At a glance
How 32,042 first tests went in 2025.
- Passed first time
- 78 in every 100
- Did not pass first time
- 22 in every 1007,062 failed first-attempt tests
- The typical car
- 9 yearsabout 70,780 miles
- First tests counted
- 32,042
What failed most often
- Individual sidelight or tail light (front)19 in every 100 failed tests
- Tyre pressure monitoring system12 in every 100 failed tests
- Brake pads (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.
These are patterns across 2016 Ford Kuga 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.
Lamps and electrical
Two faults. The strongest is the individual sidelight or tail light (front): 5.2 times as often as on similar cars.
Figures below are measured across the 7,049 of 7,062 failed first attempts (99.8%) 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.
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.
Side repeater indicators
What it means
Sequential or dynamic direction indicators are not a reason to fail. Where a side repeater is required, it is allowed to be part of the front direction indicator if it has a marked wraparound lens, or an amber light coming through the front lens when viewed from a set distance to the side of the rear bumper. A lens defect with no effect on the emitted light is Minor, and one that adversely affects the light is Major.
Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage.
Body and structure
One fault: exhaust system (rear), 5.1 times as often as on similar cars.
Exhaust system (rear)
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.
Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage.
Brakes
One fault and one wear pattern. The strongest is the anti-lock braking system (ABS): 2.6 times as often as on similar cars.
Anti-lock braking system (ABS)
What it means
ABS is failed as removed only where it has obviously been removed, because not every vehicle in the age range where removal is not permitted has ABS. A warning lamp that does not light or shows an ABS fault is Major, as is a missing or excessively damaged wheel speed sensor. Every failure row for this component is Major.
Brake pads (rear)
What it means
A pad worn down to its wear indicator, or contaminated with oil or grease, is Major. A pad worn below the set thickness limit, missing or incorrectly mounted is Dangerous. The manual treats an illuminated brake wear indicator as no reason for failure, although DVSA also lists an illuminated indicator as a Major row.
Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage.
Tyres
One wear pattern: tyre pressure monitoring system, 2.5 times as often as on similar cars.
Tyre pressure monitoring system
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.
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.
Suspension arm pins and bushes (rear)
Anti-roll bar (rear)
Suspension sub-frame (rear)
Individual direction indicators (rear)
Brake fluid
Shock absorbers (rear)
Brake pads
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
- 78in every 100
- Passed on the first test.
- Fixed at the station
- 5in every 100
- Failed, then fixed at the test station the same day.
- Failed
- 17in every 100
- Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.
First-attempt pass 78.0% of 32,042 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 82.9%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 5 fixed and the 17 not fixed make the 22 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. A year earlier (2024), when these cars were a year younger, 80 in every 100 passed first time.
| Year | Passed first time | First tests |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 60 in every 100 | 2,035 |
| 2009 | 59 in every 100 | 6,126 |
| 2010 | 58 in every 100 | 8,215 |
| 2011 | 59 in every 100 | 8,142 |
| 2012 | 62 in every 100 | 8,637 |
| 2013 | 70 in every 100 | 11,828 |
| 2014 | 71 in every 100 | 21,357 |
| 2015 | 74 in every 100 | 29,321 |
| 2016 This car | 78 in every 100 | 32,042 |
| 2017 | 83 in every 100 | 35,441 |
| 2018 | 84 in every 100 | 36,882 |
| 2019 | 84 in every 100 | 39,091 |
| 2020 | 87 in every 100 | 14,872 |
| 2021 | 89 in every 100 | 19,494 |
| 2022 | 92 in every 100 | 24,825 |
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 Kuga.
Of 2016 Kuga vehicles with under 52,000 miles, 87 in every 100 passed their 2025 MOT first time. With 92,000 miles or more, 70 in every 100 did.
Petrol or diesel?
| Typical mileage | Passed first time, as tested | Passed first time, same mileage | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Diesel | 73,126 miles | 78 | 78 |
| Petrol | 57,743 miles | 80 | 77 |
Figures are in every 100 first tests. Petrol cars look better on the raw figures only because diesel cars have done more miles (typically 73,126 against 57,743). At the same mileage there is no clear difference between the two.
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 | 65,000–77,000 | 92,000 and over | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Individual sidelight or tail light (front) | 0.8 | 4.5 | 6.6 |
| Tyre pressure monitoring system | 0.6 | 2.2 | 6.1 |
| Brake pads (rear) | 1.7 | 2.4 | 2.8 |
| Tyre tread depth (front) | 0.9 | 1.8 | 2.5 |
| Tyre condition (front) | 1.1 | 1.6 | 1.7 |
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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