Ford B MAX MOT failures and reliability

In 2023 the Ford B MAX took 54,936 MOT tests in Britain and passed 72% of them first time, close to the national average of 71% for all cars. The figures below come from the DVSA's record of every test, so they show what testers actually found on these cars rather than what owners report.

MOT tests in 2023: 54,936
First-time pass rate: 72%
All cars: 71%

What the B MAX fails on

Share of tests with at least one failure in each area, against the figure for all cars.

Lights and electrics13.5% (all cars 11.3%)
Suspension7.1% (all cars 9.0%)
Tyres6.1% (all cars 6.4%)
Visibility4.4% (all cars 4.8%)
Brakes3.3% (all cars 6.8%)
Exhaust and emissions2.1% (all cars 3.1%)
Steering1.1% (all cars 1.8%)
Body and structure1.0% (all cars 3.5%)

Most common failure items

Share of tests on which each item was recorded.

Stop lamp: not working 8.2%
Coil spring: fractured or broken 3.4%
Suspension arms, ball joint: ball joint excessively worn 2.7%
Wipers: does not clear the windscreen effectively 2.6%
Tread depth: tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm 2.0%
Brake pads: less than 1.5 mm thick 1.9%
Headlamp: not working on dipped beam 1.2%
Tyres, condition: has ply or cords exposed 1.2%

Most common advisories

Tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge 18.1%
Tyres, condition: slightly damaged/cracking or perishing 10.6%
Brake pads: wearing thin 7.9%
Brake discs: worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened 6.6%
Coil spring: corroded 3.0%
Brake discs: worn, but not excessively 2.9%
Non-component advisories: Child Seat fitted not allowing full inspection of adult belt 2.7%
Shock absorbers: has light misting of oil 2.5%

Pass rate by year of registration

Older cars fail more often whatever the model, so compare a car with others of the same age.

First registered	Tests	Pass rate
2012	3,003	65%
2013	15,033	67%
2014	13,126	71%
2015	9,983	75%
2016	7,253	78%
2017	5,844	77%
2018	692	78%

Typical mileage by age

Average odometer reading at the MOT, by the car's age in years at the test.

Age at test	Average mileage
5 years	29,619 miles
6 years	30,925 miles
7 years	37,597 miles
8 years	44,775 miles
9 years	52,544 miles
10 years	59,592 miles
11 years	64,726 miles

Check a particular B MAX

Model figures tell you what to look out for. To see one car's own MOT history, mileage and tax, enter its registration.

Other Ford models

Source: Department for Transport, Anonymised MOT tests and results, 2023, cars and light vans, normal tests only. Pass rates are first-time passes; a pass after repair at the test station counts as a fail. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.