MOT cost .
Ford S Max
MOT 2023
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Ford

S Max

99,747 MOT tests analysed. lands in the middle of the pack — here's where S Maxs pass, fail, and end up on the retest sheet.

That's 3.8 points below the UK fleet average across our 1,988 tracked models — buyers should expect more first-time fails than the typical UK car.

Pass

72.0%

Pass-after-fix

4.7%

Fail

22.8%

Avg miles

100,505

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

The picture

S-MAX Passes 72% — Powershift and Oil Leaks Are Costly

Only 72% of Ford S-MAXes pass their MOT first time, the lowest rate among the Ford MPV range. At an average test mileage of 100,505, suspension bush wear and low tyre tread are the headline MOT causes. The more pressing ownership concern is the Powershift dual-clutch gearbox on diesel variants: one 2019 S-MAX diesel owner described a gearbox warning light appearing in year one, a dealer unable to diagnose it, and then an oil leak discovered after a main service — with the car returned to them in that condition.

With under 100,000 test records, the S-MAX dataset is smaller than mainstream models, but the failure pattern is consistent with other Powershift-equipped Fords. Manual gearbox examples are a significantly lower-risk proposition.

Top ten reasons for rejection.

  1. 01

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

    7,017 occurrences · 7.0% of tests

  2. 02

    Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements

    4,370 occurrences · 4.4% of tests

  3. 03

    A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn

    3,509 occurrences · 3.5% of tests

  4. 04

    a brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm

    3,402 occurrences · 3.4% of tests

  5. 05

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

    3,355 occurrences · 3.4% of tests

  6. 06

    A tyre cords visible or damaged

    2,872 occurrences · 2.9% of tests

  7. 07

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

    2,286 occurrences · 2.3% of tests

  8. 08

    A transmission shaft constant velocity joint boot missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt etc

    2,179 occurrences · 2.2% of tests

  9. 09

    A lamp with a multiple light source up to 1/2 not functioning

    2,029 occurrences · 2.0% of tests

  10. 10

    A transmission shaft constant velocity joint boot severely deteriorated

    2,028 occurrences · 2.0% 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

£228–£530

If every one of this S Max'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

H7 / W21W bulb pack

A spare-bulb kit lives in the boot. Test morning is not the time to find your stop-lamp's gone.

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

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

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.

Recent owner-reported faults

  1. 29 Sep 2021

    Catalogue of complaints for 2019 S-MAX diesel Powershift. At year one of ownership, the gearbox warning light illuminated on the instrument cluster, the dealer was unable to diagnose and fix the issue. After a main service the main dealer returned the car with an oil leak from the gearbox hence another trip to the dealer. In the second year of ownership the same main dealer upgraded the map software and returned the car to me with significant battery drain and the car broke down the next day. A week later a new ECU and battery was fitted. More intermittent warning lights appeared into year three with the main dealer citing the reason for these warnings was that we were not doing enough mileage. Three days outside warranty and TPMS sensor failed on the front nearside wheel and the owner had to pay for the repair, with the dealer refusing to contribute or seek a 'goodwill' payment from Ford UK. * Terms and Conditions * Privacy * Cookies * Advertise on this site * Contact * Mobile) Website of the Year 2016, 2017 & 2018

Source: honestjohn.co.uk · 1 reports indexed

Buying or keeping a S Max?

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 S Max 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.