Ford Kuga MOT failures and reliability

In 2023 the Ford Kuga took 273,206 MOT tests in Britain and passed 80% of them first time, above 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: 273,206
First-time pass rate: 80%
All cars: 71%

What the Kuga fails on

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

Lights and electrics7.1% (all cars 11.3%)
Tyres5.3% (all cars 6.4%)
Visibility4.7% (all cars 4.8%)
Brakes4.5% (all cars 6.8%)
Suspension2.8% (all cars 9.0%)
Exhaust and emissions1.6% (all cars 3.1%)
Body and structure1.2% (all cars 3.5%)
Steering0.8% (all cars 1.8%)

Most common failure items

Share of tests on which each item was recorded.

Brake pads: less than 1.5 mm thick 2.8%
Wipers: does not clear the windscreen effectively 2.6%
Position lamp: not working 2.6%
Tread depth: tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm 2.3%
Coil spring: fractured or broken 1.5%
Washers: provides insufficient washer liquid 1.4%
Tyres, condition: has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords 1.2%
Tyres, condition: has ply or cords exposed 1.1%

Most common advisories

Tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge 19.6%
Brake pads: wearing thin 13.3%
Brake discs: worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened 7.9%
Tyres, condition: slightly damaged/cracking or perishing 6.8%
Non-component advisories: Child Seat fitted not allowing full inspection of adult belt 3.5%
Non-component advisories: Nail in tyre 2.7%
Suspension arms, pins and bushes: pin or bush worn but not resulting in excessive movement 2.6%
Shock absorbers: has light misting of oil 2.3%

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
2008	2,894	61%
2009	8,077	59%
2010	9,774	59%
2011	9,204	62%
2012	9,580	65%
2013	12,934	73%
2014	22,840	76%
2015	30,827	79%
2016	33,419	82%
2017	36,996	85%
2018	38,866	85%
2019	41,005	87%
2020	15,350	90%
2021	1,406	91%

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
3 years	22,838 miles
4 years	29,856 miles
5 years	38,600 miles
6 years	48,357 miles
7 years	57,688 miles
8 years	66,671 miles
9 years	75,289 miles
10 years	85,004 miles
11 years	94,552 miles
12 years	102,835 miles
13 years	111,173 miles
14 years	117,374 miles
15 years	122,635 miles

Check a particular Kuga

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.