At a glance
How 14,844 first tests went in 2025.
- Passed first time
- 55 in every 100
- Did not pass first time
- 45 in every 1006,697 failed first-attempt tests
- The typical car
- 16 yearsabout 77,583 miles
- First tests counted
- 14,844
What failed most often
- Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test)19 in every 100 failed tests
- Individual sidelight or tail light (front)9 in every 100 failed tests
- Shock absorbers (rear)9 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 2009 Ford Ka 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
Five faults. The strongest is the suspension sub-frame (rear): 6.4 times as often as on similar cars.
Figures below are measured across the 6,693 of 6,697 failed first attempts (99.9%) 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 sub-frame (rear)
What it means
A suspension sub-frame insecurely attached to the chassis or axle is Major, and Dangerous when it is insecure and impairing directional stability. A sub-frame that is missing, likely to become detached, fractured or likely to fail is also Dangerous. Excessive damage or corrosion that seriously weakens it is Major.
Shock absorbers (front)
What it means
Slight seepage that leaves a film of fluid on a shock absorber does not fail it. Severe leakage, or damage so that it does not function, is Major. A shock absorber missing or likely to become detached is graded Dangerous, though a missing one is only rejected if shock absorbers were fitted as standard.
Also noted as an advisory
Testers also noted it as an advisory, worn but not yet failing, on 658 first tests, 3.3 times as often as on similar cars.
Shock absorbers (rear)
What it means
Slight seepage that leaves a film of fluid on a shock absorber does not fail it. Severe leakage, or damage so that it does not function, is Major. A shock absorber missing or likely to become detached is graded Dangerous, though a missing one is only rejected if shock absorbers were fitted as standard.
Anti-roll bar linkage ball joints (front)
What it means
Excessive wear on an anti-roll bar linkage ball joint is Major. A joint likely to become detached is graded Dangerous.
Suspension arm pins and bushes (front)
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.
Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage. Advisories count notes recorded on failed first tests only.
Brakes
Three faults. The strongest is the handbrake performance (roller test, rear): 4.8 times as often as on similar cars.
Handbrake performance (roller test, rear)
Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test)
What it means
A parking brake with efficiency below the minimum requirement is Major, and graded Dangerous where efficiency is less than half of the required value. On a roller brake tester, the requirement counts as met if more than half of the wheels of a brake system lock. The check applies only to vehicles whose parking brake was not already tested as the secondary brake.
Brake imbalance across an axle (roller test, efficiency check, rear)
What it means
A wheel giving less than a set share of the maximum effort from the other wheel on the same axle is Major. On a steered axle, less than half is graded Dangerous. Testers disregard an imbalance if the lower effort is the result of a locked wheel, or if the higher effort from a wheel is at or below a low set figure.
Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage.
Body and structure
One fault: exhaust system (front), 4.0 times as often as on similar cars.
Exhaust system (front)
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 511 first tests, 3.9 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: petrol emissions not tested, 2.2 times as often as on similar cars.
Petrol emissions not tested
What it means
On a petrol car, an emissions test recorded as not tested or unable to be completed is failed as Major. DVSA's wording gives no reason why.
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.
Macpherson strut bracket and mounting (front)
Brake cable (rear)
Coil spring mounting (rear)
Suspension spring mounting area (rear)
Chassis condition (front)
Coil spring (front)
Transmission oil leaks (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
- 55in every 100
- Passed on the first test.
- Fixed at the station
- 6in every 100
- Failed, then fixed at the test station the same day.
- Failed
- 39in every 100
- Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.
First-attempt pass 54.9% of 14,844 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 61.3%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 6 fixed and the 39 not fixed make the 45 in every 100 that did not pass first time.
Petrol and diesel
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.
Newer cars are younger, so look for a jump rather than the climb.
| Year | Passed first time | First tests |
|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 52 in every 100 | 306 |
| 2002 | 49 in every 100 | 607 |
| 2003 | 49 in every 100 | 1,035 |
| 2004 | 49 in every 100 | 1,369 |
| 2005 | 52 in every 100 | 1,643 |
| 2006 | 49 in every 100 | 1,983 |
| 2007 | 49 in every 100 | 2,698 |
| 2008 | 49 in every 100 | 3,392 |
| 2009 This car | 55 in every 100 | 14,844 |
| 2010 | 56 in every 100 | 16,047 |
| 2011 | 61 in every 100 | 14,315 |
| 2012 | 64 in every 100 | 15,488 |
| 2013 | 66 in every 100 | 17,337 |
| 2014 | 69 in every 100 | 17,480 |
| 2015 | 68 in every 100 | 12,575 |
| 2016 | 72 in every 100 | 7,955 |
| 2017 | 81 in every 100 | 12,895 |
| 2018 | 80 in every 100 | 10,615 |
| 2019 | 86 in every 100 | 9,684 |
If you are buying one
What this year's MOT record means for the decision in front of you.
Mileage matters most on a 2009 Ford Ka.
Of 2009 Ford Ka vehicles with under 52,000 miles, 68 in every 100 passed their 2025 MOT first time. With 102,000 miles or more, 46 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 52,000 | 70,000–85,000 | 102,000 and over | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test) | 3.0 | 9.4 | 13.7 |
| Individual sidelight or tail light (front) | 0.9 | 3.5 | 7.9 |
| Shock absorbers (rear) | 3.0 | 4.8 | 3.6 |
| Suspension arm pins and bushes (front) | 2.9 | 4.1 | 4.7 |
| Suspension arm ball joint (front) | 1.4 | 3.9 | 5.7 |
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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