Pass rate
74.7%
Below average — 2.5 pts behind the 77.2% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 382,851 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £19–£50
2012 Ford Fiesta MOT pass rate
- 2012
- 3 trims combined
- typical 78,910 mi
Most common fault
Suspension
27.5% of faults · 21.0% nationally
mostly worn arm bushes, split ball-joint boots and broken coil springs.
Which year to buy
- Best 2023 94.6% pass
- Avoid 2000 68.3% pass
Across the 24 years on record, a spread of 26.3 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 66.8%
- Typical mileage
- 79k mi
The 2012 Ford Fiesta MOT pass rate is 74.7% of its MOT tests — 2.5 points behind what its age and mileage predict. Suspension is the biggest single reason it fails, at 27.5% of what testers record.
Check your postcode
MOT pass rates are national — type your postcode to see how Ford Fiesta does in your corner of the country.
Expert verdict
Suspension: 1.3× the national share
Suspension accounts for 27.5% of everything recorded on the 2012 Ford Fiesta, against 21.0% nationally — 6.5 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.
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 Fiesta? Get an email when these numbers change .
Every Ford Fiesta first registered in 2012 is combined here — 3 trim and body variants in total — so the sample is as large as the DVSA data allows.
How does the 2012 Ford Fiesta compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 77.2%, so this figure is 2.5 points behind what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 66.8%. The median 2012 Ford Fiesta in this dataset had covered 78,910 mi.
The most common fuel recorded here is Petrol — 77% of tests, with a 75.4% pass rate. Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 74.7% of the time, April–September 74.8%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Ball joint excessively worn", noted on 7.11% of tests.
- 382,851 recorded tests behind this page.
- 74.7% overall pass rate, 66.8% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the Ford Fiesta, the average is 78.4% — best year 2023 (94.6%), worst 2000 (68.3%).
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
- 382,851
- Typical mileage (median)
- 78,910 mi
- Make and model
- Ford Fiesta
- Updated
- 2026-11-05
Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data (2023–2025), OGL v3.0.
Top part to budget for
Ball Joint
Usually a DIY or independent-garage job.
Does mileage affect the Fiesta 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 (77% of tests).
Regional pass rates for the Fiesta
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South East | 68,518 | 77.9% |
| North West | 46,520 | 74.1% |
| East of England | 45,680 | 76.7% |
| South West | 38,341 | 72.9% |
| Yorkshire | 37,973 | 73.1% |
| West Midlands | 37,791 | 75.9% |
| East Midlands | 28,536 | 73.9% |
| Scotland | 28,474 | 69.0% |
| Wales | 23,524 | 72.1% |
| North East | 15,885 | 72.5% |
| London | 11,595 | 82.5% |
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 2012 Fiesta
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 2012 Fiesta
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 suspension joints 7.1% of tests
“ball joint 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 lights 3.5% 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 coil springs 2.9% of tests
“coil spring fractured or broken”
Look up inside each wheel arch with a torch, all the way round the spring. A snapped spring usually breaks at the very bottom coil, where a quick glance will not reach.
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 2012 Fiesta through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £19–£50 — and 41% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £19–£50
- Cheapest common item: stop lamp not working
- £3–£12
- Dearest common item: windscreen damaged
- £80–£200
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 80%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 41%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 382,851 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 Fiesta, side by side
24 model years on record, from 2000 to 2023. Across them the pass rate runs from 68.3% to 94.6% — a spread of 26.3 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2000 68.3% joints constant velocity boot…
- 2001 69.0% component mounting prescribed…
- 2002 72.0% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2003 72.4% ball joint dust cover severely…
- 2004 71.9% ball joint dust cover severely…
- 2005 71.5% ball joint dust cover severely…
- 2006 71.2% headlamp lens slightly defective
- 2007 72.7% headlamp lens slightly defective
- 2008 72.3% ball joint dust cover severely…
- 2009 72.3% ball joint excessively worn
- 2010 73.2% ball joint excessively worn
- 2011 74.2% ball joint excessively worn
- 2012 74.7%ball joint excessively worn
- 2013 76.4% ball joint excessively worn
- 2014 78.5% ball joint excessively worn
- 2015 79.9% stop lamp not working
- 2016 80.6% coil spring fractured or broken
- 2017 84.9% stop lamp not working
- 2018 89.4% tread depth below requirements of…
- 2019 90.5% headlamp aim too low
- 2020 91.0% headlamp aim too low
- 2021 93.4% headlamp aim too low
- 2022 93.9% has a cut in excess of the…
- 2023 94.6% has a bulge, caused by separation…
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 2012 Ford Fiesta 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 2012 cars with a similar record
- SEAT Ibiza 74.7%
- Hyundai I40 74.7%
- Fiat 500 C 74.7%
- Chevrolet Orlando 74.8%
- Mitsubishi L200 74.6%
- Vauxhall Corsa 74.9%
Closest pass rates among 2012 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 2012 Ford Fiesta 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 818,874 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 | 231,085 | 27.50% | 20.98% | +6.52 |
| Tyres | 153,228 | 18.20% | 19.76% | −1.56 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 122,375 | 14.50% | 12.21% | +2.29 |
| Brakes | 109,033 | 13.00% | 20.89% | −7.89 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 43,198 | 5.10% | 5.57% | −0.47 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 37,523 | 4.50% | 5.52% | −1.02 |
| Non-component advisories | 35,202 | 4.20% | 4.18% | +0.02 |
| Steering | 33,892 | 4.00% | 2.57% | +1.43 |
| Visibility | 31,298 | 3.70% | 4.97% | −1.27 |
| Road Wheels | 22,040 | 2.60% | 0.75% | +1.85 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ball joint excessively worn Suspension | Major | 7.1% | £18–45 |
| Track rod end ball joint has excessive play Steering | Major | 3.6% | £18–45 |
| Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 3.5% | £5–20 |
| Stop lamp not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 3.0% | £3–12 |
| Coil spring fractured or broken Suspension | Major | 2.9% | £25–65 |
| Position lamp not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 2.5% | £5–25 |
| Exhaust system has a major leak of exhaust gases Body, chassis, structure | Major | 2.3% | £45–120 |
| Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view Visibility | Minor | 1.8% | £80–200 |
| Stop lamp not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Rectified | 1.7% | £3–12 |
| Individual direction indicators incorrect colour Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 1.7% | £3–12 |
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 | 18.6% | £45–95 |
| Coil spring corroded so that its cross sectional area is reduced and seriously weakened Suspension | Advisory | 13.7% | £25–65 |
| Has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Tyres | Advisory | 10.9% | £45–95 |
| Brake discs in such a condition that it is seriously weakened Brakes | Advisory | 9.5% | £45–110 |
| Ball joint excessively worn Suspension | Advisory | 5.8% | £18–45 |
| Swivel pins and bushes swivel pin and/or bush excessively worn Suspension | Advisory | 5.6% | £40–150 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 14,218 | 89.1% | 22,591 mi |
| 30-60k | 86,904 | 80.2% | 47,674 mi |
| 60-90k | 141,718 | 74.0% | 74,991 mi |
| 90-120k | 93,340 | 71.1% | 102,930 mi |
| 120k+ | 46,207 | 69.6% | 143,409 mi |
Source: 382,851 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.
2012 Fiesta MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2012 Ford Fiesta?
74.7% of the 382,851 2012 Ford Fiesta tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 77.2% for cars first used in 2012. First-attempt pass rate: 66.8%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2012 Ford Fiesta?
The three most recorded items are ball joint excessively worn (7.11%), track rod end ball joint has excessive play (3.59%), registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources (3.50%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2012 Ford Fiesta MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 89.1% of the time, falling to 69.6% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2012 Ford Fiesta in this dataset had covered 78,910 mi.
Which fuel type is most reliable for a 2012 Ford Fiesta?
Petrol: 75.4% pass rate across 296,605 tests. Diesel: 72.3% pass rate across 86,234 tests. Shares are of the tests on this vehicle that recorded each fuel type.
Does the season affect the 2012 Ford Fiesta MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 74.7% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 74.8%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.