Ford S-MAX 2017: MOT failure rate for its age

16.6% of 28,169 MOT tests of the Ford S-MAX first registered in 2017 failed at the first attempt (2019–2024; retests excluded). Against this model's own normal rate at the same ages the index is 83.7 (95% CI 81.3–86.1; 100 = normal for this model at that age): the 2017 Ford S-MAX fails less often than other build years of the same model at the same age.

Ford S-MAX built in 2017 at a glance
Measure	Value	Unit	Compared with	Years	Tests
Failed first time	16.6	%	all ages tested	2019–2024	28169
Index against this model at the same age (95% CI 81.3–86.1)	83.7	index	100 = normal for this model at that age	2019–2024	28169
Rank among this model's 15 build years	2	of 15	1 = fails least for its age	2019–2024	28169
Tested in 2024	5298	tests	median 62,398 miles	2024	5298

Built 2017 against Ford S-MAX normal for the age: first-time MOT failure share at each age, age 3: 12.1% vs 15.2%; age 4: 14.7% vs 16.7%; age 5: 17.7% vs 19.7%; age 6: 19.4% vs 22.6%; age 7: 20.2% vs 26.1%. Axis from 0% to 30%. DVSA MOT bulk data, 2019–2024.

Check a 2017 Ford S-MAX by registration · All Ford S-MAX MOT statistics · Download the build-year table (CSV)

Data release dvsa-2024-v2 (24 Sep 2026) · page updated 30 Sep 2026 · full dataset (v5).

How does the 2017 Ford S-MAX fail at each age?

Cars built in 2017 were tested at ages 3 to 7 between 2019 and 2024. Each row compares their first-time failure share with what this model normally shows at that age, after allowing for the overall failure level of each test year.

Ford S-MAX built 2017: first-time MOT failure by age, against the model's normal rate at that age (2019–2024)
Age	Tests	Failed, %	95% interval	Normal for this model at that age, %	Index (100 = normal)
3	6,904	12.1	11.3–12.9	15.2	79.8
4	5,328	14.7	13.7–15.6	16.7	87.8
5	5,321	17.7	16.7–18.8	19.7	89.8
6	5,318	19.4	18.4–20.5	22.6	86
7	5,298	20.2	19.2–21.3	26.1	77.3

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 28,169 (initial tests) · Method: normal rate = this model's first-time failure share at that age across its build years (cells of 400+ tests), adjusted for each test year's overall level; cells of 30+ tests, under 500 marked rough · Updated: 30 Sep 2026 · Release: dvsa-2024-v2 · CSV

What fails most on the 2017 Ford S-MAX?

The most common failure group on cars built in 2017 is tyres: 9.2 items per 100 first tests, against 13.2 across all build years of the Ford S-MAX. These counts are not age-adjusted: cars built in 2017 were tested at ages 3 to 7.

Failure items per 100 first tests, Ford S-MAX built 2017 against the Ford S-MAX in all build years (2019–2024, not age-adjusted)
Failure group	Built 2017, per 100	All build years, per 100	Items
Tyres	9.2	13.2	2,603
Visibility	6.8	8.8	1,928
Brakes	6.1	11	1,735
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment	4.8	24.3	1,365
Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems	0.7	1.8	197

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 28,432 (initial tests of this build year) · Method: failure items grouped by DVSA's top-level defect groups, per 100 initial tests; groups with 30+ items · Updated: 30 Sep 2026 · Release: dvsa-2024-v2 · CSV

How does 2017 compare with the years around it?

Among the 15 published build years of the Ford S-MAX, 2017 ranks 2 (1 = fails least for its age). 2016: index 82.9. 2018: index 94.2.

Ford S-MAX build years: index against the model at the same age (2019–2024)
Build year	Index (100 = normal)	95% interval	Verdict	Tests
2006	106.4	104.1–108.6	worse	17,502
2007	103.6	102.2–105.1	worse	43,483
2008	101.5	100.0–103.1	no different	37,828
2009	105.5	104.0–107.0	worse	43,284
2010	97.7	96.5–99.0	better	59,409
2011	95.3	93.7–96.8	better	41,248
2012	101.0	99.5–102.6	no different	44,162
2013	105.4	103.5–107.2	worse	38,877
2014	107.4	105.5–109.3	worse	40,020
2015	92.6	90.0–95.3	better	19,927
2016	82.9	81.1–84.8	better	41,949
2017	83.7	81.3–86.1	better	28,169
2018	94.2	89.7–98.7	better	9,810
2019	127.5	121.0–133.9	worse	7,029
2020	118.1	106.9–129.2	worse (rough estimate)	2,364

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 475,061 (initial tests) · Method: observed failures against those expected for the same model at the same ages, test-year level adjusted; verdict follows the printed one-decimal bound · Updated: 30 Sep 2026 · Release: dvsa-2024-v2 · CSV

How to cite this page

MOT Risk Index (2026). Ford S-MAX 2017 MOT statistics (data release dvsa-2024-v2; full dataset motriskindex-families-2024-v5, DOI 10.5281/zenodo.22975051), updated 30 September 2026. motriskindex.co.uk/cars/ford-s-max/2017/

How every figure is calculated: methodology. Age, test year and build year are tied together (age = test year − build year), so the test-year level is taken as observed, not estimated.

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