Model Reports 4 min read Updated 18 Oct 2026

Ford S-Max 2019: reliability & common MOT faults

In 2025, 73 in every 100 first MOTs on a 2019 Ford S-Max were passes. Most common reason for a fail: Headlight.

Summary

A 2019 Ford S-Max passed first time about 7 in every 100 less often than the average of the 2018 and 2020 model years.

At a glance

How 2,196 first tests went in 2025.

Passed first time
73 in every 100
Did not pass first time
27 in every 100593 failed first-attempt tests
The typical car
6 yearsabout 51,832 miles
First tests counted
2,196

What failed most often

  1. Headlight17 in every 100 failed tests
  2. Brake pads (rear)11 in every 100 failed tests
  3. Tyre condition (rear)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.

Note:

These are patterns across 2019 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.

Seat belts and restraints

One fault: seat belt condition (rear), 6.7 times as often as on similar cars.

Figures below are measured across the 593 failed first attempts in 2025 that had a mileage recorded, which allows a like-for-like comparison.

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.

Seat belt condition (rear)

Failed on 37 first tests6.7 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.

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

Lamps and electrical

One fault: headlight (front), 6.0 times as often as on similar cars.

Headlight (front)

Failed on 101 first tests6.0 times as often as similar carsStrong evidence

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.

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.

Number plates (rear)

Noted on 34 first tests4.9 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
73in 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
20in every 100
Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.

First-attempt pass 73.0% of 2,196 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 79.8%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 7 fixed and the 20 not fixed make the 27 in every 100 that did not pass first time.

Petrol and diesel

First testsTypical mileagePassed first time, as testedPassed first time, same mileage
Diesel1,71053,232 miles7474
Petrol48646,732 miles7170

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.

406080100201020152019Older carsNewer cars
40608010020102019Older 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, 75 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
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
2019 This car73 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 2019 S-Max.

Of 2019 S-Max vehicles with under 37,000 miles, 83 in every 100 passed their 2025 MOT first time. With 69,000 miles or more, 71 in every 100 did.

Under 37,000438 tests
83
37,000–47,000446 tests
73
47,000–57,000 Typical car448 tests
69
57,000–69,000417 tests
69
69,000 and over447 tests
71

Petrol or diesel?

Typical mileagePassed first time,
as tested		Passed first time,
same mileage
Diesel53,232 miles7474
Petrol46,732 miles7170

Figures are in every 100 first tests. 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 37,00047,000–57,00069,000 and over
Headlight1.85.45.1
Brake pads (rear)1.14.92.7
Tyre condition (rear)1.44.04.0
Tyre tread depth (front)0.93.12.2

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

When a car fails

47in every 100

of failed cars had one item to fix.

21in every 100

of failed cars had three or more items to fix.

8in 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.

A 2019 Ford S-Max passed first time about 7 in every 100 less often than the average of the 2018 and 2020 model years. In 2025, 73.0% of 2,196 first MOTs on the 2019 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 79.8%. Among 593 failed first-attempt MOT tests (test year 2025), Headlight (front) appears more often than on similar cars (17.0% of those tests; 101 observed failures; about 6.0× 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 2019 Ford S-Max at the first attempt were Headlight (17.0%), Brake pads (rear) (10.6%) and Tyre condition (rear) (9.3%), 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: Headlight (front) (17.0% of those tests; 101 observed failures; about 6.0× more often than similar cars). These are statistical signals, not a diagnosis of any individual car.
Headlight (front) shows up more often than on similar cars (17.0% of those tests; 101 observed failures; about 6.0× 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 2019 Ford S-Max include Headlight (front), 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 2019 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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