2008 Ford Fusion MOT pass rate

Pass rate

76.4%

Around average — 3.3 pts ahead of the 73.1% that cars this age and mileage manage.

Across 29,836 recorded tests.

Typical repair bill £26–£70

Most common fault

Brakes

22.1% of faults · 20.9% nationally

mostly worn pads and discs, corroded pipes and a handbrake that will not hold.

Part only £25–£55 for Rigid brake pipes excessively corroded. What fitting it takes →

4.1 pts down across model years — 10.4% in 2002, 6.3% in 2012.

Every failure, with what it costs →

Which year to buy

  • Best 2012 83.3% pass
  • Avoid 2003 71.9% pass

Across the 11 years on record, a spread of 11.4 points. See every year →

First-attempt pass
69.9%
Typical mileage
83k mi

The 2008 Ford Fusion MOT pass rate is 76.4% of its MOT tests — 3.3 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. Brakes is the biggest single reason it fails, at 22.1% of what testers record.

MOT PASS RATES

The 2008 Ford Fusion on the real record

76.4% of 2008 Ford Fusion MOTs passed — 29,836 tests, 2023–2025

Pass rate

The answer from the DVSA's class-4 MOT records.

Check your postcode

MOT pass rates are national — type your postcode to see how Ford Fusion does in your corner of the country.

How one model's pass rate varies by postcode →

Expert verdict

Beats its own age and mileage

Once you allow for how old and how far these cars have been driven, the expected pass rate is 73.1% and this one manages 76.4% — 3.3 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict.

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 Fusion? Get an email when these numbers change .

How does the 2008 Ford Fusion compare?

Cars of this age and mileage average 73.1%, so this figure is 3.3 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 69.9%. The median 2008 Ford Fusion in this dataset had covered 82,863 mi.

74% of the tests on this vehicle ran on Petrol, which passed 77.3% of the time. Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 75.9% of the time, April–September 76.9%.

The single most recorded failure item is "Ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated", noted on 7.34% of tests.

  • 29,836 recorded tests behind this page.
  • 76.4% overall pass rate, 69.9% on a first attempt.
  • Across every year of the Ford Fusion, the average is 75.5% — best year 2012 (83.3%), worst 2003 (71.9%).

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
29,836
Typical mileage (median)
82,863 mi
Make and model
Ford Fusion
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 Fusion MOT pass rate?

0-30k 90.6%
30-60k 82.3%
60-90k 77.5%
90-120k 73.1%
120k+ 69.8%

Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 61% so small gaps stay visible.

Fuel type and reliability

Petrol 77.3%
Diesel 73.9%

Pass rate by fuel type. Petrol is the most common here (74% of tests).

Regional pass rates for the Fusion

Region Tests Pass rate
South East 5,845 78.5%
East of England 4,392 80.0%
South West 4,156 73.2%
North West 2,992 76.3%
West Midlands 2,924 78.3%
Yorkshire 2,423 74.3%
East Midlands 2,176 78.7%
Wales 1,449 69.8%
Scotland 1,438 67.0%
London 1,036 84.5%
North East 999 70.8%

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 2008 Fusion

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.

Brakes 22.1%
+1.2 pts vs national national 20.9% Price brakes parts
Suspension 20.9%
in line with the national share national 21.0% Price suspension parts
Tyres 15.0%
−4.8 pts vs national national 19.8% Compare tyre prices
Lamps & electrics 13.6%
+1.4 pts vs national national 12.2% Order bulbs & wipers
Show the other 6 fault categories
  • Body & chassis 6.8%
  • Emissions & leaks 6.2%
  • Visibility 4.1%
  • Advisories 4.0%
  • Steering 3.4%
  • Identification 2.4%

Shares are of every item recorded on 2008 Ford Fusion tests — a composition, so they add to 100% across all sections, not per test.

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 2008 Fusion

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.

  1. Check the suspension joints 7.3% of tests

    “ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated”

    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.

  2. Check the lights 4.0% of tests

    “stop lamp not working”

    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.

  3. Check the brake pipes 3.0% of tests

    “rigid brake pipes excessively corroded”

    Brake pipes run under the car, usually in front of the rear wheels. Flaking or crusty metal is what fails; a light dusting of surface rust does not. Worth asking a garage to look while it is on a ramp.

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 2008 Fusion through its MOT

Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £26–£70 — and 44% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.

Average repair across the 10 common items
£26–£70
Cheapest common item: stop lamp not working
£3–£12
Dearest common item: joints constant velocity boot severely…
£80–£250
Common items a careful owner can do at home
70%
Repairs that still cost under £30
44%

Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 29,836 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 Fusion, side by side

11 model years on record, from 2002 to 2012. Across them the pass rate runs from 71.9% to 83.3% — a spread of 11.4 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.

  1. 2002 72.2% headlamp lens slightly defective
  2. 2003 71.9% ball joint dust cover severely…
  3. 2004 72.7% headlamp lens slightly defective
  4. 2005 73.7% ball joint dust cover severely…
  5. 2006 72.6% ball joint dust cover severely…
  6. 2007 75.1% ball joint dust cover severely…
  7. 2008 76.4%
    ball joint dust cover severely…
  8. 2009 77.4% ball joint dust cover severely…
  9. 2010 78.4% registration plate lamp(s)…
  10. 2011 81.5% registration plate lamp(s)…
  11. 2012 83.3% registration plate lamp(s)…

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 2008 Ford Fusion 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.

Compare 2008 with another year →

Compare two different cars instead →

Other 2008 cars with a similar record

Closest pass rates among 2008 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 2008 Ford Fusion 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 73,973 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
Brakes 16,611 22.10% 20.89% +1.21
Suspension 15,649 20.90% 20.98% −0.08
Tyres 11,221 15.00% 19.76% −4.76
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 10,244 13.60% 12.21% +1.39
Body, chassis, structure 5,134 6.80% 5.57% +1.23
Noise, emissions and leaks 4,680 6.20% 5.52% +0.68
Visibility 3,052 4.10% 4.97% −0.87
Non-component advisories 3,005 4.00% 4.18% −0.18
Steering 2,572 3.40% 2.57% +0.83
Identification of the vehicle 1,805 2.40% 1.76% +0.64

The exact failure items, in the tester's words

Share of the 29,836 tests on this vehicle that recorded each item
Recorded item Severity Tests Est. cost Part
Ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated Suspension Minor 7.3% £18–45 Ball Joint →
Stop lamp not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment Major 4.0% £3–12 Stop Light Bulb →
Ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt Suspension Major 3.4% £18–45 Ball Joint →
Rear fog lamp not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment Major 3.2% £3–15 Bulb →
Rigid brake pipes excessively corroded Brakes Major 3.0% £80–180 Brake Pipe →
Stop lamp not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment Rectified 2.6% £3–12 Stop Light Bulb →
Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view Visibility Minor 2.5% £80–200 Windscreen →
Position lamp not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment Major 2.4% £5–25 Headlight Bulb →
Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment Minor 2.2% £5–20 Number Plate Lamp →
Joints constant velocity boot severely deteriorated Body, chassis, structure Minor 2.1% £80–250 Body Panel Repair →

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.

Items recorded as advisory on this vehicle
Recorded item Severity Tests Est. cost
Rigid brake pipes excessively corroded Brakes Advisory 20.7% £80–180
Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres Advisory 16.5% £45–95
Has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Tyres Advisory 14.2% £45–95
Brake discs in such a condition that it is seriously weakened Brakes Advisory 11.3% £45–110
Coil spring corroded so that its cross sectional area is reduced and seriously weakened Suspension Advisory 9.9% £25–65
Engine oil leaks leaking excessively from engine Noise, emissions and leaks Advisory 7.8% £200–700

Pass rate by mileage

Mileage Tests Pass rate Median odometer
0-30k 618 90.6% 24,146 mi
30-60k 6,022 82.3% 47,902 mi
60-90k 10,559 77.5% 74,944 mi
90-120k 7,809 73.1% 103,284 mi
120k+ 4,621 69.8% 142,599 mi

Source: 29,836 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.

2008 Fusion MOT questions

What is the MOT pass rate for a 2008 Ford Fusion?

76.4% of the 29,836 2008 Ford Fusion tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 73.1% for cars first used in 2008. First-attempt pass rate: 69.9%.

What are the most common MOT failures on a 2008 Ford Fusion?

The three most recorded items are ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated (7.34%), stop lamp not working (4.03%), ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt (3.44%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.

Does mileage affect the 2008 Ford Fusion MOT pass rate?

Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 90.6% of the time, falling to 69.8% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2008 Ford Fusion in this dataset had covered 82,863 mi.

Which fuel type is most reliable for a 2008 Ford Fusion?

Petrol: 77.3% pass rate across 21,979 tests. Diesel: 73.9% pass rate across 7,857 tests. Shares are of the tests on this vehicle that recorded each fuel type.

Does the season affect the 2008 Ford Fusion MOT pass rate?

Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 75.9% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 76.9%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.