Model Reports 4 min read Updated 18 Oct 2026

Ford S-Max 2006: reliability & common MOT faults

In 2025, 50 in every 100 first MOTs on a 2006 Ford S-Max were passes. Most common reason for a fail: Suspension arm (rear).

Summary

With 900 first tests, there are too few to say whether the 2006 Ford S-Max differs from the model years either side.

At a glance

How 900 first tests went in 2025.

Passed first time
50 in every 100
Did not pass first time
50 in every 100452 failed first-attempt tests
The typical car
19 yearsabout 139,519 miles
First tests counted
900

What failed most often

  1. Suspension arm (rear)17 in every 100 failed tests
  2. Individual sidelight or tail light (front)12 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 2006 Ford S-Max 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

One fault: suspension arm (rear), 37 times as often as on similar cars.

Figures below are measured across the 424 of 452 failed first attempts (93.8%) that recorded an odometer reading in 2025. Mileage is needed to compare like with like. 6.2% of failures are excluded because no mileage was recorded, so treat these shares as indicative for this model year.

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 (rear)

Failed on 73 first tests37 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 36 first tests, 3.4 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.

Seat belts and restraints

One fault: airbag warning light, 3.1 times as often as on similar cars.

Airbag warning light

Failed on 43 first tests3.1 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

What it means

The airbag warning lamp (SRS MIL in DVSA's wording) is failed only if it indicates a system malfunction, which is Major. A lamp lit to show the passenger airbag is disabled is not to be regarded as a defect. Dashboard messages are not a defect in their own right, though they can help the tester confirm a malfunction.

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

Body and structure

One fault: exhaust system (rear), 2.6 times as often as on similar cars.

Exhaust system (rear)

Failed on 24 first tests2.6 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.

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.

Suspension arm pins and bushes (rear)

Noted on 60 first tests4.4 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Brake pads (rear)

Noted on 51 first tests3.2 times as often as similar carsWear pattern

Suspension sub-frame (rear)

Noted on 69 first tests2.3 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Number plates (rear)

Noted on 37 first tests2.1 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
50in 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
43in every 100
Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.

First-attempt pass 49.8% of 900 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 56.8%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 7 fixed and the 43 not fixed make the 50 in every 100 that did not pass first time.

Same model, other years

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

4060801002006201020152020Newer cars
406080100200620102020Newer cars

Newer cars are younger, so look for a jump rather than the climb.

YearPassed first timeFirst tests
2006 This car50 in every 100900
200751 in every 1003,106
200853 in every 1003,354
200955 in every 1004,649
201057 in every 1007,489
201160 in every 1005,741
201260 in every 1006,343
201361 in every 1005,759
201464 in every 1006,014
201569 in every 1003,147
201676 in every 1006,601
201779 in every 1005,051
201880 in every 1002,300
201973 in every 1002,196
202080 in every 1001,088
202180 in every 100659
202281 in every 100715

FAQs

Short answers about how to read this model-year guide.

With 900 first tests, there are too few to say whether the 2006 Ford S-Max differs from the model years either side. Its main cause of failure was Suspension arm (rear), about 17 in every 100 failed tests. In 2025, 49.8% of 900 first MOTs on the 2006 Ford S-Max passed first time (PRS: items fixed at the station the same day, counted as a fail). The official-style rate including PRS is 56.8%. Among 452 failed first-attempt MOT tests (test year 2025), Suspension arm (rear) appears more often than on similar cars (17.2% of those tests; 73 observed failures; about 37× 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 2006 Ford S-Max at the first attempt were Suspension arm (rear) (17.2%) and Individual sidelight or tail light (front) (11.8%), 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 (rear) (17.2% of those tests; 73 observed failures; about 37× more often than similar cars). These are statistical signals, not a diagnosis of any individual car.
Suspension arm (rear) shows up more often than on similar cars (17.2% of those tests; 73 observed failures; about 37× 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 2006 Ford S-Max include Suspension arm (rear), Airbag warning light, 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 2006 Ford S-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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