At a glance
How 10,615 first tests went in 2025.
- Passed first time
- 80 in every 100
- Did not pass first time
- 20 in every 1002,137 failed first-attempt tests
- The typical car
- 7 yearsabout 34,248 miles
- First tests counted
- 10,615
What failed most often
- Track rod end (front)13 in every 100 failed tests
- Brake pads (front)10 in every 100 failed tests
- Tyre condition (front)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 2018 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.
Lamps and electrical
Three faults. The strongest is the headlight levelling device (front): 24 times as often as on similar cars.
Figures below are measured across the 2,136 of 2,137 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.
Headlight levelling device (front)
What it means
A headlamp levelling device that is inoperative is graded Major, and so is a manual levelling device that cannot be operated from the driver's seat. Vehicles with high intensity discharge or LED dipped beam headlamps may have a self-levelling system, and if fitted it must work. Where it is not easy to tell, testers give the benefit of the doubt, and motor caravans are not checked.
Headlight (front)
What it means
On vehicles first used on or after a set date, a halogen headlamp unit converted to take HID or LED bulbs fails for light source and lamp not compatible, which is Major. A complete unit built with those light sources is not failed for that. The precise position of the lamps is not part of the inspection beyond a visual look to see that they sit at about the same height and distance from each side.
Individual sidelight or tail light (front)
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.
Suspension
One fault: anti-roll bar linkage ball joints (front), 4.7 times as often as on similar cars.
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.
Also noted as an advisory
Testers also noted it as an advisory, worn but not yet failing, on 46 first tests, 5.5 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.
Steering
One fault: track rod end (front), 3.8 times as often as on similar cars.
Track rod end (front)
What it means
A steering ball joint with excessive wear or free play is Major, and one worn to the extent there is a serious risk of detachment is graded Dangerous. A dust cover that is damaged but still keeps dirt out is Minor, and one missing or no longer keeping dirt out is Major. Testers must tell wear from a joint's built-in clearance or spring loading.
Also noted as an advisory
Testers also noted it as an advisory, worn but not yet failing, on 95 first tests, 15 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
One fault: drive shaft joints and boots (front), 2.5 times as often as on similar cars.
Drive shaft joints and boots (front)
Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage.
Noise, emissions and leaks
One fault: petrol emissions (with catalyst), 2.1 times as often as on similar cars.
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.
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.
Individual direction indicators (front)
Brake light
Coil spring (rear)
Coil spring (front)
Exhaust system
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
- 80in 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
- 16in every 100
- Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.
First-attempt pass 79.9% of 10,615 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 84.4%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 4 fixed and the 16 not fixed make the 20 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, 83 in every 100 passed first time.
| 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 | 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 This car | 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 2018 Ford Ka.
Of 2018 Ford Ka vehicles with under 21,000 miles, 90 in every 100 passed their 2025 MOT first time. With 51,000 miles or more, 68 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 21,000 | 30,000–39,000 | 51,000 and over | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Track rod end (front) | 1.2 | 3.3 | 3.6 |
| Brake pads (front) | 0.5 | 2.9 | 2.8 |
| Tyre condition (front) | 1.0 | 1.8 | 3.2 |
| Tyre tread depth (front) | 0.4 | 1.6 | 2.9 |
| Headlight aim | 0.8 | 1.3 | 2.2 |
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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