MOT cost .
Ford Kuga
MOT 2023
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Ford

Kuga

298,478 MOT tests analysed. sits above the UK fleet average — here's where Kugas pass, fail, and end up on the retest sheet.

That's 5.8 points above the UK fleet average across our 1,988 tracked models — a confident result.

Pass

81.5%

Pass-after-fix

4.2%

Fail

13.9%

Avg miles

62,425

Pass + Pass-after-fix + Fail = 100%

The picture

Ford Kuga Leads SUVs at 81% First-Time Pass

At 81.48% across 298,478 tests, the Kuga sits among the stronger performers in the family SUV segment. Brake pad wear below 1.5mm and tyre tread are the leading MOT failure reasons — both predictable maintenance items rather than structural concerns at its average of 62,425 miles. PHEV variants introduce a specific issue: at low annual mileage the 12V battery drains because the petrol engine rarely runs long enough to recharge it. Dealers have cited owner usage as the cause, which means it falls outside warranty in some cases. Budget for fresh pads, tyres, and — on PHEV models — confirm 12V battery condition before purchase.

Top ten reasons for rejection.

  1. 01

    a brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm

    8,736 occurrences · 2.9% of tests

  2. 02

    Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements

    8,556 occurrences · 2.9% of tests

  3. 03

    A lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning

    6,032 occurrences · 2.0% of tests

  4. 04

    Wiper blade missing or obviously not clearing the windscreen

    5,786 occurrences · 1.9% of tests

  5. 05

    A rear registration plate lamp or light source missing or inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources

    5,284 occurrences · 1.8% of tests

  6. 06

    Windscreen or window damaged or seriously discoloured but not adversely affecting driver's view

    4,804 occurrences · 1.6% of tests

  7. 07

    A spring or spring component fractured or seriously weakened

    4,576 occurrences · 1.5% of tests

  8. 08

    Wiper blade defective

    4,513 occurrences · 1.5% of tests

  9. 09

    A tyre seriously damaged

    3,549 occurrences · 1.2% of tests

  10. 10

    A tyre cords visible or damaged

    3,521 occurrences · 1.2% of tests

Counts cover Major and Dangerous defects logged at test. Advisory items excluded so this shows why a car was rejected, not just what the tester flagged in passing.

Worst-case fix budget · top 4 failures

£168–£335

If every one of this Kuga's most-logged Major fails hit at the same MOT, that's the real-world UK garage range. Reality is usually one or two items, not all of them. Open the estimator →

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Build your own retest budget.

Tools that pre-empt a retest.

Picked against this car's top failure patterns. Affiliate links to Amazon UK — we earn a small cut at no cost to you. Disclosed up-front, doesn't shape the data.

Item 01 · Amazon UK

Brake pad measurement gauge

Testers fail pads under 1.5mm. A wear gauge tells you if you've got two months left or two weeks.

Search Amazon UK

Item 02 · Amazon UK

Digital tyre-tread depth gauge

Five quid for a gauge beats £150 for a retest. UK MOT minimum is 1.6mm — most testers fail anything below 2mm to be safe.

Search Amazon UK

Item 03 · Amazon UK

Bosch Aerotwin wiper blades

Cheap wipers fail the test on smear streaks. Bosch Aerotwins last a winter and clear a screen properly.

Search Amazon UK

Owner reports · Honest John

What owners actually report.

Verbatim faults logged by owners on honestjohn.co.uk over recent years. We didn't summarise — these are the words people typed in.

What's good

Good looking family SUV comes with a decent amount of standard kit and is keenly priced. The plug-in hybrid powertrain available. More enjoyable to drive than most rivals.

Where it falls short

The interior finish could be a bit nicer. Boot isn't as big as in some rivals. The early infotainment interface looked dated, while its 2024 replacement was trickier to use.

Recent owner-reported faults

  1. 7 Mar 2022

    Report of 12V battery drain on Kuga PHEV. Dealer has blamed owner's low mileage, with the car not using the petrol engine enough to recharge the battery. Turn Off Ads Now Faster Web Browsing with No Annoying Ads Total Adblock

Source: honestjohn.co.uk · 1 reports indexed

Buying or keeping a Kuga?

Use the failure ranking as a pre-test checklist or a haggling lever. Treat the headline pass rate as a fleet-wide trend, not a guarantee on any individual car.

If you own a Kuga and your last MOT looked nothing like the ranked failures above, that's normal — individual cars vary widely. The ranking shows the patterns testers flag most often across the country.