Ford Escort MOT Pass Rate & Official DVSA Failure Statistics

Ford Escort MOT History and Failure Rates vs UK National Average

The Ford Escort passed on its first attempt in 65.8%, and its overall record sits −8.9 percentage points below the national average for all cars. These figures come from every recorded DVSA MOT test for the Ford Escort in the 2023–2025 data: 4,173 tests across 3 model years (2000–2002). A test still carries exactly one pass or fail verdict.

Figures are computed from every recorded DVSA test for this model in the 2023–2025 data.

Most Common Ford Escort MOT Problems by Failure Category

Every MOT failure a tester records belongs to one inspection section of the DVSA manual. For the Ford Escort, the Body, chassis, structure section leads the record — the breakdown below shows where the recorded failures cluster, then the exact strings behind the three biggest sections.

Shares are over the Ford Escort's recorded defect strings, merged across its year pages.

Top Recorded Ford Escort DVSA MOT Test Statistics & Defect Descriptions

The descriptions below are the exact DVSA failure strings testers recorded most often for the Ford Escort, each with how many of the model's 4,173 tests it was noted on.

• "Joints constant velocity boot severely deteriorated" (Minor) — noted on about 351 Ford Escort tests, 8.4% of the model's MOT record.
• "Component mounting prescribed areas prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength" (Major) — noted on about 343 Ford Escort tests, 8.2% of the model's MOT record.
• "Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view" (Minor) — noted on about 211 Ford Escort tests, 5.1% of the model's MOT record.
• "Joints constant velocity boot split or insecure, no longer prevents the ingress of dirt" (Major) — noted on about 175 Ford Escort tests, 4.2% of the model's MOT record.
• "Service brake imbalance across an axle" (Major) — noted on about 158 Ford Escort tests, 3.8% of the model's MOT record.
• "Prescribed areas prescribed area strength or continuity significantly reduced" (Major) — noted on about 147 Ford Escort tests, 3.5% of the model's MOT record.

Best and Worst Ford Escort Model Years by Pass Rate

The strongest Ford Escort model year on record is 2002 (74.1% across 1,058 tests), and the weakest is 2000 (69.5%). The gap between them is 4.6 points. Years with fewer than 50 recorded tests are excluded, so these are the years with enough MOT history to mean something.

Ford Escort reliability is improving in the DVSA data — the pass rate moves about 2.3 points a year across the most recent model years shown above.

Newest model year first. Only years with at least 50 recorded tests are listed.

Pre-MOT Inspection Checklist for Ford Escort Owners

These checks follow this Ford Escort's own most-recorded failure strings, starting with what a tester is most likely to flag on a Ford Escort.

• corrosion — “component mounting prescribed areas prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength”

  Look under the sills, around the jacking points and where the suspension mounts meet the body. Flaking, holed or crumbly metal fails; a brown stain on sound metal does not.

• the windscreen — “windscreen damaged”

  Check the driver’s side of the screen within the swept area for chips and cracks; anything larger than 10mm in the driver’s central view is a fail. Most chips can be resin-repaired for far less than a new screen.

• the lights — “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.

Derived from the DVSA failure strings testers recorded for the Ford Escort. A check that finds nothing means the item is likely fine, not that the test is guaranteed.

Where the Ford Escort is most common

Across every Escort model year on record (2000–2002): 1,787 Ford Escort cars tested in a recordable postcode area, across 4,173 tests. Peterborough (PE) has the most, with 58 cars tested there. Cars are counted by the postcode area of the MOT station, so this is where they were tested, not necessarily where their owners live.

The twenty areas with the most Ford Escort cars in the record, sorted by car count — sort the columns for a different question. Cars tested at a station whose postcode area could not be resolved are counted in the model's total but in no area, so the shares add up to slightly under 100% even across every area, and an area's cars are a subset of the model's. Pass rate is blank below 30 tests in an area, where a percentage is noise rather than a finding. How this model's pass rate varies by postcode →

Frequently Asked Questions: Ford Escort MOT & Reliability