Ford Allied MOT pass rate & common failures
Across 7 model years and 17,328 tests, the Ford Allied passes its MOT 85.8% of the time. That is 3.6 percentage points worse than all cars of a similar age, which fail at 10.5%. Its most common failure areas are visibility, lighting & signalling and tyres.
Best and worst Allied years
Ranked across Allied years with at least 1,000 tests. Older cars fail more simply because they are older — compare years close together in age before drawing conclusions.
What the MOT record shows
The strongest year on this record is 2020 (87.6% pass rate); the weakest is 2017 (82.0%). Older cars carry more of the difference than the average implies.
No single area dominates — visibility (5.6%) and lighting & signalling (5.3%) are close, so failures are spread across several systems rather than one weak point.
At component level the recurring items are wipers, headlamp aim and linkage pins and bushes — wipers alone was recorded 836 times.
Condition tracks the odometer closely. Failures run at 9.5% in the 0-30k band and 22.1% in the 150k+ band, a 12.6-point spread — more than double.
Tyres is the most common advisory, noted on 18.0% of tests — work that passed today but is likely due soon.
The trend is worsening — 10.9% of tests failed in 2021 against 15.8% in 2025, the usual pattern as a fleet ages.
How it compares
By model year
Every Allied model year with a usable sample. Years with their own detailed report are linked.
| Year | Tests | Pass rate | Fail rate | Most common failure |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 2,511 | 82.0% | 18.0% | Lighting & signalling |
| 2018 | 5,011 | 85.5% | 14.5% | Lighting & signalling |
| 2019 | 5,581 | 87.2% | 12.8% | Visibility |
| 2020 | 3,246 | 87.6% | 12.4% | Visibility |
| 2021 | 968 | 83.5% | 16.5% | Visibility |
Most common failures (all years)
| # | Category | % of tests affected | Tests |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Visibility | 5.6% | 968 |
| 2 | Lighting & signalling | 5.3% | 912 |
| 3 | Tyres | 4.0% | 684 |
| 4 | Brakes | 3.2% | 558 |
| 5 | Suspension | 2.9% | 496 |
| 6 | Body, structure & corrosion | 2.2% | 383 |
| 7 | Emissions & environmental | 1.0% | 181 |
| 8 | Seat belts & restraints | 0.5% | 92 |
Most common specific failures
The exact components most often recorded as failures — more specific than the categories above.
| # | Failure item | Times recorded |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wipers | 836 |
| 2 | Headlamp aim | 345 |
| 3 | Linkage pins and bushes | 335 |
| 4 | Brake pads | 330 |
| 5 | Joints | 268 |
| 6 | Headlamp | 228 |
| 7 | Washers | 216 |
| 8 | Stop lamp | 215 |
Top advisory categories
Advisories aren't failures, but they flag work likely needed soon — useful when budgeting.
| # | Category | % of tests with advisory | Tests |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tyres | 18.0% | 3,114 |
| 2 | Brakes | 15.5% | 2,691 |
| 3 | Suspension | 9.4% | 1,622 |
| 4 | Other defects | 7.4% | 1,288 |
| 5 | Visibility | 5.3% | 917 |
| 6 | Lighting & signalling | 4.4% | 756 |
Failure rate by mileage
Higher-mileage cars tend to fail more — often the most useful guide to real condition.
| Mileage band | Tests | Fail rate |
|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 7,560 | 9.5% |
| 30-60k | 5,614 | 16.3% |
| 60-90k | 1,834 | 18.6% |
| 90-120k | 766 | 19.6% |
| 120-150k | 586 | 19.8% |
| 150k+ | 966 | 22.1% |
Failure rate by age
Trend over time
| Dataset year | Tests | Fail rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 1,636 | 10.9% |
| 2022 | 2,778 | 11.9% |
| 2023 | 3,907 | 13.3% |
| 2024 | 4,463 | 16.0% |
| 2025 | 4,544 | 15.8% |
What to check before buying a Ford Allied
- Visibility (5.6% of tests): Wipers, washers, mirrors and screen damage — usually inexpensive, but check for chips in the driver's line of sight. Typical repair: £15–£150.
- Lighting & signalling (5.3% of tests): Often a cheap bulb, but persistent issues can mean wiring or corrosion in the units. Typical repair: £10–£150.
- Tyres (4.0% of tests): Usually a quick, known-cost fix, but check tread, age and uneven wear (which can hint at alignment or suspension issues). Typical repair: £50–£120 per tyre.
Repair costs are rough UK ballpark ranges to set expectations, not quotes — actual prices vary widely by car, parts and garage.
Frequently asked questions
What is the MOT pass rate for the Ford Allied?
85.8% of the 17,328 Ford Allied MOT tests in this dataset passed, a 14.2% fail rate, across model years 2016–2022.
What does the Ford Allied most often fail its MOT on?
Visibility, recorded in 5.6% of tests, then lighting & signalling (5.3%).
Which Allied years are best and worst for MOT results?
2020 has the best pass rate at 87.6% and 2017 the weakest at 82.0%, from 3,246 and 2,511 tests respectively.
How much does mileage affect Allied MOT results?
Fail rates run at 9.5% for cars in the 0-30k band and 22.1% for 150k+, a 12.6-point difference.
Methodology & source. Based on 17,328 MOT tests. Dataset: DVSA MOT testing data (2021,2022,2023,2024,2025). Data last updated 2026-07-27. Figures reflect MOT-testable defects only — read the methodology for how these are calculated and what they don't measure.