Does the Ford S-MAX fail the MOT on vehicle identification more than it should?
The Ford S-MAX records 0.51 vehicle identification failure items per 100 initial MOT tests (2019–2024), against 0.39 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) (+0.12, 95% interval +0.10 to +0.14). It ranks 205 of 636 models on vehicle identification (1 = most failures above expected).
Data release dvsa-2024-v2 (24 Sep 2026) · page updated 30 Sep 2026 · all models on vehicle identification · check a Ford S-MAX by registration
What exactly fails on vehicle identification?
The most frequent DVSA defect wording in this group on the Ford S-MAX is “Number plate inscription missing or illegible”, recorded 1,205 times in 2019–2024.
| DVSA defect wording | Items | Per 100 tests |
|---|---|---|
| Number plate inscription missing or illegible | 1,205 | 0.25 |
| Number plate does not conform to the specified requirements | 1,021 | 0.21 |
| Number plate missing or so insecure that it is likely to fall off | 131 | 0.03 |
| Number plate showing an incorrect registration | 59 | 0.01 |
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 vehicle identification advisory, how often does it fail next time?
3.9% of Ford S-MAX MOTs with a vehicle identification advisory were followed by a fail in the same group at the next MOT, typically 12 months and 7,651 miles later (15,259 advisories followed).
Source: DVSA MOT bulk data (OGL v3.0) · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 15,259 (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 S-MAX 2006 · Ford S-MAX 2007 · Ford S-MAX 2008 · Ford S-MAX 2009 · Ford S-MAX 2010 · Ford S-MAX 2011 · Ford S-MAX 2012 · Ford S-MAX 2013 · Ford S-MAX 2014 · Ford S-MAX 2015 · Ford S-MAX 2016 · Ford S-MAX 2017 · Ford S-MAX 2018 · Ford S-MAX 2019 · Ford S-MAX 2020 · Ford S-MAX in Norway · Ford S-MAX in Finland · Ford S-MAX in the Netherlands · Ford S-MAX by postcode area · Ford S-MAX body, chassis and structure failures · Ford S-MAX brakes failures · Ford S-MAX lamps, reflectors and electrics failures · Ford S-MAX noise, emissions and leaks failures · Ford S-MAX road wheels failures · Ford S-MAX seat belts and airbags failures · Ford S-MAX steering failures · Ford S-MAX suspension failures · Ford S-MAX tyres failures · Ford S-MAX visibility failures