Ford Mustang MOT failures and reliability

In 2023 the Ford Mustang took 11,977 MOT tests in Britain and passed 83% 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: 11,977
First-time pass rate: 83%
All cars: 71%

What the Mustang fails on

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

Brakes5.1% (all cars 6.8%)
Tyres4.8% (all cars 6.4%)
Visibility4.1% (all cars 4.8%)
Lights and electrics4.0% (all cars 11.3%)
Suspension2.1% (all cars 9.0%)
Exhaust and emissions1.5% (all cars 3.1%)
Number plates and VIN0.9% (all cars 0.4%)
Steering0.5% (all cars 1.8%)

Most common failure items

Share of tests on which each item was recorded.

Wipers: does not clear the windscreen effectively 2.5%
Rbt (sp): efficiency below requirements 2.2%
Tyres, condition: has ply or cords exposed 1.8%
Tread depth: tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm 1.4%
Parking brake performance: inoperative on one side 1.3%
Washers: provides insufficient washer liquid 1.2%
Suspension arms, ball joint: ball joint excessively worn 0.9%
Rbt (sp): efficiency less than 50% of the required value 0.9%

Most common advisories

Tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge 12.1%
Tyres, condition: slightly damaged/cracking or perishing 4.6%
Brake discs: worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened 3.9%
Brake pads: wearing thin 3.3%
Non-component advisories: Nail in tyre 1.4%
Suspension arms, ball joint: ball joint has slight play 1.4%
Wheel bearings: has slight play 1.3%
Engine oil leaks: leak, but not excessive 1.3%

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
2005	352	78%
2007	300	84%
2015	361	85%
2016	2,603	82%
2017	1,929	83%
2018	2,125	84%
2019	1,224	86%
2020	1,049	87%

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	14,495 miles
4 years	18,411 miles
5 years	24,950 miles
6 years	28,344 miles
7 years	32,335 miles
8 years	39,299 miles
9 years	50,132 miles
10 years	51,971 miles
11 years	56,853 miles
13 years	65,995 miles
15 years	51,864 miles
16 years	63,390 miles
17 years	69,123 miles
18 years	68,549 miles

Check a particular Mustang

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.