Ford Puma MOT failure rate and common faults
89,712 Ford Puma cars aged 3 to 20 took their MOT in 2025, and 8.5% failed at the first attempt. An average car of the same age failed 12.6% of the time, which makes the Ford Puma 33% less likely to fail than the typical car on the road. Here is what fails, and which years to look for.
8.5%
failed first time
89,712 MOT tests in 2025
-33%
vs same age average
average car of this age mix: 12.6%
16 of 208
age adjusted rank
among cars; 1 fails least
36.3
dangerous defects per 1,000
same age average: 56.8
What fails on a Ford Puma MOT
Failure items recorded per 1,000 tests, by part of the car, set against an average car with exactly the same spread of ages. A figure well above average is a weak spot worth checking before you buy.
The most common Ford Puma MOT failures
The individual failure items testers recorded most often, per 1,000 tests.
| Failure item | Area | Per 1,000 tests |
|---|---|---|
| Tyres: has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords | Tyres | 16.7 |
| Headlamp aim: too high | Lights and electrics | 13.3 |
| Brake pads: less than 1.5 mm thick | Brakes | 10.6 |
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm | Tyres | 10.4 |
| Washers: provides insufficient washer liquid | Windscreen, wipers and mirrors | 7.4 |
| Tyre pressure monitoring system: malfunctioning or obviously inoperative | Tyres | 6.0 |
| Tyres: has ply or cords exposed | Tyres | 6.0 |
| Headlamp aim: too low | Lights and electrics | 4.4 |
| Washers: not working | Windscreen, wipers and mirrors | 4.1 |
| Wipers: does not clear the windscreen effectively | Windscreen, wipers and mirrors | 3.7 |
Ford Puma MOT failure rate by year
Every car fails more often as it ages, so each registration year is compared with the average for all cars of the same age. Years with fewer than 500 tests are left out.
| First registered | Tests | Failed | Same age average | Average mileage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 35,337 | 7.6% | 11.4% | 22,200 |
| 2021 | 28,318 | 7.4% | 12.8% | 30,000 |
| 2020 | 25,868 | 10.9% | 14.1% | 34,800 |
Advisories to look for in a Ford Puma's MOT history
An advisory is a tester's warning that something is wearing but has not failed yet. These are the ones written most often on the Ford Puma, per 1,000 tests. If the car you are looking at has one of these, ask whether it has been fixed since.
- Tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge193.2
- Tyres: slightly damaged/cracking or perishing133.9
- Brake pads: wearing thin68.7
- Brake discs: worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened63.2
- Tyres: has a cut but not deep enough to reach the ply or cords19.8
- Brake discs: worn, but not excessively13.8
Checking a used Ford Puma before you buy
The Ford Puma has no part of the car that fails well above average for its age, so check the areas that fail most often overall.
Tyres
Check the tread across the full width of every tyre, inner edge included. Uneven wear points to worn suspension or out of line steering geometry.
Lights and electrics
Walk round the car with every light on: headlights on dip and main beam, indicators, brake lights, fog lights and the number plate lamp. A pattern of electrical faults costs more than a bulb.
Brakes
Look through the wheel spokes at the discs for a deep lip or scoring, check the handbrake holds the car on a slope, and feel for a pull to one side when braking hard.
Averages only take you so far. The specific car's MOT history shows whether it has already failed on any of these, how often advisories were ignored, and whether the mileage climbs steadily from test to test. Read our guide to reading a car's MOT history before you go to view it.
Ford Puma MOT questions
What is the Ford Puma MOT failure rate?
8.5% of Ford Puma cars failed their first MOT test of 2025, from 89,712 tests on vehicles aged 3 to 20. An average car with the same age mix failed 12.6% of the time, so the Ford Puma was 33% less likely to fail.
What fails most often on a Ford Puma MOT?
Tyres caused the most failure items, at 48 per 1,000 tests. The single most common failure item was "Tyres: has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords", recorded 16.7 times per 1,000 tests.
Which Ford Puma year has the best MOT record?
Measured against cars of the same age, 2021 registrations did best: 7.4% failed against an average of 12.8% for cars that age. Older cars always fail more often, so compare a year with its age group rather than with newer cars.
Does this tell me whether a particular Ford Puma will pass?
No. These are averages across every Ford Puma tested in 2025. The car in front of you has its own record: its full MOT history shows every pass, failure and advisory it has had, and it is free to view by registration.
Other Ford models
- Ford Fiesta34.1% failed
- Ford Focus31.4% failed
- Ford Kuga20.6% failed
- Ford Transit37.5% failed
- Ford Transit Custom22.8% failed
- Ford Ka33.3% failed
Ranked close to the Ford Puma
- Audi TTrank 13
- Mazda MX-5rank 14
- Audi Q7rank 15
- Mazda CX-30rank 17
How these figures are calculated
Source: DVSA Anonymised MOT tests and results, 2025 release. We count first tests of cars and small vans (class 4) aged 3 to 20, so a car that fails and is retested is counted once. A failure includes faults fixed and passed within the same visit. The same age average weights the national failure rate for each age by how many Ford Puma cars of that age were tested, so a model is never penalised for having an older fleet. Make and model are as recorded at the test; trim levels are combined. Full method and rankings.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.