Ford Puma MOT pass rate & common failures
Across 29 model years and 201,316 tests, the Ford Puma passes its MOT 92.4% of the time. Against small SUVs of a similar age (9.1% fail rate), the Puma comes out 1.5pp better. Its most common failure areas are tyres, lighting & signalling and brakes.
Best and worst Puma years
Ranked across Puma 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 96.6% of the time while 1998 cars manage 67.4%, a 29.2-point spread.
No single area dominates — tyres (3.2%) and lighting & signalling (2.4%) are close, so failures are spread across several systems rather than one weak point.
At component level the recurring items are headlamp aim, component mounting prescribed areas and washers — headlamp aim alone was recorded 4,214 times.
Mileage is the strongest signal on the record: 4.3% of 0-30k cars fail, rising to 35.5% once past 150k — 8.3× the risk.
Fuel type barely separates them — hybrid fails 6.2% of the time against 7.6% for petrol.
Tyres is the most common advisory, noted on 17.6% of tests — work that passed today but is likely due soon.
The trend is improving — the fail rate fell from 31.1% in 2021 to 6.4% in 2025, as the worst-kept examples leave the fleet.
How it compares
Versions & engines
MOT records broken out by the engine designations buyers actually search for.
By model year
Every Puma model year with a usable sample. Years with their own detailed report are linked.
| Year | Tests | Pass rate | Fail rate | Most common failure |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | 159 | 73.0% | 27.0% | Suspension |
| 1998 | 1,068 | 67.4% | 32.6% | Suspension |
| 1999 | 2,273 | 69.2% | 30.8% | Brakes |
| 2000 | 4,264 | 72.6% | 27.4% | Suspension |
| 2001 | 4,904 | 69.7% | 30.3% | Suspension |
| 2002 | 3,577 | 70.2% | 29.8% | Suspension |
| 2019 | 776 | 93.2% | 6.8% | Tyres |
| 2020 | 82,451 | 93.6% | 6.4% | Tyres |
| 2021 | 60,592 | 94.9% | 5.1% | Tyres |
| 2022 | 38,772 | 95.2% | 4.9% | Tyres |
| 2023 | 2,371 | 96.6% | 3.4% | Lighting & signalling |
| 2024 | 73 | 97.3% | 2.7% | Visibility |
Most common failures (all years)
| # | Category | % of tests affected | Tests |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tyres | 3.2% | 6,406 |
| 2 | Lighting & signalling | 2.4% | 4,787 |
| 3 | Brakes | 2.1% | 4,207 |
| 4 | Visibility | 1.7% | 3,410 |
| 5 | Suspension | 1.6% | 3,155 |
| 6 | Body, structure & corrosion | 0.9% | 1,755 |
| 7 | Emissions & environmental | 0.7% | 1,407 |
| 8 | Seat belts & restraints | 0.7% | 1,354 |
Most common specific failures
The exact components most often recorded as failures — more specific than the categories above.
| # | Failure item | Times recorded |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Headlamp aim | 4,214 |
| 2 | Component mounting prescribed areas | 2,593 |
| 3 | Washers | 2,579 |
| 4 | Brake pads | 1,939 |
| 5 | Tread depth | 1,859 |
| 6 | Prescribed areas | 1,270 |
| 7 | Wipers | 1,242 |
| 8 | Catalyst emissions | 1,053 |
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 | 17.6% | 35,452 |
| 2 | Brakes | 11.9% | 24,015 |
| 3 | Other defects | 6.3% | 12,717 |
| 4 | Suspension | 3.3% | 6,569 |
| 5 | Emissions & environmental | 2.1% | 4,245 |
| 6 | Body, structure & corrosion | 1.8% | 3,646 |
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 | 125,796 | 4.3% |
| 30-60k | 59,156 | 9.3% |
| 60-90k | 9,918 | 23.2% |
| 90-120k | 4,407 | 31.5% |
| 120-150k | 1,514 | 34.5% |
| 150k+ | 499 | 35.5% |
Failure rate by age
By fuel type
| Fuel | Tests | Fail rate |
|---|---|---|
| Petrol | 198,831 | 7.6% |
| Hybrid | 2,468 | 6.2% |
Trend over time
| Dataset year | Tests | Fail rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 4,498 | 31.1% |
| 2022 | 4,657 | 25.0% |
| 2023 | 31,879 | 7.2% |
| 2024 | 61,318 | 6.6% |
| 2025 | 98,964 | 6.4% |
What to check before buying a Ford Puma
- Tyres (3.2% 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.
- Lighting & signalling (2.4% of tests): Often a cheap bulb, but persistent issues can mean wiring or corrosion in the units. Typical repair: £10–£150.
- Brakes (2.1% 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 Puma?
92.4% of the 201,316 Ford Puma MOT tests in this dataset passed, a 7.6% fail rate, across model years 1997–2025.
What does the Ford Puma most often fail its MOT on?
Tyres, recorded in 3.2% of tests, then lighting & signalling (2.4%).
Which Puma years are best and worst for MOT results?
2023 has the best pass rate at 96.6% and 1998 the weakest at 67.4%, from 2,371 and 1,068 tests respectively.
How much does mileage affect Puma MOT results?
Fail rates run at 4.3% for cars in the 0-30k band and 35.5% for 150k+, a 31.2-point difference.
Is the hybrid or petrol Puma more reliable at MOT time?
On MOT-testable defects the hybrid fails 6.2% of the time against 7.6% for the petrol. This covers testable items only, not engine or gearbox reliability.
Methodology & source. Based on 201,316 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.