Pass rate
63.0%
Below average — 14.2 pts behind the 77.2% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 73 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £58–£148
2012 Ford Freda MOT pass rate
- 2012
- typical 136,816 mi
Only 73 tests of this exact model and year are in the DVSA data, below the 100 we ask for before a page goes in the index. The figures are still shown, because they are the only ones there are.
Check your postcode
Most common fault
Suspension
20.6% of faults · 21.0% nationally
mostly worn arm bushes, split ball-joint boots and broken coil springs.
Which year to buy
- Best 2001 75.6% pass
- Avoid 2012 63.0% pass · this year
Across the 16 years on record, a spread of 12.6 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 52.7%
- Typical mileage
- 137k mi
The 2012 Ford Freda MOT pass rate is 63.0% of its MOT tests — 14.2 points behind what its age and mileage predict. Suspension is the biggest single reason it fails, at 20.6% of what testers record.
Expert verdict
Body & chassis: 2.8× the national share
Body & chassis accounts for 15.8% of everything recorded on the 2012 Ford Freda, against 5.6% nationally — 10.2 points above. Suspension is still the single largest share at 20.6%, but at 21.0% nationally that one is ordinary. Look underneath for corrosion near the jacking points and suspension mounts; surface rust is normal, flaking metal is not.
- Falls short of its own age and mileage. Like-for-like, cars this age and mileage expect about 77.2%; this one manages 63.0% — 14.2 points below. Age is a fair excuse; this is not age.
- Based on a small sample. 73 tests back this page. That is enough to publish and to index, not enough to treat the decimal places as precise — read the pattern, not the second digit.
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 Freda? Get an email when these numbers change .
How does the 2012 Ford Freda compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 77.2%, so this figure is 14.2 points behind what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 52.7%. The median 2012 Ford Freda in this dataset had covered 136,816 mi.
The most common fuel recorded here is Diesel — 58% of tests, with a 64.3% pass rate. Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 64.5% of the time, April–September 61.9%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Headlamp lens slightly defective", noted on 9.59% of tests.
- 73 recorded tests behind this page.
- 63.0% overall pass rate, 52.7% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the Ford Freda, the average is 68.1% — best year 2001 (75.6%), worst 2012 (63.0%).
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
- 73
- Typical mileage (median)
- 136,816 mi
- Make and model
- Ford Freda
- Updated
- 2026-11-07
Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data (2023–2025), OGL v3.0.
Top part to budget for
Headlight Bulb
Usually a DIY or independent-garage job.
Does mileage affect the Freda MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 42% so small gaps stay visible.
Fuel type and reliability
Pass rate by fuel type. Diesel is the most common here (58% of tests).
Where the Ford Freda is most common
Across all Freda model years on record (2000–2017): 992 Ford Freda cars tested in a recordable postcode area, across 2,538 tests. Bristol (BS) has the most, with 53 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.
| # | Postcode area | Cars | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bristol (BS) | 53 | 61.1% |
| 2 | Brighton (BN) | 27 | 63.1% |
| 3 | Exeter (EX) | 26 | 74.1% |
| 4 | Poole (BH) | 25 | 60.2% |
| 5 | Portsmouth (PO) | 25 | 66.7% |
| 6 | Plymouth (PL) | 25 | 60.3% |
| 7 | Reading (RG) | 24 | 87.0% |
| 8 | Southampton (SO) | 23 | 69.1% |
| 9 | Birmingham (B) | 22 | 74.5% |
| 10 | Sheffield (S) | 22 | 75.0% |
| 11 | Nottingham (NG) | 20 | 66.7% |
| 12 | Stoke On Trent (ST) | 20 | 64.7% |
| 13 | Norwich (NR) | 19 | 73.0% |
| 14 | Leicester (LE) | 19 | 78.3% |
| 15 | Chester (CH) | 19 | 70.3% |
| 16 | Cardiff (CF) | 17 | 65.3% |
| 17 | Crawley (RH) | 16 | 66.7% |
| 18 | Yeovil (BA) | 16 | 63.0% |
| 19 | Newton Abbot (TQ) | 15 | 58.8% |
| 20 | Gloucester (GL) | 15 | 68.1% |
The twenty areas with the most Ford Freda 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 →
Regional pass rates for the Freda
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South East | 21 | 61.9% |
| South West | 16 | 62.5% |
| Scotland | 15 | 66.7% |
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 Freda
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 Freda
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 9.6% of tests
“headlamp lens slightly defective”
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 wipers and washers 9.6% of tests
“wipers does not clear the windscreen effectively”
Run the wipers with the screen wet: they should clear it in one sweep without smearing or juddering. Top the washer bottle up and check both jets hit the screen.
-
Check corrosion 6.8% of tests
“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.
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 Freda through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £58–£148 — and 48% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £58–£148
- Cheapest common item: rear fog lamp not working
- £3–£15
- Dearest common item: component mounting prescribed areas…
- £180–£450
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 50%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 48%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 73 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 Freda, side by side
16 model years on record, from 2000 to 2017. Across them the pass rate runs from 63.0% to 75.6% — a spread of 12.6 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2000 74.7% component mounting prescribed…
- 2001 75.6% headlamp lens slightly defective
- 2004 65.8% component mounting prescribed…
- 2005 63.6% component mounting prescribed…
- 2006 69.2% component mounting prescribed…
- 2007 68.8% component mounting prescribed…
- 2008 65.2% component mounting prescribed…
- 2009 69.2% component mounting prescribed…
- 2010 66.3% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2011 68.9% ball joint dust cover severely…
- 2012 63.0%headlamp lens slightly defective
- 2013 65.0% headlamp lens slightly defective
- 2014 71.7% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2015 73.1% ball joint dust cover severely…
- 2016 68.4% headlamp lens slightly defective
- 2017 69.6% headlamp lens slightly defective
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 Freda 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
- Renault Clio 68.7%
- Renault Grand Scenic 69.9%
- Vauxhall Combo 70.0%
- Nissan Qashqai 70.1%
- Renault Megane 70.2%
- Citroen DS3 70.4%
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 Freda 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 227 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 | 47 | 20.60% | 20.98% | −0.38 |
| Brakes | 38 | 16.70% | 20.89% | −4.19 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 36 | 15.80% | 12.21% | +3.59 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 36 | 15.80% | 5.57% | +10.23 |
| Tyres | 18 | 7.90% | 19.76% | −11.86 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 17 | 7.50% | 5.52% | +1.98 |
| Visibility | 17 | 7.50% | 4.97% | +2.53 |
| Steering | 10 | 4.40% | 2.57% | +1.83 |
| Non-component advisories | 5 | 2.20% | 4.18% | −1.98 |
| Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | 3 | 1.30% | 0.82% | +0.48 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Headlamp lens slightly defective Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 9.6% | £5–25 |
| Wipers does not clear the windscreen effectively Visibility | Major | 9.6% | £8–22 |
| Component mounting prescribed areas prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength Suspension | Major | 6.8% | £180–450 |
| Integral vehicle structure condition corroded to the extent that the rigidity of the assembly is significantly reduced Body, chassis, structure | Major | 5.5% | £180–450 |
| Rear fog lamp not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 5.5% | £3–15 |
| Service brake performance efficiency below requirements Brakes | Major | 5.5% | £60–150 |
| Service brake performance excessively binding Brakes | Major | 5.5% | £60–150 |
| Washers not working Visibility | Major | 5.5% | £5–15 |
| Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view Visibility | Minor | 5.5% | £80–200 |
| Brake discs significantly and obviously worn Brakes | Major | 4.1% | £45–110 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Tyres | Advisory | 19.2% | £45–95 |
| Integral vehicle structure condition corroded to the extent that the rigidity of the assembly is significantly reduced Body, chassis, structure | Advisory | 11.0% | £180–450 |
| Brake discs in such a condition that it is seriously weakened Brakes | Advisory | 9.6% | £45–110 |
| Engine oil leaks leaking excessively from engine Noise, emissions and leaks | Advisory | 9.6% | £200–700 |
| Pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn Suspension | Advisory | 9.6% | £40–150 |
| Brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick Brakes | Advisory | 8.2% | £18–45 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30-60k | 4 | 50.0% | 58,505 mi |
| 60-90k | 9 | 66.7% | 77,079 mi |
| 90-120k | 15 | 60.0% | 102,590 mi |
| 120k+ | 45 | 64.4% | 165,005 mi |
Source: 73 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 Freda MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2012 Ford Freda?
63.0% of the 73 2012 Ford Freda tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 77.2% for cars first used in 2012. First-attempt pass rate: 52.7%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2012 Ford Freda?
The three most recorded items are headlamp lens slightly defective (9.59%), wipers does not clear the windscreen effectively (9.59%), component mounting prescribed areas prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength (6.85%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2012 Ford Freda MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 50.0% of the time, falling to 64.4% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2012 Ford Freda in this dataset had covered 136,816 mi.
Which fuel type is most reliable for a 2012 Ford Freda?
Diesel: 64.3% pass rate across 42 tests. Petrol: 62.5% pass rate across 24 tests. Shares are of the tests on this vehicle that recorded each fuel type.
Does the season affect the 2012 Ford Freda MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 64.5% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 61.9%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.