Model Reports 5 min read Updated 18 Oct 2026

Ford Grand C-Max 2016: reliability & common MOT faults

In 2025, 67 in every 100 first MOTs on a 2016 Ford Grand C-Max were passes. Most common reason for a fail: Tyre pressure monitoring system.

Summary

A 2016 Ford Grand C-Max passed first time about 2 in every 100 less often than the average of the 2015 and 2017 model years.

At a glance

How 6,176 first tests went in 2025.

Passed first time
67 in every 100
Did not pass first time
33 in every 1002,022 failed first-attempt tests
The typical car
9 yearsabout 72,657 miles
First tests counted
6,176

What failed most often

  1. Tyre pressure monitoring system13 in every 100 failed tests
  2. Tyre condition (front)11 in every 100 failed tests
  3. Drive shaft joints and boots (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.

Note:

These are patterns across 2016 Ford Grand C-Max 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.

Suspension

One fault: suspension arm pins and bushes (rear), 5.0 times as often as on similar cars.

Figures below are measured across the 2,014 of 2,022 failed first attempts (99.6%) 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 44 first tests5.0 times as often as similar carsLikely 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 148 first tests, 7.7 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.

Noise, emissions and leaks

One fault: diesel emissions test (compression-ignition rules for vehicles from 01/01/2014), 3.6 times as often as on similar cars.

Diesel emissions test (compression-ignition rules for vehicles from 01/01/2014)

Failed on 65 first tests3.6 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage.

Road wheels

One fault: wheel fixings (front), 3.1 times as often as on similar cars.

Wheel fixings (front)

Failed on 45 first tests3.1 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

What it means

Wheel nuts, bolts and studs are the fixings that attach the road wheel. A wheel with a loose or missing wheel nut, bolt or stud is Major. If more than one is loose or missing, it is graded Dangerous.

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage.

Lamps and electrical

Four faults. The strongest is the brake light (rear): 2.7 times as often as on similar cars.

Brake light (rear)

Failed on 146 first tests2.7 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

All stop lamps missing or not working is graded Dangerous, and so is a stop lamp that stays on when the brakes are released. A stop lamp that is missing or not working is Major. On some vehicles with LED rear lamps, part of the stop lamp can go out when the rear fog lamp is lit, which is not regarded as a defect.

Individual sidelight or tail light (rear)

Failed on 53 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.

Individual sidelight or tail light (front)

Failed on 166 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.

Number plate lights (rear)

Failed on 60 first tests2.1 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

Registration plate lamps must light up the rear registration plate and operate at the same time as the position lamps. A missing or inoperative lamp is Major when the plate has only one lamp or all its lamps are not working, and Minor when the plate has several lamps or light sources and not all have failed. A lamp throwing direct white light to the rear is also Minor.

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage.

Tyres

One wear pattern: tyre pressure monitoring system, 2.6 times as often as on similar cars.

Tyre pressure monitoring system

Failed on 256 first tests2.6 times as often as similar carsWear pattern

What it means

A tyre pressure monitoring system that is obviously inoperative is graded Major, and so is one listed as malfunctioning or obviously inoperative. The Minor row uses the word malfunctioning too, but its detail is a warning lamp indicating a fault, and it also covers a tyre that is obviously under-inflated.

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage.

Body and structure

One fault: drive shaft joints and boots (front), 2.6 times as often as on similar cars.

Drive shaft joints and boots (front)

Failed on 207 first tests2.6 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.

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.

Seat belt condition (rear)

Noted on 23 first tests3.1 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Number plates (rear)

Noted on 85 first tests2.6 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
67in every 100
Passed on the first test.
Fixed at the station
7in every 100
Failed, then fixed at the test station the same day.
Failed
26in every 100
Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.

First-attempt pass 67.3% of 6,176 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 74.3%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 7 fixed and the 26 not fixed make the 33 in every 100 that did not pass first time.

Petrol and diesel

First testsTypical mileagePassed first time, as testedPassed first time, same mileage
Diesel5,14074,507 miles6767
Petrol1,03665,632 miles6967

Figures are in every 100 first tests. Cars with more miles usually fail more often, so the same-mileage figure gives every fuel the mileage mix of all the cars in this year.

Same model, other years

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

406080100201120122013201420152016201720182019Older carsNewer cars
4060801002016Older 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, 71 in every 100 passed first time.

YearPassed first timeFirst tests
201157 in every 1004,594
201260 in every 1003,448
201361 in every 1004,138
201461 in every 1003,788
201565 in every 1003,535
2016 This car67 in every 1006,176
201774 in every 1003,725
201871 in every 1002,586
201975 in every 100987

If you are buying one

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

Mileage matters most on a 2016 Grand C-Max.

Of 2016 Grand C-Max vehicles with under 54,000 miles, 78 in every 100 passed their 2025 MOT first time. With 96,000 miles or more, 61 in every 100 did.

Under 54,0001,249 tests
78
54,000–67,0001,260 tests
70
67,000–79,000 Typical car1,173 tests
67
79,000–96,0001,280 tests
60
96,000 and over1,203 tests
61

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 54,00067,000–79,00096,000 and over
Tyre pressure monitoring system1.03.17.0
Tyre condition (front)2.94.03.8
Drive shaft joints and boots (front)1.13.24.2
Brake pads (rear)2.23.02.8
Tyre tread depth (front)1.63.42.7

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

When a car fails

40in every 100

of failed cars had one item to fix.

31in every 100

of failed cars had three or more items to fix.

11in 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.

A 2016 Ford Grand C-Max passed first time about 2 in every 100 less often than the average of the 2015 and 2017 model years. In 2025, 67.3% of 6,176 first MOTs on the 2016 Ford Grand C-Max passed first time (PRS: items fixed at the station the same day, counted as a fail). The official-style rate including PRS is 74.3%. Among 2,022 failed first-attempt MOT tests (test year 2025), Suspension arm pins and bushes (rear) appears more often than on similar cars (2.2% of those tests; 44 observed failures; about 5.0× 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 2016 Ford Grand C-Max at the first attempt were Tyre pressure monitoring system (12.7%), Tyre condition (front) (10.8%) and Drive shaft joints and boots (front) (10.3%), 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) (2.2% of those tests; 44 observed failures; about 5.0× 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 (2.2% of those tests; 44 observed failures; about 5.0× 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 2016 Ford Grand C-Max include Suspension arm pins and bushes (rear), Wheel fixings (front), Brake light (rear). 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 2016 Ford Grand C-Max (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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