Pass rate
73.4%
Below average — 0.6 pts behind the 74.0% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 20,992 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £47–£137
2009 Ford C-Max MOT pass rate
- 2009
- 2 trims combined
- typical 100,014 mi
Most common fault
Suspension
27.7% of faults · 21.0% nationally
mostly worn arm bushes, split ball-joint boots and broken coil springs.
Part only £35–£75 for Suspension pin or bush excessively worn. What fitting it takes →
9.3 pts down across model years — 10.0% in 2006, 0.7% in 2019.
Which year to buy
- Best 2019 88.6% pass
- Avoid 2004 70.0% pass
Across the 16 years on record, a spread of 18.6 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 64.9%
- Typical mileage
- 100k mi
The 2009 Ford C-Max MOT pass rate is 73.4% of its MOT tests — about what its age and mileage predict. Suspension is the biggest single reason it fails, at 27.7% of what testers record.
Check your postcode
MOT pass rates are national — type your postcode to see how Ford C-Max does in your corner of the country.
Expert verdict
Suspension: 1.3× the national share
Suspension accounts for 27.7% of everything recorded on the 2009 Ford C-Max, against 21.0% nationally — 6.7 points above. Ask for the front and rear suspension to be checked on a ramp before you buy — worn bushes and broken springs are cheap to look at and expensive to discover at test time.
- When it fails, it costs. Only 30% of this model’s typical repairs come in under £30 in parts — the failures here tend to be the kind that need a garage rather than a bulb.
Written from this page's own figures: fault shares against the national composition, the like-for-like pass rate, and the priced repair list. How these are worked out
Watching a Ford C-Max? Get an email when these numbers change .
Every Ford C-Max first registered in 2009 is combined here — 2 trim and body variants in total — so the sample is as large as the DVSA data allows.
How does the 2009 Ford C-Max compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 74.0%, so this figure is 0.6 points behind what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 64.9%. The median 2009 Ford C-Max in this dataset had covered 100,014 mi.
The most common fuel recorded here is Petrol — 74% of tests, with a 74.2% pass rate. Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 73.2% of the time, April–September 73.7%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Joints constant velocity boot severely deteriorated", noted on 4.23% of tests.
- 20,992 recorded tests behind this page.
- 73.4% overall pass rate, 64.9% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the Ford C-Max, the average is 79.9% — best year 2019 (88.6%), worst 2004 (70.0%).
Figures count every completed test on this vehicle-year in the dataset, including retests. See methodology for the exact definition.
This page's data
- Tests analysed
- 20,992
- Typical mileage (median)
- 100,014 mi
- Make and model
- Ford C-Max
- Updated
- 2026-11-05
Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data (2023–2025), OGL v3.0.
Top part to budget for
Body Panel Repair
Typically a garage job — get quotes before committing.
Does mileage affect the C-Max MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 61% so small gaps stay visible.
Fuel type and reliability
Pass rate by fuel type. Petrol is the most common here (74% of tests).
Regional pass rates for the C-Max
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South East | 4,628 | 76.0% |
| East of England | 3,070 | 74.8% |
| South West | 3,048 | 68.5% |
| North West | 2,216 | 74.1% |
| West Midlands | 1,771 | 75.4% |
| Yorkshire | 1,519 | 71.7% |
| East Midlands | 1,486 | 73.1% |
| London | 1,033 | 80.6% |
| Wales | 919 | 68.9% |
| Scotland | 794 | 66.1% |
| North East | 508 | 72.6% |
Regions come from the postcode area recorded at the test station. Areas on region borders are assigned to the region with the majority of their population.
What fails a 2009 C-Max
Everything a tester recorded on this vehicle, grouped into the inspection sections that produced it. The notch on each bar is the national share, so you can see at a glance whether this car is unusual or just ordinary.
A test can record several items, so these percentages do not add up to 100%. The exact strings, with prices, are in the full DVSA record at the bottom of this page.
Before your test
Three checks worth doing on a 2009 C-Max
These are not generic tips — they are the faults recorded most often on this exact model, rewritten as things you can check yourself. All three take about ten minutes and cost nothing.
-
Check the lights 4.1% of tests
“registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources”
Switch everything on and walk round the car: both headlamps on dip and main, every indicator, both brake lights, reverse, fog and the two number-plate lamps. A bulb is a few pounds and a five-minute job.
-
Check the suspension joints 3.6% of tests
“pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn”
With the car parked on level ground, rock the top of each front wheel in and out while someone watches the suspension arm. Clunks, or rubber boots split and greasy, are what testers record here.
-
Check the steering 3.2% of tests
“steering rack gaiter missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt”
With the wheels straight, rock the steering wheel gently with the engine off — more than about an inch of free play before the wheels move is worth investigating. Split rack gaiters are cheap to replace and commonly recorded.
Shares are the proportion of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item, so they overlap: one test can record several.
What it costs to get a 2009 C-Max through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £47–£137 — and 30% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £47–£137
- Cheapest common item: stop lamp not working
- £3–£12
- Dearest common item: steering rack gaiter missing or no longer…
- £120–£300
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 50%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 30%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 20,992 MOT tests on this vehicle. They exclude diagnostics, retest fees and garage labour where the part is a DIY fit, and they are not figures from the DVSA dataset. Older and higher-mileage examples cost more than the average. How these estimates are built → · All MOT repair costs → · Cheapest cars to put through a test →
Every year of the C-Max, side by side
16 model years on record, from 2004 to 2019. Across them the pass rate runs from 70.0% to 88.6% — a spread of 18.6 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2004 70.0% headlamp aim projected beam image…
- 2005 71.7% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2006 70.7% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2007 70.7% joints constant velocity boot…
- 2008 71.3% joints constant velocity boot…
- 2009 73.4%joints constant velocity boot…
- 2010 73.7% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2011 77.4% joints constant velocity boot…
- 2012 78.5% joints constant velocity boot…
- 2013 81.2% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2014 81.6% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2015 84.1% tyre pressure monitoring system…
- 2016 86.6% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2017 88.5% wipers does not clear the…
- 2018 87.5% wipers does not clear the…
- 2019 88.6% wipers does not clear the…
Colour is the pass rate on a fixed scale, so a block means the same thing on any model. Each year links to its own page with the full fault breakdown.
Compare the 2009 Ford C-Max with another year
The raw pass rate mostly measures age. The year comparison adds the like-for-like figure, the mileage bands and the repair bill.
Other 2009 cars with a similar record
- Mercedes-Benz B-Class 73.4%
- Mercedes-Benz Clk 73.4%
- Honda Civic 73.5%
- Jaguar X-Type 73.5%
- Hyundai Tucson 73.5%
- Vauxhall Corsa 73.2%
Closest pass rates among 2009 cars with at least 2,000 tests, so a small sample cannot flatter itself into the list. See the full rankings: best and worst MOT pass rates.
The full DVSA record for the 2009 Ford C-Max 10 failure items · 6 advisories · 10 inspection categories · mileage brackets · all of it in the page, none of it above the fold
Every inspection category
Shares of the 55,377 individual items recorded on this vehicle, and the same share across all cars nationally. A single test can record several items, so a row is not a percentage of tests.
| Category | Items | This car | Nationally | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Suspension | 15,559 | 27.70% | 20.98% | +6.72 |
| Tyres | 9,383 | 16.70% | 19.76% | −3.06 |
| Brakes | 8,367 | 14.90% | 20.89% | −5.99 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 6,453 | 11.50% | 12.21% | −0.71 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 4,427 | 7.90% | 5.57% | +2.33 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 2,784 | 5.00% | 5.52% | −0.52 |
| Non-component advisories | 2,523 | 4.50% | 4.18% | +0.32 |
| Steering | 2,393 | 4.30% | 2.57% | +1.73 |
| Visibility | 2,177 | 3.90% | 4.97% | −1.07 |
| Identification of the vehicle | 1,311 | 2.30% | 1.76% | +0.54 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Joints constant velocity boot severely deteriorated Body, chassis, structure | Minor | 4.2% | £80–250 |
| Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 4.1% | £5–20 |
| Pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn Suspension | Major | 3.6% | £40–150 |
| Steering rack gaiter missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt Steering | Major | 3.2% | £120–300 |
| Coil spring fractured or broken Suspension | Major | 3.1% | £25–65 |
| Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view Visibility | Minor | 3.0% | £80–200 |
| Position lamp not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 2.9% | £5–25 |
| Joints constant velocity boot split or insecure, no longer prevents the ingress of dirt Body, chassis, structure | Major | 2.8% | £80–250 |
| Stop lamp not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 2.7% | £3–12 |
| Ball joint excessively worn Suspension | Major | 2.2% | £18–45 |
Severity is as recorded: Major and Dangerous fail the test outright; Minor and Advisory do not. Costs are estimates from typical UK parts prices — see how they are built.
What testers noted without failing the car
Advisories are the early warnings — the same parts a year or two before they fail. Reading them is how you tell a car that has been maintained from one that has been patched.
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Advisory | 24.1% | £45–95 |
| Pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn Suspension | Advisory | 16.6% | £40–150 |
| Brake discs in such a condition that it is seriously weakened Brakes | Advisory | 15.2% | £45–110 |
| Coil spring corroded so that its cross sectional area is reduced and seriously weakened Suspension | Advisory | 11.8% | £25–65 |
| Brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick Brakes | Advisory | 10.2% | £18–45 |
| Has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Tyres | Advisory | 9.2% | £45–95 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 137 | 89.1% | 23,822 mi |
| 30-60k | 1,680 | 80.6% | 49,419 mi |
| 60-90k | 5,716 | 75.9% | 77,316 mi |
| 90-120k | 7,810 | 72.4% | 104,348 mi |
| 120k+ | 5,313 | 69.9% | 140,597 mi |
Source: 20,992 recorded tests on this vehicle-year. Every row above is recomputed from the same DVSA extract as the rest of the page — see the methodology.
2009 C-Max MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2009 Ford C-Max?
73.4% of the 20,992 2009 Ford C-Max tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 74.0% for cars first used in 2009. First-attempt pass rate: 64.9%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2009 Ford C-Max?
The three most recorded items are joints constant velocity boot severely deteriorated (4.23%), registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources (4.07%), pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn (3.60%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2009 Ford C-Max MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 89.1% of the time, falling to 69.9% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2009 Ford C-Max in this dataset had covered 100,014 mi.
Which fuel type is most reliable for a 2009 Ford C-Max?
Petrol: 74.2% pass rate across 15,602 tests. Diesel: 71.0% pass rate across 5,389 tests. Shares are of the tests on this vehicle that recorded each fuel type.
Does the season affect the 2009 Ford C-Max MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 73.2% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 73.7%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.