All generations and engines together · 57,536 MOT tests in the 2025 data · typical mileage at age 7: 70k
Split by first-registration year. Cars registered in a changeover year can belong to either generation.
Computed from DVSA MOT results, all of Great Britain, 2025. Nothing here is opinion.
Share of tests where each item was recorded. The dark tick is the class average across all tracked models; bars are scaled within each group.
The rows that judge the model rather than its keeper. 17,252 tests in this band.
Tyres, pads and stone chips say more about how the car was driven and maintained than about how it was built.
Owner folklore from forums and the motoring press. Most of it never shows up in an MOT, which is why this section exists at all.
The 6-speed Getrag PowerShift dual-clutch automatic (mostly paired with the 2.0 TDCi diesel) is the fault owners and traders talk about most. Symptoms are judder or a wheelspin-like shudder pulling away from a stop, sometimes with a gearbox warning light. Failures of the clutch damper or the mechatronic unit have shown up from around 20,000 miles and get more common past 60,000-80,000, with fixes running £1,800-£2,400 for a clutch damper and £3,500-£5,500 for a full transmission. Ford specifies an oil and filter change every 3 years/36,000 miles on this box; owners who can show that on the history are a much safer bet.
Diesel S-MAXes, manual and PowerShift alike, have a recurring pattern of the dual mass flywheel wearing out early and taking the clutch with it, more so on cars driven hard or used for towing. Owners describe the clutch going soft or the pedal feeling odd from around 25,000-55,000 miles. A DMF and clutch replacement typically runs £1,500-£1,600. It's not the subject of a recall, just a widely repeated complaint.
Owners and reviewers separately flag heavy, sometimes uneven front tyre wear and front wheel bearings going noisy from around 38,000-40,000 miles. That lines up with suspension being the standout measured MOT fault for this car: a big MPV body with a lot of front-end load will chew through bushes, bearings and tracking faster than the class average. Budget for an alignment check and a listen for bearing rumble on any test drive, and expect this to show up as an advisory sooner than on a smaller car.
Cars fitted with the optional panoramic glass roof have a repeated history of leaks from the drain channels and blind mechanism, sometimes appearing within a year or two of the car being new and recurring even after a warranty repair. A buyer would notice damp headlining, water stains around the roof edges, or a musty smell. Fixing the mechanism and reseating the seals is roughly £500 in labour on top of parts.
Leaves and debris block the drain wells under the windscreen scuttle, and water backs up into the wiper motor and the alarm sounder module, then into the wiring loom. It shows as random alarm triggers, damp footwells, or a wet smell, and if the loom gets soaked the repair bill jumps to £2,000-£3,000. It's cheap to prevent, an annual clear-out of the drain channels, but plenty of owners find out the hard way.
Early Mk1 cars fitted with the five-cylinder 2.5-litre Volvo-derived turbo petrol have a history of timing belt and tensioner failures well short of the usual interval, in some cases reported from around 28,000-50,000 miles, and because it's an interference engine a snapped belt means a full rebuild. Rebuild costs of around £6,000 have been reported. This engine was a minority fitment even when new, so it mostly matters if you're looking at an early, higher-spec petrol S-MAX.
Built from the two sections above.
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Head to head with the other popular cars in its class on reliability and common faults.