1,120 tests in 2025
Ford Auto Trail reliability and MOT pass rate
93.9% passed first time. The 6.1% fail rate is 16.5 points better than the all-car average, on a median example 4 years old with 12,747 miles.
Pass rate
93.9%
22.6% of all cars failed; 6.1% of these did.
Fixed on the day
4.3%
Passed after a defect was put right during the visit.
Median at test
12,747 mi
4 years old.
Fail rate by age
| Age at test | Tests | Fail rate |
|---|---|---|
| 3-5 years | 795 | 3.5% |
| 6-9 years | 3 | — |
| 10-13 years | 291 | 12.4% |
| 14+ years | 12 | — |
What the Auto Trail fails on
Share of failed tests with at least one fail item in each DVSA inspection section. A test can fail in several sections at once.
- Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment1 dangerous60.3%
- Brakes10 dangerous32.4%
- Suspension16.2%
- Visibility10.3%
- Noise, emissions and leaks8.8%
- Tyres3 dangerous7.4%
- Body, chassis, structure4.4%
- Steering2.9%
The exact defects that fail it
Every failure item DVSA recorded against a Auto Trail in 2025, counted by how many tests each one appeared on.
- 1Position lamp: not working9 tests
- 2Stop lamp: not working7 tests
- 3Pins and bushes: pin or bush excessively worn6 tests
- 4Outline marker lamp: not working6 tests
- 5Rbt (sp): efficiency below requirements6 tests
- 6Rear fog lamp: not working6 tests
- 7Malfunction indicator lamp: inoperative or indicates a malfunction5 tests
- 8Wipers: does not clear the windscreen effectively5 tests
What wears out first
Advisories are the tester flagging wear that is still legal. A typical Auto Trail collects 2.43 of them per test, and these are the ones that come up most. Treat it as the running-repairs list for the next year or two.
- 1Brake discs: in such a condition that it is seriously weakened62 tests
- 2Condition: has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure45 tests
- 3Pins and bushes: pin or bush excessively worn36 tests
- 4Rigid brake pipes: excessively corroded23 tests
- 5Pipes and hoses: excessively corroded17 tests
- 6Brake pads: less than 1.5 mm thick15 tests
- 7Tread depth: tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm9 tests
- 8Engine oil leaks: leaking excessively from engine8 tests
Questions
What is the Ford Auto Trail MOT pass rate?
93.9% of the 1,120 Ford Auto Trail first-attempt MOTs in 2025 passed. The fail rate of 6.1% compares with 22.6% across all cars. A further 4.3% passed after a defect was fixed during the test visit.
What does a Ford Auto Trail usually fail on?
The single most common failure is "Position lamp: not working", recorded on 9 failed tests, followed by "Stop lamp: not working" and "Pins and bushes: pin or bush excessively worn". By section, lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment appears in 60.3% of failures, brakes appears in 32.4% of failures, suspension appears in 16.2% of failures.
Does age change the odds?
Sharply. At 3 to 5 years old the fail rate was 3.5%; at 10-13 years it was 12.4%. The median Ford Auto Trail tested in 2025 was 4 years old with 12,747 miles.
First-attempt class 4 tests, 2025, from DVSA’s anonymised MOT data (OGL v3, retrieved 2026-09-12). DVSA records newer cars trim by trim; this page adds every Auto Trail trim together. Year-on-year figures come from the same DVSA extracts for 2026 and earlier years. Full method on the pass rates hub.
Other Ford models
Checking a particular Auto Trail?
The odds above are the model. The car in front of you has its own record: every test, every advisory, the mileage at each one.
Due a test? Find an approved MOT station near you.