Model Reports 5 min read Updated 18 Oct 2026

Ford S-Max 2010: reliability & common MOT faults

In 2025, 57 in every 100 first MOTs on a 2010 Ford S-Max were passes. Most common reason for a fail: Individual sidelight or tail light (front).

Summary

The 2010 Ford S-Max follows the pattern of the model years either side.

At a glance

How 7,489 first tests went in 2025.

Passed first time
57 in every 100
Did not pass first time
43 in every 1003,184 failed first-attempt tests
The typical car
15 yearsabout 128,262 miles
First tests counted
7,489

What failed most often

  1. Individual sidelight or tail light (front)15 in every 100 failed tests
  2. Suspension arm pins and bushes (rear)10 in every 100 failed tests
  3. Tyre condition (rear)8 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 2010 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

Two faults. The strongest is the suspension arm pins and bushes (rear): 7.8 times as often as on similar cars.

Figures below are measured across the 3,173 of 3,184 failed first attempts (99.7%) 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 305 first tests7.8 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 393 first tests, 4.5 times as often as on similar cars.

Suspension arm (rear)

Failed on 163 first tests4.1 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 413 first tests, 3.7 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: seat belt condition (rear), 3.9 times as often as on similar cars.

Seat belt condition (rear)

Failed on 113 first tests3.9 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

What it means

Any sign of overstretching is a deficiency, and so is a cut anywhere on a child seat belt. On other belts the size of a cut decides it, with a stricter limit at the webbing edge than away from it. Webbing significantly stretched or weakened has rows in both Major and Dangerous grades.

Also noted as an advisory

Testers also noted it as an advisory, worn but not yet failing, on 52 first tests, 2.2 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: diesel emissions test (compression-ignition rules for vehicles from 01/07/2008), 2.8 times as often as on similar cars.

Diesel emissions test (compression-ignition rules for vehicles from 01/07/2008)

Failed on 212 first tests2.8 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

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

Body and structure

One fault: exhaust system (rear), 2.2 times as often as on similar cars.

Exhaust system (rear)

Failed on 172 first tests2.2 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.

Other suspension component pins and bushes (rear)

Noted on 30 first tests5.3 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Brake light (rear)

Noted on 94 first tests4.0 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Anti-roll bar (rear)

Noted on 47 first tests3.3 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Suspension arm (front)

Noted on 155 first tests3.1 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Coil spring (rear)

Noted on 589 first tests2.6 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Brake pads (rear)

Noted on 367 first tests2.5 times as often as similar carsWear pattern

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
57in 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
36in every 100
Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.

First-attempt pass 57.5% of 7,489 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 64.3%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 7 fixed and the 36 not fixed make the 43 in every 100 that did not pass first time.

Petrol and diesel

First testsTypical mileagePassed first time, as testedPassed first time, same mileage
Diesel6,638131,092 miles5757
Petrol851108,083 miles6256

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.

406080100201020152020Older carsNewer cars
40608010020102020Newer 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, 58 in every 100 passed first time.

YearPassed first timeFirst tests
200650 in every 100900
200751 in every 1003,106
200853 in every 1003,354
200955 in every 1004,649
2010 This car57 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

If you are buying one

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

Mileage matters most on a 2010 S-Max.

Of 2010 S-Max vehicles with under 101,000 miles, 64 in every 100 passed their 2025 MOT first time. With 157,000 miles or more, 54 in every 100 did.

Under 101,0001,468 tests
64
101,000–120,0001,496 tests
58
120,000–137,000 Typical car1,554 tests
57
137,000–157,0001,475 tests
54
157,000 and over1,474 tests
54

Petrol or diesel?

Typical mileagePassed first time,
as tested		Passed first time,
same mileage
Diesel131,092 miles5757
Petrol108,083 miles6256

Figures are in every 100 first tests. Petrol cars look better on the raw figures only because diesel cars have done more miles (typically 131,092 against 108,083). 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 101,000120,000–137,000157,000 and over
Individual sidelight or tail light (front)3.85.97.4
Suspension arm pins and bushes (rear)3.24.24.2
Tyre condition (rear)2.84.13.9
Tyre tread depth (front)2.73.53.9
Anti-roll bar linkage ball joint dust cover (front)1.63.63.2

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

When a car fails

27in every 100

of failed cars had one item to fix.

47in every 100

of failed cars had three or more items to fix.

13in 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 2010 Ford S-Max follows the pattern of the model years either side. Its main cause of failure was Individual sidelight or tail light (front), about 15 in every 100 failed tests. In 2025, 57.5% of 7,489 first MOTs on the 2010 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 64.3%. Among 3,184 failed first-attempt MOT tests (test year 2025), Suspension arm pins and bushes (rear) appears more often than on similar cars (9.6% of those tests; 305 observed failures; about 7.8× 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 2010 Ford S-Max at the first attempt were Individual sidelight or tail light (front) (14.9%), Suspension arm pins and bushes (rear) (9.6%) and Tyre condition (rear) (8.3%), 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) (9.6% of those tests; 305 observed failures; about 7.8× 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 (9.6% of those tests; 305 observed failures; about 7.8× 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 2010 Ford S-Max include Suspension arm pins and bushes (rear), Suspension arm (rear), Seat belt condition (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 2010 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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