Model Reports 4 min read Updated 18 Oct 2026

Ford Mondeo 2013: reliability & common MOT faults

In 2025, 65 in every 100 first MOTs on a 2013 Ford Mondeo were passes. Most common reason for a fail: Suspension arm pins and bushes (rear).

Summary

The 2013 Ford Mondeo follows the pattern of the model years either side.

At a glance

How 11,442 first tests went in 2025.

Passed first time
65 in every 100
Did not pass first time
35 in every 1003,979 failed first-attempt tests
The typical car
12 yearsabout 122,600 miles
First tests counted
11,442

What failed most often

  1. Suspension arm pins and bushes (rear)11 in every 100 failed tests
  2. Tyre condition (front)10 in every 100 failed tests
  3. Headlight aim10 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 2013 Ford Mondeo 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

Two faults. The strongest is the suspension arm pins and bushes (rear): 12 times as often as on similar cars.

Figures below are measured across the 3,976 of 3,979 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 arm pins and bushes (rear)

Failed on 421 first tests12 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 540 first tests, 6.7 times as often as on similar cars.

Suspension arm (rear)

Failed on 93 first tests6.3 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

What it means

A missing bump stop rubber is not a reason to fail a suspension arm. A component that is fractured, missing or likely to fail is graded Dangerous, and one excessively damaged or corroded is Major. On some vehicles, some highly stressed parts are thin pressed steel, and many of those have hollow box sections or up-facing areas that can collect road dirt and salt, so they get special attention.

Also noted as an advisory

Testers also noted it as an advisory, worn but not yet failing, on 395 first tests, 5.9 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.

Body and structure

One fault: exhaust system (rear), 2.3 times as often as on similar cars.

Exhaust system (rear)

Failed on 97 first tests2.3 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 114 first tests, 2.4 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.

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.

Anti-roll bar (rear)

Noted on 57 first tests5.0 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Other suspension component pins and bushes (rear)

Noted on 22 first tests3.7 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

Structural sub-frame condition (rear)

Noted on 21 first tests3.5 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Suspension sub-frame mounting area (rear)

Noted on 29 first tests2.9 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Suspension arm (front)

Noted on 79 first tests2.8 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Brake fluid

Noted on 22 first tests2.8 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
65in 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
29in every 100
Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.

First-attempt pass 65.2% of 11,442 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 71.3%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 6 fixed and the 29 not fixed make the 35 in every 100 that did not pass first time.

Petrol and diesel

First testsTypical mileagePassed first time, as tested
Diesel11,028124,040 miles65
Petrol41478,874 miles76

Figures are in every 100 first tests.

Same model, other years

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

40608010020002005201020132020Older carsNewer cars
4060801002000201020132020Older 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, 66 in every 100 passed first time.

YearPassed first timeFirst tests
199959 in every 100306
200057 in every 100510
200157 in every 1001,078
200255 in every 1001,230
200355 in every 1001,585
200455 in every 1002,718
200555 in every 1004,306
200656 in every 1005,209
200754 in every 1008,021
200855 in every 10010,601
200957 in every 10011,969
201058 in every 10012,696
201162 in every 10011,464
201264 in every 10014,056
2013 This car65 in every 10011,442
201467 in every 10010,556
201576 in every 10016,373
201680 in every 10015,241
201782 in every 10010,343
201883 in every 1006,594
201984 in every 1004,107
202085 in every 1002,109
202184 in every 1001,063
202286 in every 100456

If you are buying one

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

Mileage matters most on a 2013 Mondeo.

Of 2013 Mondeo vehicles with under 89,000 miles, 74 in every 100 passed their 2025 MOT first time. With 161,000 miles or more, 62 in every 100 did.

Under 89,0002,264 tests
74
89,000–112,0002,327 tests
67
112,000–133,000 Typical car2,260 tests
63
133,000–161,0002,291 tests
61
161,000 and over2,294 tests
62

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 89,000112,000–133,000161,000 and over
Suspension arm pins and bushes (rear)2.94.13.2
Tyre condition (front)2.63.53.5
Headlight aim1.44.04.2
Track rod end (front)2.53.53.7
Brake pads (rear)2.42.12.4

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

When a car fails

35in every 100

of failed cars had one item to fix.

37in 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.

The 2013 Ford Mondeo follows the pattern of the model years either side. Its main cause of failure was Suspension arm pins and bushes (rear), about 11 in every 100 failed tests. In 2025, 65.2% of 11,442 first MOTs on the 2013 Ford Mondeo passed first time (PRS: items fixed at the station the same day, counted as a fail). The official-style rate including PRS is 71.3%. Among 3,979 failed first-attempt MOT tests (test year 2025), Suspension arm pins and bushes (rear) appears more often than on similar cars (10.6% of those tests; 421 observed failures; about 12× 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 2013 Ford Mondeo at the first attempt were Suspension arm pins and bushes (rear) (10.6%), Tyre condition (front) (9.8%) and Headlight aim (9.5%), 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) (10.6% of those tests; 421 observed failures; about 12× 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 (10.6% of those tests; 421 observed failures; about 12× 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 2013 Ford Mondeo include Suspension arm pins and bushes (rear), Suspension arm (rear), Exhaust system (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 2013 Ford Mondeo (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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