Does the Ford S-MAX fail the MOT on seat belts and airbags more than it should?
The Ford S-MAX records 1.84 seat belts and airbags failure items per 100 initial MOT tests (2019–2024), against 0.97 expected for a car of the same age mix: more than expected for its class and age (+0.87, 95% interval +0.83 to +0.91). It ranks 115 of 627 models on seat belts and airbags (1 = most failures above expected).
Data release dvsa-2024-v2 (24 Sep 2026) · page updated 30 Sep 2026 · all models on seat belts and airbags · check a Ford S-MAX by registration
What exactly fails on seat belts and airbags?
The most frequent DVSA defect wording in this group on the Ford S-MAX is “Seat belt buckle missing, damaged or not functioning as intended”, recorded 3,680 times in 2019–2024.
| DVSA defect wording | Items | Per 100 tests |
|---|---|---|
| Seat belt buckle missing, damaged or not functioning as intended | 3,680 | 0.77 |
| An SRS malfunction indicator lamp (MIL) indicates a system malfunction | 3,084 | 0.65 |
| Seat belt not functioning as intended or of an incorrect type | 535 | 0.11 |
| A seat belt or flexible stalk damaged | 433 | 0.09 |
| The strength or continuity of the load bearing structure within 30cm of any seat belt anchorage (a 'prescribed area') is significantly reduced or inadequately repaired | 409 | 0.09 |
Source: DVSA MOT bulk data (OGL v3.0) · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 476,737 (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 S-MAX gets a seat belts and airbags advisory, how often does it fail next time?
5.3% of Ford S-MAX MOTs with a seat belts and airbags advisory were followed by a fail in the same group at the next MOT, typically 12 months and 7,938 miles later (4,505 advisories followed).
Source: DVSA MOT bulk data (OGL v3.0) · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 4,505 (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
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