At a glance
How 26,736 first tests went in 2025.
- Passed first time
- 89 in every 100
- Did not pass first time
- 11 in every 1003,037 failed first-attempt tests
- The typical car
- 4 yearsabout 25,420 miles
- First tests counted
- 26,736
What failed most often
- Headlight aim19 in every 100 failed tests
- Tyre condition (front)18 in every 100 failed tests
- Tyre tread depth (front)10 in every 100 failed tests
How we count this. Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Only Class 4 cars on their first MOT of the year are counted. A car that fails and is fixed at the test station still counts as a fail in the first-attempt rate. These are raw results, not adjusted for age, mileage, or peer mix. The MOT does not test engine or gearbox internals.
These are patterns across 2021 Ford Fiesta vehicles in 2025, not a prediction that any one car will have them. Faults are grouped by part of the car. A wear pattern follows age and use more than the way the car was built. They come from MOT defect codes, not manufacturer bulletins, recalls or a diagnosis of any one car.
Noise, emissions and leaks
One fault: petrol emissions (with catalyst), 5.0 times as often as on similar cars.
Figures below are measured across the 3,036 of 3,037 failed first attempts that recorded an odometer reading in 2025. Mileage is needed to compare like with like.
We only list faults with at least 20 failures and a rate of about 2.0 times that of similar cars, which keeps one-off results out of the list.
Petrol emissions (with catalyst)
What it means
Emissions levels over the manufacturer's specified limits are Major, as are levels over default limits, which apply when no exact match is found for the vehicle. Dense blue or clearly visible black smoke at idle, held for a set period, is Major, except for certain older vehicles and two stroke engines where smoke is unavoidable. An induction or exhaust leak that could affect emissions levels is Major too.
Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage.
Lamps and electrical
One wear pattern: headlight aim (front), 3.0 times as often as on similar cars.
Headlight aim (front)
What it means
Beam aim too high, too low or off to either side is Major. Where a driver's beam aim control is fitted, the aim is tested without altering the setting, and rechecked at the highest setting only if it would fail for being too low. Masks or converter kits on right hand dip headlamps are acceptable.
Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage.
Advisories
Other things testers noted as worn or close to failing, more often than on similar cars.
An advisory is a note from the tester about something that has not failed yet. It is an early warning, not a fail.
Wheel condition (front)
Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Counts cover advisories recorded on failed first tests only, compared with cars of the same age and mileage.
MOT pass rates
How first tests ended, and how the pass rates are counted.
- Passed first time
- 89in every 100
- Passed on the first test.
- Fixed at the station
- 4in every 100
- Failed, then fixed at the test station the same day.
- Failed
- 7in every 100
- Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.
First-attempt pass 88.6% of 26,736 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 92.9%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 4 fixed and the 7 not fixed make the 11 in every 100 that did not pass first time.
Same model, other years
Passed first time in every 100, all tested in 2025.
Newer cars are younger, so look for a jump rather than the climb. A year earlier (2024), when these cars were a year younger, 87 in every 100 passed first time.
| Year | Passed first time | First tests |
|---|---|---|
| 1997 | 53 in every 100 | 407 |
| 1998 | 52 in every 100 | 879 |
| 1999 | 56 in every 100 | 1,115 |
| 2000 | 54 in every 100 | 1,109 |
| 2001 | 55 in every 100 | 1,907 |
| 2002 | 56 in every 100 | 5,496 |
| 2003 | 55 in every 100 | 11,632 |
| 2004 | 53 in every 100 | 15,586 |
| 2005 | 53 in every 100 | 19,163 |
| 2006 | 52 in every 100 | 32,932 |
| 2007 | 53 in every 100 | 42,015 |
| 2008 | 52 in every 100 | 46,538 |
| 2009 | 53 in every 100 | 80,926 |
| 2010 | 55 in every 100 | 78,060 |
| 2011 | 57 in every 100 | 77,995 |
| 2012 | 58 in every 100 | 92,486 |
| 2013 | 60 in every 100 | 105,711 |
| 2014 | 62 in every 100 | 115,867 |
| 2015 | 65 in every 100 | 119,208 |
| 2016 | 67 in every 100 | 108,889 |
| 2017 | 74 in every 100 | 86,424 |
| 2018 | 83 in every 100 | 89,668 |
| 2019 | 85 in every 100 | 75,408 |
| 2020 | 86 in every 100 | 48,062 |
| 2021 This car | 89 in every 100 | 26,736 |
| 2022 | 91 in every 100 | 24,525 |
If you are buying one
What this year's MOT record means for the decision in front of you.
Mileage matters most on a 2021 Fiesta.
Of 2021 Fiesta vehicles with under 16,000 miles, 93 in every 100 passed their 2025 MOT first time. With 38,000 miles or more, 84 in every 100 did.
What to check at your mileage
How often each fault turned up on a failed first test, by the car's mileage. Read it as: what is likely to need looking at on a car like the one in front of you.
| Under 16,000 | 22,000–29,000 | 38,000 and over | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Headlight aim | 1.7 | 1.9 | 2.5 |
| Tyre condition (front) | 1.5 | 1.8 | 2.9 |
| Tyre tread depth (front) | 0.2 | 1.0 | 2.2 |
| Windscreen washers | 0.4 | 0.8 | 1.1 |
| Brake pads (front) | 0.0 | 0.5 | 1.6 |
Faults per 100 first tests, by the car's mileage at the test.
When a car fails
of failed cars had one item to fix.
of failed cars had three or more items to fix.
of all first tests had a defect the tester marked dangerous (unsafe to drive away).
Every figure here is a first-attempt MOT rate from DVSA open data for this model line, for cars of this model year tested in 2025. Each mileage band holds a fifth of the tests. MOTs do not test engine or gearbox internals, so this is a pre-purchase checklist, not a full reliability score.
FAQs
Short answers about how to read this model-year guide.
About this data
How this page is built and what it can (and can't) say.
These figures come from UK MOT open data for this model year. We surface common failure patterns against similar cars, not a full reliability score, and not a pass/fail verdict on any individual vehicle.
What we include
UK Class 4 cars only. Normal MOT tests (not retests); first test per vehicle per calendar year; results pass, PRS, or fail.
Same-day repairs
PRS means the car failed items that were fixed at the test station and then passed the same day. We count PRS as a first-attempt fail in headline rates so same-day repairs do not hide problems.
How we compare
We compare this model year with other Class 4 cars of similar age and mileage in the same test year. This model family is left out of the peer group so the car is not measured against itself.
What this does not cover
- MOTs do not cover engine internals, gearboxes, or many electronics; this is not a full reliability score.
- Common faults come from MOT defect stats, not manufacturer TSBs or recalls.
- Age and mileage matching reduces, but does not remove, differences in how cars were used and maintained.
- If the data for a car is too thin to say anything useful, we say so rather than guess.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
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