | too few (rough estimate) |
| Brakes | Speedometer and speed limiter | 8 | too few (rough estimate) |
| Speedometer and speed limiter | Tyres | 8 | too few (rough estimate) |
| Body, chassis, structure | Speedometer and speed limiter | 7 | too few (rough estimate) |
| Seat belt installation check | Visibility | 7 | too few (rough estimate) |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | Speedometer and speed limiter | 6 | too few (rough estimate) |
| Seat belt installation check | Steering | 6 | too few (rough estimate) |
| Seat belt installation check | Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | 5 | too few (rough estimate) |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | Seat belt installation check | 5 | too few (rough estimate) |
Defects in «Noise, emissions and leaks» and «Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems» appear together 3.84× more often than chance (938 co-occurrences in the same test; lift≥1.3, n≥500).
Lift = how many times more often both groups appear on the same test than if independent. A pair is listed from 5 tests with both faults; the lift is shown from 20, and called above chance only when its 95% interval excludes 1 (see rough estimates).
Is low mileage better for a Ford S-MAX?
Cars driven under 5,000 miles a year is well below the reference at 20.6%, against 33.7% for cars driven 8,000–12,000 miles a year.
higher = larger sharecompare shares in percentage points
| Band | Fail % | Tests |
|---|---|---|
| <5k miles/year | 20.62% | 17,281 |
| 8–12k miles/year | 33.67% | 191,551 |
| Gap (low − normal) | -13.05 pp | — |
By fuel and age
Diesel
| Age | Low-use fail % | n | Normal fail % | n | Gap pp |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | 11.97 | 1,913 | 21.64 | 10,418 | -9.66 pp |
| 6 | 14.79 | 1,745 | 24.4 | 12,859 | -9.61 pp |
| 7 | 17.84 | 1,676 | 28.04 | 15,721 | -10.2 pp |
| 8 | 18.15 | 1,510 | 32.14 | 16,614 | -13.99 pp |
| 9 | 21.73 | 1,316 | 36.42 | 18,839 | -14.69 pp |
| 10 | 21.69 | 1,337 | 38.71 | 21,524 | -17.02 pp |
| 11 | 25.04 | 1,218 | 40.53 | 22,057 | -15.49 pp |
| 12 | 26.8 | 1,138 | 41.99 | 23,358 | -15.19 pp |
| 13 | 30.67 | 978 | 44.04 | 21,049 | -13.37 pp |
| 14 | 31.34 | 836 | 45.94 | 16,686 | -14.6 pp |
Petrol
| Age | Low-use fail % | n | Normal fail % | n | Gap pp |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | 13.55 | 502 | 23.18 | 729 | -9.64 pp |
| 6 | 13.38 | 411 | 22.56 | 585 | -9.18 pp |
| 7 | 14.14 | 389 | 27.22 | 731 | -13.08 pp |
| 8 | 18.64 | 381 | 32.93 | 1,084 | -14.3 pp |
| 9 | 18.71 | 310 | 37.99 | 1,416 | -19.28 pp |
| 10 | 22.64 | 296 | 37.92 | 1,411 | -15.28 pp |
| 11 | 25.16 | 322 | 41.78 | 1,558 | -16.63 pp |
| 12 | 27.64 | 369 | 41.81 | 1,899 | -14.17 pp |
| 13 | 28.85 | 357 | 42.83 | 1,758 | -13.98 pp |
| 14 | 34.3 | 277 | 47.04 | 1,250 | -12.74 pp |
At matched ages 5–14, cars averaging under 5k miles/year fail at 20.6% vs 33.7% for 8–12k miles/year — 13.1 pp lower (n_low=17,281, n_normal=191,551). 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: 20.6% low-use vs 33.5% normal (-12.9 pp).
Which Ford S-MAX engine is best?
diesel 1.5–1.8 is highest at 108.1; petrol 1.2–1.5 is lowest at 90.9 — the gap is 17.2 points.
below 100 is betterabove 100 is worse100 = normal for this model at that age
| Fuel | Capacity | vs own age norm | Raw fail % | Tests |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| petrol | 1.2–1.5 litre | 90.9 | 18.38% | 5,931 |
| petrol | 1.8–2.0 litre | 92.9 | 33.84% | 23,936 |
| petrol | over 2.0 litre | 93 | 40.23% | 7,004 |
| petrol | 1.5–1.8 litre | 93.4 | 32.38% | 5,772 |
| diesel | over 2.0 litre | 97.5 | 35.95% | 29,792 |
| diesel | 1.8–2.0 litre | 99.6 | 33.2% | 346,619 |
| diesel | 1.5–1.8 litre | 108.1 | 41.48% | 57,399 |
Splitting this model by fuel alone hides the thing that actually differs. Within the same badge, the diesel 1.5–1.8 runs at 108.1 against this model's own age norm while the petrol 1.2–1.5 runs at 90.9 — a spread of 17.2 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 100 tests are not shown; bands under 5,000 tests are rough estimates.
Best year for a Ford S-MAX, and the years to avoid
Build year 2019 is highest at 127.5; Build year 2016 is lowest at 82.9 — the gap is 44.6 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
Every build year with its confidence interval
| Build year | vs own age norm | 95% CI | Raw fail % | Tests | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 118.1 | 106.9–129.2 | 18.15% | 2,364 | worse |
| 2019 | 127.5 | 121–133.9 | 21.44% | 7,029 | worse |
| 2018 | 94.2 | 89.7–98.7 | 17.25% | 9,810 | better |
| 2017 | 83.7 | 81.3–86.1 | 16.55% | 28,169 | better |
| 2016 | 82.9 | 81.1–84.8 | 18.15% | 41,949 | better |
| 2015 | 92.6 | 90–95.3 | 23.37% | 19,927 | better |
| 2014 | 107.4 | 105.5–109.3 | 30.75% | 40,020 | worse |
| 2013 | 105.4 | 103.5–107.2 | 33.43% | 38,877 | worse |
| 2012 | 101 | 99.5–102.6 | 35% | 44,162 | no different |
| 2011 | 95.3 | 93.7–96.8 | 35.48% | 41,248 | better |
| 2010 | 97.7 | 96.5–99 | 38.72% | 59,409 | better |
| 2009 | 105.5 | 104–107 | 43.76% | 43,284 | worse |
| 2008 | 101.5 | 100–103.1 | 43.84% | 37,828 | no different |
| 2007 | 103.6 | 102.2–105.1 | 46.39% | 43,483 | worse |
| 2006 | 106.4 | 104.1–108.6 | 49.24% | 17,502 | worse |
The best build year here is 2016 and the weakest is 2019. 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 — 12 of 15 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.
Ford S-MAX MOT repair costs
The MOT-failure repair budget per test runs from £90.66 to £172.25, against £54.85 for the test itself.
bigger number = costs morepounds per test, MOT-failing faults only
| Component | Fails per 100 tests | Typical repair | Its price | Contribution |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 24.3 (nat. 18.09) | Battery replacement (standard 12V lead-acid) | £140 | £34.02 |
| Suspension | 15.7 (nat. 15.36) | Suspension coil spring (single corner) | £180 | £28.26 |
| Brakes | 11.0 (nat. 11.25) | Front brake pads (parts + labour, typical hatchback) | £150 | £16.50 |
| Tyres | 13.2 (nat. 8.7) | Tyre (single mid-range 16" fitted) | £90 | £11.88 |
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 £91 to £172, 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 S-MAX running costs for a fleet
Vehicles failing at age 10 stand out at 36.0%, against 24.0% at age 5, tested in the same year.
higher = larger sharecompare shares in percentage points
Failure rate and typical odometer by age
| Age | Fails | Median odometer | Tests | Gap vs age 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 18.65% | 27,617 | 756 | -5.6 pp |
| 4 | 17.67% | 33,092 | 1,166 | -6.5 pp |
| 5 | 24.21% | 42,701 | 2,334 | +0.0 pp |
| 6 | 19.56% | 49,366 | 2,387 | -4.7 pp |
| 7 | 20.22% | 62,398 | 5,298 | -4.0 pp |
| 8 | 21.61% | 68,632 | 6,848 | -2.6 pp |
| 9 | 28.66% | 76,885 | 3,301 | +4.4 pp |
| 10 | 36.41% | 88,663 | 6,498 | +12.2 pp |
| 11 | 37.61% | 97,189 | 6,233 | +13.4 pp |
| 12 | 37.19% | 107,154 | 6,910 | +13.0 pp |
| 13 | 37.52% | 116,885 | 6,343 | +13.3 pp |
| 14 | 41.13% | 122,631 | 8,680 | +16.9 pp |
| 15 | 46.02% | 131,622 | 5,798 | +21.8 pp |
| 16 | 45.59% | 138,511 | 4,435 | +21.4 pp |
| 17 | 48.06% | 141,707 | 4,449 | +23.9 pp |
| 18 | 48.98% | 138,005 | 1,419 | +24.8 pp |
The number a fleet manager needs is not the failure rate, it is the year the car starts costing more. Between cars aged 9 and cars aged 10, both tested in 2024, the failure rate of this model is 7.75 percentage points higher — the steepest one-year step in this cross-section of different cars, and a 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 S-MAX rust problems: where they corrode
Age-standardised corrosion susceptibility stands out at 1.49×, against 1.00× for the national age-standardised rate.
above 1.0× = rusts more than averagebelow 1.0× = rusts less
This Ford S-MAX fails on corrosion more often than average once age is held constant, and its owners live in areas that are gentler than most for the models we publish. Those two point in opposite directions, which is the informative case: it rusts more than average despite living in gentler places, so the cause is the car, not the postcode.
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 S-MAX advisory become a failure?
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment are highest at 30.9%; Road wheels are lowest at 0.8% — the gap is 30.1 percentage points.
higher = more likelypercentage is the observed transition probability
chance the same component fails at the next MOT, given an advisory now
| Component | Fails next time | Typical lead time | Miles of warning | Advisories tracked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 30.9% | 12 months | 7,526 | 8,711 |
| Suspension | 19.5% | 12 months | 7,447 | 76,202 |
| Steering | 15.7% | 12 months | 7,405 | 5,542 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 15.1% | 12 months | 7,220 | 15,613 |
| Brakes | 11.5% | 12 months | 7,577 | 92,894 |
| Tyres | 11.4% | 12 months | 7,687 | 115,441 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 6.0% | 12 months | 7,228 | 17,549 |
| Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | 5.3% | 12 months | 7,938 | 4,505 |
| Identification of the vehicle | 3.9% | 12 months | 7,651 | 15,259 |
| Road wheels | 0.8% | 12.1 months | 7,422 | 2,303 |
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 31 in 100 cars, and the median gap is 12 months and roughly 7,526 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 S-MAX?
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment after a failure at age 15-19 are highest at 34.3%; Brakes after a passed at age <3 are lowest at 3.2% — the gap is 31.1 percentage points.
higher = more likelypercentage is the observed transition probability
| Age | Last test | Most likely next failures | Cars tracked |
|---|---|---|---|
| <3 | passed | Tyres 4.9% · Visibility 4.3% · Brakes 3.2% | 8,392 |
| <3 | advisory | Visibility 5.9% · Tyres 5.8% · Brakes 3.8% | 4,587 |
| <3 | failure | Visibility 7.0% · Tyres 6.5% · Brakes 4.0% | 2,150 |
| 3-5 | passed | Tyres 5.8% · Visibility 5.1% · Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 4.6% | 31,024 |
| 3-5 | advisory | Tyres 7.9% · Visibility 7.2% · Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 6.3% | 23,523 |
| 3-5 | failure | Tyres 10.0% · Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 9.2% · Visibility 7.6% | 13,113 |
| 6-8 | passed | Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 10.8% · Tyres 7.4% · Body, chassis, structure 6.2% | 32,862 |
| 6-8 | advisory | Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 14.3% · Tyres 9.4% · Body, chassis, structure 7.1% | 33,096 |
| 6-8 | failure | Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 18.3% · Tyres 11.5% · Body, chassis, structure 10.4% | 28,723 |
| 9-11 | passed | Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 14.7% · Suspension 9.3% · Tyres 7.5% | 30,771 |
| 9-11 | advisory | Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 19.8% · Suspension 12.4% · Tyres 9.5% | 40,129 |
| 9-11 | failure | Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 24.5% · Suspension 14.4% · Tyres 11.6% | 43,933 |
| 12-14 | passed | Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 17.2% · Suspension 15.7% · Tyres 7.3% | 17,462 |
| 12-14 | advisory | Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 23.1% · Suspension 20.3% · Visibility 10.2% | 28,114 |
| 12-14 | failure | Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 28.7% · Suspension 23.4% · Brakes 12.3% | 34,733 |
| 15-19 | passed | Suspension 20.9% · Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 19.9% · Brakes 7.5% | 2,489 |
| 15-19 | advisory | Suspension 28.5% · Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 26.8% · Visibility 12.1% | 4,917 |
| 15-19 | failure | Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 34.3% · Suspension 30.4% · Visibility 13.6% | 6,941 |
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 S-MAX ownership: what six years of MOTs show
The ten-day re-test pass rate is highest at 54.9%; The later re-test pass rate is lowest at 3.0% — the gap is 51.8 percentage points.
higher = larger sharecompare shares in percentage points
Failing is usually a same-week event, not a disaster. Of 124,404 failures followed through to their re-test, 42.11% were repaired and passed the same day and 54.87% within ten days; the median gap is 1 day. 313,589 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 0.436 failures per 10,000 miles, on a median of 7,114 miles a year across 88,285 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. 22.4% of these cars strung together three or more tests with nothing recorded at all, while 46.16% 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: 0.868% of 88,326 chains show a reading lower than the previous test, with a median drop of 18,630 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 S-MAX safety recalls and how to check yours
DVSA recall campaigns stand out at 45.
bigger number = more recorded casescompare like-for-like scope, not sample size alone
recall campaigns launched per year
| Reference | Launched | Vehicles | Concern |
|---|---|---|---|
R/2026/181 | 05/05/2026 | 67 | Multi Vehicle Line (MVL): Telecommunications Control Module (TCU) loss of Function Softwar |
R/2025/243 | 07/07/2025 | 14 | 25S54 Kuga S-Max and Galaxy - Powertrain Control Module (PCM) Software Update |
R/2025/243 | 07/07/2025 | 7 | 25S54 Kuga S-Max and Galaxy - Powertrain Control Module (PCM) Software Update |
R/2025/094 | 19/12/2024 | 561 | X-Car Powertain Control Module (PCM) Software Update |
R/2025/094 | 19/12/2024 | 757 | X-Car Powertain Control Module (PCM) Software Update |
All 45 campaigns
| Reference | Launched | Build dates | Vehicles | Concern |
|---|---|---|---|---|
R/2026/181 | 05/05/2026 | 20/11/2020 – 27/03/2023 | 67 | Multi Vehicle Line (MVL): Telecommunications Control Module (TCU) loss of Function Softwar |
R/2025/243 | 07/07/2025 | 24/11/2021 – 02/11/2022 | 14 | 25S54 Kuga S-Max and Galaxy - Powertrain Control Module (PCM) Software Update |
R/2025/243 | 07/07/2025 | 02/12/2021 – 26/01/2022 | 7 | 25S54 Kuga S-Max and Galaxy - Powertrain Control Module (PCM) Software Update |
R/2025/094 | 19/12/2024 | 15/06/2018 – 16/01/2019 | 561 | X-Car Powertain Control Module (PCM) Software Update |
R/2025/094 | 19/12/2024 | 05/11/2018 – 15/03/2019 | 757 | X-Car Powertain Control Module (PCM) Software Update |
R/2025/094 | 19/12/2024 | 20/03/2019 – 04/06/2019 | 218 | X-Car Powertain Control Module (PCM) Software Update |
R/2025/094 | 19/12/2024 | 03/06/2019 – 18/09/2019 | 608 | X-Car Powertain Control Module (PCM) Software Update |
R/2025/094 | 19/12/2024 | 05/09/2019 – 14/01/2020 | 559 | X-Car Powertain Control Module (PCM) Software Update |
R/2025/094 | 19/12/2024 | 15/01/2020 – 06/10/2020 | 805 | X-Car Powertain Control Module (PCM) Software Update |
R/2025/094 | 19/12/2024 | 17/09/2020 – 26/01/2021 | 651 | X-Car Powertain Control Module (PCM) Software Update |
R/2025/094 | 19/12/2024 | 21/07/2020 – 16/03/2021 | 48 | X-Car Powertain Control Module (PCM) Software Update |
R/2025/094 | 19/12/2024 | 20/01/2021 – 26/05/2021 | 171 | X-Car Powertain Control Module (PCM) Software Update |
R/2025/094 | 19/12/2024 | 28/05/2021 – 28/07/2021 | 16 | X-Car Powertain Control Module (PCM) Software Update |
R/2025/094 | 19/12/2024 | 30/11/2021 – 05/04/2022 | 16 | X-Car Powertain Control Module (PCM) Software Update |
R/2025/094 | 19/12/2024 | 26/05/2022 – 21/09/2022 | 232 | X-Car Powertain Control Module (PCM) Software Update |
R/2026/076 | 23/05/2024 | 19/05/2015 – 03/10/2018 | 7,482 | Brake Hose Leak |
R/2026/076 | 23/05/2024 | 04/12/2014 – 10/08/2018 | 28 | Brake Hose Leak |
R/2023/175 | 26/02/2024 | 06/05/2022 – 19/12/2022 | 424 | 23S27 Kuga S-Max/Galaxy 2.5L HEV/PHEV Engine: Engine Compartment Issue |
R/2023/175 | 26/02/2024 | 17/03/2021 – 19/12/2022 | 0 | 23S27 Kuga S-Max/Galaxy 2.5L HEV/PHEV Engine: Engine Compartment Issue |
R/2023/175 | 26/02/2024 | 17/03/2021 – 26/03/2021 | 4 | 23S27 Kuga S-Max/Galaxy 2.5L HEV/PHEV Engine: Engine Compartment Issue |
R/2023/175 | 26/02/2024 | 02/06/2021 – 06/09/2021 | 13 | 23S27 Kuga S-Max/Galaxy 2.5L HEV/PHEV Engine: Engine Compartment Issue |
R/2023/175 | 26/02/2024 | 22/10/2021 – 06/04/2021 | 385 | 23S27 Kuga S-Max/Galaxy 2.5L HEV/PHEV Engine: Engine Compartment Issue |
R/2023/175 | 26/02/2024 | 06/05/2022 – 23/12/2022 | 665 | 23S27 Kuga S-Max/Galaxy 2.5L HEV/PHEV Engine: Engine Compartment Issue |
R/2023/175 | 26/02/2024 | 17/03/2021 – 31/03/2021 | 8 | 23S27 Kuga S-Max/Galaxy 2.5L HEV/PHEV Engine: Engine Compartment Issue |
R/2023/175 | 26/02/2024 | 01/07/2021 – 02/09/2021 | 23 | 23S27 Kuga S-Max/Galaxy 2.5L HEV/PHEV Engine: Engine Compartment Issue |
R/2023/175 | 26/02/2024 | 22/10/2021 – 05/04/2022 | 97 | 23S27 Kuga S-Max/Galaxy 2.5L HEV/PHEV Engine: Engine Compartment Issue |
R/2022/239 | 29/07/2022 | 11/05/2022 – 29/07/2022 | 9,388 | THE eCALL FEATURE WILL STOP FUNCTIONING DUE TO A MALFUNCTION |
R/2022/182 | 23/06/2022 | 09/11/2018 – 25/04/2022 | 2,260 | A NUMBER OF VEHICLES FITTED WITH ADAPTIVE HEADLAMPS WILL NOT DISPLAY A WARNING MESSAGE |
R/2021/005 | 22/02/2021 | 20/01/2015 – 18/02/2020 | 39,441 | THE REAR SUSPENSION TOE LINK COULD CORRODE OVER TIME LEADING TO REDUCED MATERIAL AND LOAD |
R/2020/013 | 30/10/2020 | 05/01/2006 – 28/02/2017 | 219,738 | TAKATA AIR BAG INFLATOR MAY RUPTURE ON DEPLOYMENT |
R/2019/212 | 29/08/2019 | 13/02/2014 – 11/02/2019 | 56,154 | POTENTIAL BATTERY ACID LEAKAGE AROUND NEGATIVE TERMINAL |
R/2019/020 | 14/06/2019 | 02/06/2010 – 20/12/2014 | 4,026 | OVERHEATING OF THE ENGINE CYLINDER HEAD MAY CAUSE THE CYLINDER HEAD TO CRACK |
R/2018/351 | 22/02/2019 | 07/07/2016 – 18/04/2018 | 66,497 | VEHICLE COULD SUFFER CLUTCH PRESSURE PLATE FRACTURE |
R/2018/213 | 07/11/2018 | 01/09/2014 – 20/04/2018 | 3,021 | POSSIBLE LOW TORQUE CONDITION WITH THE AIR CONDITIONING CLUTCH FASTENER |
R/2018/082 | 16/07/2018 | 01/08/2009 – 31/12/2014 | 122,199 | CLUTCH PRESSURE PLATE MAY FRACTURE |
R/2018/082 | 16/07/2018 | 01/08/2013 – 30/06/2016 | 122,199 | CLUTCH PRESSURE PLATE MAY FRACTURE |
R/2018/053 | 12/03/2018 | 25/05/2015 – 19/10/2015 | 48,595 | OIL SUMP MAY CRACK DUE TO THE ENGINE OVERHEATING |
R/2016/113 | 20/06/2016 | 06/10/2014 – 08/02/2016 | 9,705 | HEADLAMPS MAY SWITCH OFF WITHOUT WARNING |
R/2013/103 | 13/09/2013 | 12/01/2012 – 11/02/2013 | 1,985 | FIRE MAY OCCUR |
R/2010/216 | 14/12/2010 | 7 | PANORAMIC ROOF PANEL MAY DETACH | |
R/2009/050 | 21/05/2009 | 01/11/2008 – 12/03/2009 | 13,029 | HARD BRAKE PEDAL MAY OCCUR DURING ENGINE WARM UP |
R/2008/038 | 12/03/2008 | 27/09/2006 – 05/10/2006 | 9 | GLASS ROOF PANEL MAY DETACH |
R/2007/133 | 05/12/2007 | 02/11/2005 – 30/12/2006 | 17,972 | IN LOW AMBIENT TEMPERATURE HARD BRAKE PEDAL MAY OCCUR |
R/2007/003 | 10/01/2007 | 01/12/2005 – 28/06/2006 | 5,153 | HEATED WINDSCREEN EARTH POINT MAY NOT BE TIGHTENED - RISK OF BURN DAMAGE TO TRIM |
R/2006/118 | 17/07/2006 | 01/02/2006 – 11/06/2006 | 209 | POSSIBILITY OF ENGINE CUT OUT |
DVSA lists 45 safety recall campaigns for the Ford S-MAX, covering roughly 755,446 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 S-MAX inspection results in other countries
Finland Katsastus stands out at 37.4%, against 26.3% nationally.
higher = larger sharecompare shares in percentage points
| Country | Test | This model fails | National average | Position | Sample |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | MOT (class 4) | 35.19% | 26.01% | +9.2 pp | 73,047 |
| Norway | PKK | 38.2% | 33.7% | +4.5 pp | 9,964 |
| Netherlands | APK | 56.2% | 50.8% | +5.4 pp | 6,881 |
| Finland | Katsastus | 37.4% | 26.3% | +11.1 pp | 3,686 |
The verdict is consistent across every regime where the difference is clear, which is the strongest form this comparison takes: independent inspectorates, different rulebooks, same direction of travel.
| Fault area | Share |
|---|---|
| Axles, wheels and suspension | 45.6% |
| Brake systems | 21.3% |
| Environmental hazards | 11.8% |
| Steering equipment | 11.5% |
| Chassis and body | 4.2% |
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.
| Code | Fault | Recorded | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
205 | Tyre with insufficient tread | 1,159 | failure |
210 | Tyre pressure not at the correct value | 1,065 | failure |
497 | Number-plate light not working or missing | 742 | failure |
516 | Dipped headlight incorrectly aimed | 516 | failure |
AC1 | Tyre down to 1.6–2.5 mm of tread | 501 | advisory |
178 | Driveshaft gaiter split, no longer sealing | 371 | failure |
RA2 | Excessive leak of other fluids | 298 | advisory |
391 | Wipers leave insufficient visibility | 291 | failure |
Worth dwelling on how mundane the top of that list is: tyre pressure, tread depth, headlight aim. The Dutch APK records 1.364 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 S-MAX 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: Statens vegvesen — Periodisk kjøretøykontroll (PKK) 2024, CC BY 4.0; 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. Adapted; licences and full notice.
Ford S-MAX MOT: quick answers
Ford S-MAX MOT Risk Index stands out at 107.6, 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 S-MAX first-time MOT pass rate?
- 64.81% of first attempts passed in 2024 (73,047 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 35.19% figure is the first-time initial failure rate, using 73,047 primary tests as the denominator (first-time, excluding retests). The age-adjusted MOT initial-failure ratio 107.6 is shown separately because raw rates compare fleet age as well as cars.
Compare the Ford S-MAX with other cars
Vauxhall Insignia is highest at 108.3; Kia Rio is lowest at 106.8 — the gap is 1.5 points.
below 100 is betterabove 100 is worse100 = normal for this model at that age
Same brand
All Ford MOT statisticsFord Ka MOT statsFord Focus MOT stats
Similar risk
Volvo V40 (index 108.1)Vauxhall Insignia (index 108.3)Kia Rio (index 106.8)
Same size class
how Nissan Navara compareshow Audi Q2 compareshow Volkswagen Touran compares
By build year
Ford S-MAX 2006Ford S-MAX 2007Ford S-MAX 2008Ford S-MAX 2009Ford S-MAX 2010Ford S-MAX 2011Ford S-MAX 2012Ford S-MAX 2013Ford S-MAX 2014Ford S-MAX 2015Ford S-MAX 2016Ford S-MAX 2017Ford S-MAX 2018Ford S-MAX 2019Ford S-MAX 2020
By area
Ford S-MAX MOT failure rate by postcode area
By failure group
Ford S-MAX body, chassis and structure failuresFord S-MAX brakes failuresFord S-MAX vehicle identification failuresFord S-MAX lamps, reflectors and electrics failuresFord S-MAX noise, emissions and leaks failuresFord S-MAX road wheels failuresFord S-MAX seat belts and airbags failuresFord S-MAX steering failuresFord S-MAX suspension failuresFord S-MAX tyres failuresFord S-MAX visibility failures
Inspections abroad
Ford S-MAX in NorwayFord S-MAX in FinlandFord S-MAX in the Netherlands
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-v2, frozen baseline; headline claim_id=family-stats:ford-s-max:dvsa-2024-v2. Full method: methodology.
Cite: MOT Risk Index (2026). Ford S-MAX MOT statistics 2024 (data release dvsa-2024-v2; downloadable dataset motriskindex-families-2024-v5, doi:10.5281/zenodo.22975051). https://motriskindex.co.uk/cars/ford-s-max/ · Published 2026-07-30.