Ford Ka MOT pass rate & common failures
The Ford Ka appears in 1,161,860 MOT tests spanning model years 1996–2020, and 78.4% of them passed. That is 1.4 percentage points worse than city cars of a similar age, which fail at 20.3%. Its most common failure areas are suspension, lighting & signalling and brakes.
Best and worst Ka years
Ranked across Ka 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 2019 (93.4% pass rate); the weakest is 2007 (65.2%). Older cars carry more of the difference than the average implies.
No single area dominates — suspension (11.9%) and lighting & signalling (9.2%) are close, so failures are spread across several systems rather than one weak point.
At component level the recurring items are shock absorbers, component mounting prescribed areas and pins and bushes — shock absorbers alone was recorded 62,135 times.
A 150k+ example is materially riskier than a 0-30k one: 31.5% versus 10.0%.
Split by fuel, diesel examples fail 6.1pp more often than petrol ones (27.7% vs 21.5%) — worth weighing if you have a choice.
Advisories point at the next bill rather than this one: suspension was flagged on 32.7% of tests without failing them.
How it compares
By model year
Every Ka model year with a usable sample. Years with their own detailed report are linked.
| Year | Tests | Pass rate | Fail rate | Most common failure |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | 36 | 72.2% | 27.8% | Steering |
| 1997 | 421 | 73.4% | 26.6% | Suspension |
| 1998 | 816 | 69.8% | 30.1% | Suspension |
| 1999 | 1,339 | 66.8% | 33.2% | Suspension |
| 2000 | 2,016 | 67.7% | 32.3% | Suspension |
| 2001 | 4,499 | 66.5% | 33.5% | Suspension |
| 2002 | 8,867 | 66.2% | 33.8% | Suspension |
| 2003 | 14,348 | 66.5% | 33.5% | Suspension |
| 2004 | 19,279 | 65.3% | 34.7% | Suspension |
| 2005 | 22,547 | 65.8% | 34.2% | Suspension |
| 2006 | 27,460 | 66.2% | 33.8% | Suspension |
| 2007 | 37,531 | 65.2% | 34.8% | Suspension |
| 2008 | 46,259 | 65.8% | 34.2% | Suspension |
| 2009 | 118,660 | 72.9% | 27.1% | Suspension |
| 2010 | 121,899 | 74.0% | 26.1% | Suspension |
| 2011 | 101,667 | 76.9% | 23.1% | Suspension |
| 2012 | 106,431 | 78.8% | 21.2% | Suspension |
| 2013 | 113,514 | 80.7% | 19.4% | Suspension |
| 2014 | 110,736 | 82.5% | 17.5% | Suspension |
| 2015 | 79,685 | 82.1% | 17.9% | Suspension |
| 2016 | 48,756 | 84.3% | 15.7% | Suspension |
| 2017 | 72,332 | 91.3% | 8.7% | Lighting & signalling |
| 2018 | 59,877 | 90.8% | 9.2% | Lighting & signalling |
| 2019 | 42,849 | 93.4% | 6.6% | Lighting & signalling |
| 2020 | 36 | 94.4% | 5.6% | Tyres |
Most common failures (all years)
| # | Category | % of tests affected | Tests |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Suspension | 11.9% | 138,141 |
| 2 | Lighting & signalling | 9.2% | 107,318 |
| 3 | Brakes | 6.0% | 69,599 |
| 4 | Tyres | 4.9% | 56,715 |
| 5 | Visibility | 4.6% | 53,572 |
| 6 | Body, structure & corrosion | 3.6% | 41,312 |
| 7 | Emissions & environmental | 2.4% | 27,995 |
| 8 | Seat belts & restraints | 1.2% | 14,305 |
Most common specific failures
The exact components most often recorded as failures — more specific than the categories above.
| # | Failure item | Times recorded |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Shock absorbers | 62,135 |
| 2 | Component mounting prescribed areas | 50,207 |
| 3 | Pins and bushes | 44,742 |
| 4 | Wipers | 34,534 |
| 5 | Headlamp aim | 34,396 |
| 6 | Stop lamp | 32,525 |
| 7 | Tread depth | 31,337 |
| 8 | Ball joint | 29,131 |
Top advisory categories
Advisories aren't failures, but they flag work likely needed soon — useful when budgeting.
| # | Category | % of tests with advisory | Tests |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Suspension | 32.7% | 380,124 |
| 2 | Tyres | 25.9% | 301,221 |
| 3 | Brakes | 16.5% | 191,774 |
| 4 | Body, structure & corrosion | 11.3% | 131,844 |
| 5 | Other defects | 7.8% | 90,125 |
| 6 | Emissions & environmental | 7.1% | 82,361 |
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 | 251,710 | 10.0% |
| 30-60k | 465,821 | 21.0% |
| 60-90k | 325,254 | 28.1% |
| 90-120k | 98,999 | 30.9% |
| 120-150k | 16,613 | 31.6% |
| 150k+ | 2,872 | 31.5% |
Failure rate by age
By fuel type
| Fuel | Tests | Fail rate |
|---|---|---|
| Petrol | 1,146,496 | 21.5% |
| Diesel | 15,364 | 27.7% |
Trend over time
| Dataset year | Tests | Fail rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 250,408 | 21.7% |
| 2022 | 245,258 | 20.8% |
| 2023 | 233,728 | 21.1% |
| 2024 | 221,887 | 22.1% |
| 2025 | 210,579 | 22.4% |
What to check before buying a Ford Ka
- Suspension (11.9% of tests): Worn drop links, bushes, springs or shocks — listen for knocks over bumps and check for uneven tyre wear. Typical repair: £150–£450 per corner.
- Lighting & signalling (9.2% of tests): Often a cheap bulb, but persistent issues can mean wiring or corrosion in the units. Typical repair: £10–£150.
- Brakes (6.0% of tests): Pads/discs are routine wear; binding, imbalance or corroded pipes are more serious — test for pulling under braking. Typical repair: £100–£350 per axle.
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 Ka?
78.4% of the 1,161,860 Ford Ka MOT tests in this dataset passed, a 21.6% fail rate, across model years 1996–2020.
What does the Ford Ka most often fail its MOT on?
Suspension, recorded in 11.9% of tests, then lighting & signalling (9.2%).
Which Ka years are best and worst for MOT results?
2019 has the best pass rate at 93.4% and 2007 the weakest at 65.2%, from 42,849 and 37,531 tests respectively.
How much does mileage affect Ka MOT results?
Fail rates run at 10.0% for cars in the 0-30k band and 31.5% for 150k+, a 21.5-point difference.
Is the petrol or diesel Ka more reliable at MOT time?
On MOT-testable defects the petrol fails 21.5% of the time against 27.7% for the diesel. This covers testable items only, not engine or gearbox reliability.
Methodology & source. Based on 1,161,860 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.