Ford Fusion: MOT pass rate and reliability data

The Ford Fusion fails its first MOT more often than the average UK car, by 8.7 percentage points. These figures come from the DVSA's full year of anonymised MOT results, covering 52,814 individual Ford Fusion tests. Nothing here is an estimate or a survey.

The numbers

What this means if you are buying one

A 68% first-time pass rate means roughly 32 in every 100 Ford Fusions presented for MOT fail on the first attempt. That is worse than average, so budget for remedial work and treat a fresh 12-month MOT as a genuine selling point rather than a given. The average Ford Fusion tested had covered 86,562 miles and was built around 2007.

What this means at salvage auction

Pass rate is a proxy for what a car costs to keep on the road. On a Ford Fusion bought as a repairable salvage, assume the mechanical side needs more than the visible accident damage, and pad your repair estimate accordingly.

Before you bid: run the lot through the analyzer, check the car's own record, check the mileage, decode the VIN, and if it carries a marker use the write-off value calculator. Or compare it against another model.

Looking at a specific Ford Fusion rather than the model in general? The free check covers its MOT and mileage history, and the full HPI report confirms the insurance write-off category, outstanding finance and whether it is recorded stolen, from licensed data for 5 credits. Already own one that has been damaged? Work out whether fixing it beats selling it with the repair or scrap calculator, and see what damaged Ford Fusions actually sold for at UK salvage auction.

Most common MOT failures on a Ford Fusion

1. An obligatory rear fog lamp missing, or a front or rear fog lamp inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning, 2.8% of tests (8.42x the national rate for this defect)
2. Brake pipe damaged or excessively corroded, 6.6% of tests (7.95x the national rate for this defect)
3. Stop lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning, 4.4% of tests (4.54x the national rate for this defect)
4. A suspension joint dust cover missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt etc, 5.8% of tests (4.33x the national rate for this defect)
5. Lamp emitted colour, position or intensity not in accordance with the requirements, 1.7% of tests (3.85x the national rate for this defect)
6. The aim of a headlamp is not within limits laid down in the requirements, 4.8% of tests (2.73x the national rate for this defect)
7. Exhaust system leaking or insecure, 2% of tests (2.6x the national rate for this defect)
8. A shock absorber damaged to the extent that it does not function or showing signs of severe leakage, 1.7% of tests (2.48x the national rate for this defect)
9. Wiper blade missing or obviously not clearing the windscreen, 3.1% of tests (2.22x the national rate for this defect)
10. Engine MIL illuminated indicating a malfunction, 1.7% of tests (1.87x the national rate for this defect)

From 72,507 DVSA-tracked Ford Fusion tests, 2024. DVSA testers marked 3.41% of these flagged Ford Fusion defects as "dangerous", meaning the tester judged the car unsafe to drive away, against 4.97% nationally.

Ford Fusion pass rate by model year

Pass rates fall steadily as cars age, so the model year matters as much as the model. First-time pass rate for each Ford Fusion year:

• 2002 Ford Fusion - 63.4% first-time pass, 519 tests
• 2003 Ford Fusion - 63% first-time pass, 3,735 tests
• 2004 Ford Fusion - 63.8% first-time pass, 4,125 tests
• 2005 Ford Fusion - 64.9% first-time pass, 4,626 tests
• 2006 Ford Fusion - 64.2% first-time pass, 6,697 tests
• 2007 Ford Fusion - 68.3% first-time pass, 7,313 tests
• 2008 Ford Fusion - 69.4% first-time pass, 7,979 tests
• 2009 Ford Fusion - 71.1% first-time pass, 8,422 tests
• 2010 Ford Fusion - 72.9% first-time pass, 5,691 tests
• 2011 Ford Fusion - 77.3% first-time pass, 2,528 tests
• 2012 Ford Fusion - 79.9% first-time pass, 812 tests

Ford Fusion by fuel type

Diesel and petrol versions of the same car fail on different things, so the fuel type moves the number:

• Petrol Ford Fusion - 69.3% first-time pass, 40,407 tests
• Diesel Ford Fusion - 65.3% first-time pass, 12,068 tests

Other Ford models

• Ford Fiesta - 71.7%
• Ford Focus - 74.4%
• Ford Transit - 67.6%
• Ford Kuga - 82.4%
• Ford Mondeo - 72.2%
• Ford Ka - 72.2%
• Ford Transit Connect - 72%
• Ford Ranger - 76.9%

Models with a similar pass rate

• Citroen Relay - 68.2%
• Saab 9-3 - 68.1%
• Fiat Qubo - 68.1%
• Honda Accord - 68%
• Volkswagen Caravelle - 68%
• Ssangyong Musso - 68%

If this car is a salvage or write-off

• What does Cat N mean? Category N explained
• What does Cat S mean? Category S explained
• Cat S vs Cat N: the real differences

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All 2,005 models ranked by MOT pass rate