Ford Kuga MOT pass rate & common failures
1,552,677 MOT tests on the Ford Kuga (2000–2025) give it an 86.6% pass rate. Mid-size SUVs of a similar age fail 14.7% of the time, so this is 1.3pp better than the group it competes with. Its most common failure areas are lighting & signalling, tyres and brakes.
Best and worst Kuga years
Ranked across Kuga 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
Build year matters more than the headline suggests: 2023 cars pass 95.8% of the time while 2010 cars manage 75.2%, a 20.6-point spread.
No single area dominates — lighting & signalling (6.2%) and tyres (4.8%) are close, so failures are spread across several systems rather than one weak point.
At component level the recurring items are tread depth, brake pads and position lamp — tread depth alone was recorded 45,663 times.
A 150k+ example is materially riskier than a 0-30k one: 25.1% versus 6.3%.
Split by fuel, diesel examples fail 8.2pp more often than hybrid ones (14.4% vs 6.2%) — worth weighing if you have a choice.
Advisories point at the next bill rather than this one: tyres was flagged on 25.4% of tests without failing them.
The trend is worsening — 12.3% of tests failed in 2021 against 14.1% in 2025, the usual pattern as a fleet ages.
How it compares
By model year
Every Kuga model year with a usable sample. Years with their own detailed report are linked.
| Year | Tests | Pass rate | Fail rate | Most common failure |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 17,610 | 75.9% | 24.1% | Lighting & signalling |
| 2009 | 50,414 | 75.3% | 24.7% | Lighting & signalling |
| 2010 | 62,232 | 75.2% | 24.8% | Lighting & signalling |
| 2011 | 58,286 | 76.4% | 23.6% | Lighting & signalling |
| 2012 | 60,198 | 77.3% | 22.7% | Suspension |
| 2013 | 76,310 | 82.9% | 17.1% | Lighting & signalling |
| 2014 | 133,806 | 84.1% | 15.9% | Lighting & signalling |
| 2015 | 178,117 | 85.9% | 14.1% | Lighting & signalling |
| 2016 | 188,886 | 88.0% | 12.0% | Lighting & signalling |
| 2017 | 204,692 | 89.9% | 10.1% | Visibility |
| 2018 | 213,326 | 90.7% | 9.3% | Visibility |
| 2019 | 181,601 | 90.7% | 9.3% | Visibility |
| 2020 | 50,286 | 91.9% | 8.1% | Tyres |
| 2021 | 45,841 | 92.5% | 7.5% | Tyres |
| 2022 | 29,532 | 94.0% | 6.0% | Tyres |
| 2023 | 1,477 | 95.8% | 4.2% | Tyres |
| 2024 | 48 | 100.0% | 0.0% | - |
Most common failures (all years)
| # | Category | % of tests affected | Tests |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lighting & signalling | 6.2% | 95,757 |
| 2 | Tyres | 4.8% | 73,832 |
| 3 | Brakes | 3.8% | 58,393 |
| 4 | Visibility | 3.6% | 56,518 |
| 5 | Suspension | 2.5% | 39,196 |
| 6 | Emissions & environmental | 1.4% | 22,432 |
| 7 | Body, structure & corrosion | 1.1% | 16,694 |
| 8 | Steering | 0.7% | 11,184 |
Most common specific failures
The exact components most often recorded as failures — more specific than the categories above.
| # | Failure item | Times recorded |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tread depth | 45,663 |
| 2 | Brake pads | 44,667 |
| 3 | Position lamp | 40,489 |
| 4 | Wipers | 37,052 |
| 5 | Headlamp aim | 32,639 |
| 6 | Washers | 28,156 |
| 7 | Coil spring | 21,858 |
| 8 | Headlamp | 15,975 |
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 | 25.4% | 394,346 |
| 2 | Brakes | 19.0% | 295,227 |
| 3 | Other defects | 10.4% | 161,191 |
| 4 | Suspension | 9.8% | 152,110 |
| 5 | Emissions & environmental | 3.1% | 47,610 |
| 6 | Visibility | 3.0% | 46,781 |
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 | 312,015 | 6.3% |
| 30-60k | 561,164 | 10.6% |
| 60-90k | 373,027 | 16.1% |
| 90-120k | 196,014 | 21.6% |
| 120-150k | 79,834 | 24.1% |
| 150k+ | 29,834 | 25.1% |
Failure rate by age
By fuel type
| Fuel | Tests | Fail rate |
|---|---|---|
| Diesel | 1,244,320 | 14.4% |
| Petrol | 268,913 | 10.0% |
| Hybrid | 39,422 | 6.2% |
Trend over time
| Dataset year | Tests | Fail rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 250,962 | 12.3% |
| 2022 | 296,053 | 12.6% |
| 2023 | 313,903 | 13.6% |
| 2024 | 333,312 | 14.0% |
| 2025 | 358,447 | 14.1% |
What to check before buying a Ford Kuga
- Lighting & signalling (6.2% of tests): Often a cheap bulb, but persistent issues can mean wiring or corrosion in the units. Typical repair: £10–£150.
- Tyres (4.8% 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.
- Brakes (3.8% 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 Kuga?
86.6% of the 1,552,677 Ford Kuga MOT tests in this dataset passed, a 13.4% fail rate, across model years 2000–2025.
What does the Ford Kuga most often fail its MOT on?
Lighting & signalling, recorded in 6.2% of tests, then tyres (4.8%).
Which Kuga years are best and worst for MOT results?
2023 has the best pass rate at 95.8% and 2010 the weakest at 75.2%, from 1,477 and 62,232 tests respectively.
How much does mileage affect Kuga MOT results?
Fail rates run at 6.3% for cars in the 0-30k band and 25.1% for 150k+, a 18.8-point difference.
Is the hybrid or diesel Kuga more reliable at MOT time?
On MOT-testable defects the hybrid fails 6.2% of the time against 14.4% for the diesel. This covers testable items only, not engine or gearbox reliability.
Methodology & source. Based on 1,552,677 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.