Model Reports 5 min read Updated 18 Oct 2026

Ford Galaxy 2011: reliability & common MOT faults

In 2025, 54 in every 100 first MOTs on a 2011 Ford Galaxy were passes. Most common reason for a fail: Individual sidelight or tail light (front).

Summary

The 2011 Ford Galaxy follows the pattern of the model years either side.

At a glance

How 3,861 first tests went in 2025.

Passed first time
54 in every 100
Did not pass first time
46 in every 1001,768 failed first-attempt tests
The typical car
14 yearsabout 125,476 miles
First tests counted
3,861

What failed most often

  1. Individual sidelight or tail light (front)27 in every 100 failed tests
  2. Drive shaft joints and boots (front)14 in every 100 failed tests
  3. Suspension arm pins and bushes (rear)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.

Note:

These are patterns across 2011 Ford Galaxy vehicles in 2025, not a prediction that any one car will have them. Faults are grouped by part of the car. They come from MOT defect codes, not manufacturer bulletins, recalls or a diagnosis of any one car.

Suspension

One fault: suspension arm pins and bushes (rear), 9.0 times as often as on similar cars.

Figures below are measured across the 1,756 of 1,768 failed first attempts (99.3%) 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.

Suspension arm pins and bushes (rear)

Failed on 173 first tests9.0 times as often as similar carsStrong evidence

What it means

Pins and bushes on suspension arms fail as Major when they are excessively worn. They are graded Dangerous when likely to become detached. DVSA uses the same wording for a suspension joint.

Also noted as an advisory

Testers also noted it as an advisory, worn but not yet failing, on 210 first tests, 4.8 times as often as on similar cars.

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage. Advisories count notes recorded on failed first tests only.

Seat belts and restraints

One fault: seat belt condition (rear), 3.2 times as often as on similar cars.

Seat belt condition (rear)

Failed on 48 first tests3.2 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

What it means

Any sign of overstretching is a deficiency, and so is a cut anywhere on a child seat belt. On other belts the size of a cut decides it, with a stricter limit at the webbing edge than away from it. Webbing significantly stretched or weakened has rows in both Major and Dangerous grades.

Also noted as an advisory

Testers also noted it as an advisory, worn but not yet failing, on 42 first tests, 3.6 times as often as on similar cars.

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage. Advisories count notes recorded on failed first tests only.

Body and structure

Two faults. The strongest is the drive shaft joints and boots (front): 2.3 times as often as on similar cars.

Drive shaft joints and boots (front)

Failed on 247 first tests2.3 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

A constant velocity boot that is only severely deteriorated is Minor. It is Major once it is missing, split or insecure so that it no longer prevents the ingress of dirt. A transmission joint excessively worn is Major, and graded Dangerous when it is so worn it is likely to fail.

Exhaust system (rear)

Failed on 54 first tests2.1 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

Exhaust fumes causing a danger to health of persons on board are graded Dangerous, and so is a silencer likely to become detached. Fumes entering the cabin are Major. One or more missing or defective mountings does not necessarily make the exhaust insecure, since testers assess the overall security of the system.

Also noted as an advisory

Testers also noted it as an advisory, worn but not yet failing, on 85 first tests, 2.5 times as often as on similar cars.

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage. Advisories count notes recorded on failed first tests only.

Lamps and electrical

One fault: individual sidelight or tail light (front), 2.2 times as often as on similar cars.

Individual sidelight or tail light (front)

Failed on 474 first tests2.2 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

A position lamp showing red light to the front or white light to the rear is Major. Rear lamps must show a steady red light, and front ones can show white, predominantly white with a blue tinge, or yellow if combined in a yellow headlamp. With a multiple light source, up to half not working is Minor and more than half is Major.

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. Advisories for the faults above are shown with those faults.

Brake light

Noted on 41 first tests3.5 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Suspension arm (rear)

Noted on 151 first tests3.1 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Individual direction indicators (rear)

Noted on 81 first tests2.6 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Anti-roll bar linkage ball joints (rear)

Noted on 40 first tests2.5 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

Coil spring (rear)

Noted on 285 first tests2.5 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

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
54in every 100
Passed on the first test.
Fixed at the station
9in every 100
Failed, then fixed at the test station the same day.
Failed
37in every 100
Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.

First-attempt pass 54.2% of 3,861 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 63.1%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 9 fixed and the 37 not fixed make the 46 in every 100 that did not pass first time.

Petrol and diesel

First testsTypical mileagePassed first time, as tested
Diesel3,386128,585 miles54
Petrol475100,622 miles54

Figures are in every 100 first tests.

Same model, other years

Passed first time in every 100, all tested in 2025.

4060801002005201120152020Older carsNewer cars
40608010020112020Older carsNewer cars

Newer cars are younger, so look for a jump rather than the climb. A year earlier (2024), when these cars were a year younger, 56 in every 100 passed first time.

YearPassed first timeFirst tests
200355 in every 100453
200448 in every 100538
200550 in every 100906
200650 in every 1001,175
200753 in every 1002,440
200854 in every 1002,696
200954 in every 1003,184
201055 in every 1003,613
2011 This car54 in every 1003,861
201257 in every 1003,977
201357 in every 1003,505
201456 in every 1003,931
201562 in every 1002,204
201677 in every 1004,211
201778 in every 1004,620
201879 in every 1002,974
201977 in every 1002,271
202081 in every 1001,520
202175 in every 1001,194
202282 in every 1001,134

If you are buying one

What this year's MOT record means for the decision in front of you.

Mileage makes a modest difference on a 2011 Galaxy.

Of 2011 Galaxy vehicles with under 95,000 miles, 59 in every 100 passed their 2025 MOT first time. With 162,000 miles or more, 52 in every 100 did.

Under 95,000773 tests
59
95,000–116,000773 tests
55
116,000–135,000 Typical car761 tests
52
135,000–162,000758 tests
53
162,000 and over772 tests
52

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 95,000116,000–135,000162,000 and over
Individual sidelight or tail light (front)11.013.812.6
Drive shaft joints and boots (front)8.36.43.9
Suspension arm pins and bushes (rear)3.84.74.5
Tyre condition (rear)3.44.14.0
Brake light2.54.64.3

Faults per 100 first tests, by the car's mileage at the test.

When a car fails

24in every 100

of failed cars had one item to fix.

50in every 100

of failed cars had three or more items to fix.

13in every 100

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.

The 2011 Ford Galaxy follows the pattern of the model years either side. Its main cause of failure was Individual sidelight or tail light (front), about 27 in every 100 failed tests. In 2025, 54.2% of 3,861 first MOTs on the 2011 Ford Galaxy passed first time (PRS: items fixed at the station the same day, counted as a fail). The official-style rate including PRS is 63.1%. Among 1,768 failed first-attempt MOT tests (test year 2025), Suspension arm pins and bushes (rear) appears more often than on similar cars (9.9% of those tests; 173 observed failures; about 9.0× more often than similar cars). There is no single reliability score here; this is a pre-purchase checklist built from DVSA open data, not a guarantee for any individual car.
Ranked by how often they were actually recorded, the items that most often failed a 2011 Ford Galaxy at the first attempt were Individual sidelight or tail light (front) (27.0%), Drive shaft joints and boots (front) (14.1%) and Suspension arm pins and bushes (rear) (9.9%), each as a share of the year's failed first attempts. That is what goes wrong most often on the car. The common faults table shows a different measure: faults that are unusual compared with similar cars.
Among failed first-attempt tests we highlight patterns that appear more often than on similar cars. Top example: Suspension arm pins and bushes (rear) (9.9% of those tests; 173 observed failures; about 9.0× more often than similar cars). These are statistical signals, not a diagnosis of any individual car.
Suspension arm pins and bushes (rear) shows up more often than on similar cars (9.9% of those tests; 173 observed failures; about 9.0× more often than similar cars). That does not prove a design fault. Age, mileage, and how the car was used still matter. Treat it as a pre-purchase checkpoint, not a manufacturer service bulletin.
Common MOT problem areas for the 2011 Ford Galaxy include Suspension arm pins and bushes (rear), Seat belt condition (rear), Drive shaft joints and boots (front). These are the faults that stand out compared with similar cars, not a complete list of what can go wrong on any individual car.
Advisories flag issues noted at the test and are not a fail rate. We show advisory patterns that appear more often than on similar cars among failed first-attempt tests, separate from common failure rows. Use them as early-warning checks, not as a pass/fail score.
This page highlights MOT failure patterns for the 2011 Ford Galaxy (registration year) using UK DVSA open data for the selected test year. Patterns are compared with cars of a similar age and mileage. It is a buyer checklist from MOT defect statistics, not a full service history or manufacturer service-bulletin list.
No. MOT tests do not cover engine internals, gearboxes, or many electronic modules. Patterns here come from MOT defect statistics only and should not be read as engine or gearbox reliability scores.

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.

2024 2025

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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