Pass rate
88.7%
Above average — 2.7 pts ahead of the 86.0% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 122,346 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £27–£66
2017 Ford Kuga MOT pass rate
- 2017
- 2 trims combined
- typical 54,446 mi
Check your postcode
Most common fault
Tyres
32.7% of faults · 19.8% nationally
mostly tread below the limit, cuts and sidewall bulges.
Part only £55–£85 for Tread depth below 1.6 mm. What fitting it takes →
5.4 pts down across model years — 8.4% in 2008, 3.0% in 2023.
Which year to buy
- Best 2023 96.0% pass
- Avoid 2009 74.9% pass
Across the 16 years on record, a spread of 21.1 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 87.3%
- Typical mileage
- 54k mi
The 2017 Ford Kuga MOT pass rate is 88.7% of its MOT tests — 2.7 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. Tyres is the biggest single reason it fails, at 32.7% of what testers record.
Expert verdict
Tyres: 1.7× the national share
Tyres make up 32.7% of everything recorded on the 2017 Ford Kuga, against 19.8% nationally — 12.9 points above. Check all four tyres yourself, including the inner shoulders, and look at the date stamp — a tyre can pass on tread and still be six years old.
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 Kuga? Get an email when these numbers change .
Every Ford Kuga first registered in 2017 is combined here — 2 trim and body variants in total — so the sample is as large as the DVSA data allows.
How does the 2017 Ford Kuga compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 86.0%, so this figure is 2.7 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 87.3%. The median 2017 Ford Kuga in this dataset had covered 54,446 mi.
82% of the tests on this vehicle ran on Diesel, which passed 88.8% of the time. Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 88.6% of the time, April–September 88.8%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick", noted on 1.70% of tests.
- 122,346 recorded tests behind this page.
- 88.7% overall pass rate, 87.3% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the Ford Kuga, the average is 86.0% — best year 2023 (96.0%), worst 2009 (74.9%).
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
- 122,346
- Typical mileage (median)
- 54,446 mi
- Make and model
- Ford Kuga
- Updated
- 2026-11-07
Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data (2023–2025), OGL v3.0.
Top part to budget for
Brake Pads Set
Usually a DIY or independent-garage job.
Does mileage affect the Kuga MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 75% so small gaps stay visible.
Fuel type and reliability
Pass rate by fuel type. Diesel is the most common here (82% of tests).
Where the Ford Kuga is most common
Across all Kuga model years on record (2008–2023): 435,662 Ford Kuga cars tested in a recordable postcode area, across 990,792 tests. Birmingham (B) has the most, with 12,509 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 | Birmingham (B) | 12,509 | 87.5% |
| 2 | Sheffield (S) | 11,656 | 87.5% |
| 3 | Nottingham (NG) | 10,281 | 85.8% |
| 4 | Chelmsford (CM) | 10,015 | 88.1% |
| 5 | Basildon (SS) | 9,806 | 88.2% |
| 6 | Peterborough (PE) | 9,644 | 87.4% |
| 7 | Leicester (LE) | 8,711 | 87.4% |
| 8 | Liverpool (L) | 8,567 | 87.5% |
| 9 | Derby (DE) | 8,050 | 87.9% |
| 10 | Cardiff (CF) | 8,044 | 83.4% |
| 11 | Newcastle upon Tyne (NE) | 7,683 | 86.3% |
| 12 | Doncaster (DN) | 7,242 | 86.6% |
| 13 | Romford (RM) | 7,194 | 91.6% |
| 14 | Northampton (NN) | 7,056 | 84.8% |
| 15 | Coventry (CV) | 6,965 | 87.5% |
| 16 | Norwich (NR) | 6,924 | 86.3% |
| 17 | Warrington (WA) | 6,586 | 85.3% |
| 18 | Ipswich (IP) | 6,203 | 86.4% |
| 19 | Swansea (SA) | 6,094 | 84.2% |
| 20 | Glasgow (G) | 6,074 | 84.6% |
The twenty areas with the most Ford Kuga 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 Kuga
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South East | 18,984 | 89.0% |
| East of England | 16,454 | 89.8% |
| North West | 14,771 | 88.4% |
| Scotland | 12,672 | 86.9% |
| Yorkshire | 12,093 | 89.3% |
| West Midlands | 11,470 | 88.9% |
| South West | 9,964 | 87.2% |
| East Midlands | 9,821 | 88.8% |
| Wales | 6,918 | 87.6% |
| North East | 5,178 | 89.4% |
| London | 4,021 | 91.5% |
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 2017 Kuga
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 2017 Kuga
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 brakes 1.7% of tests
“brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick”
Look through the spokes of each wheel at the pad — less than 3mm of friction material, or a lip on the disc edge, is the usual failure. Check the handbrake holds on a slope with a few clicks, not at the top of its travel.
-
Check the wipers and washers 1.5% 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 the windscreen 1.4% of tests
“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.
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 2017 Kuga through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £27–£66 — and 47% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £27–£66
- Cheapest common item: washers provides insufficient washer liquid
- £5–£15
- Dearest common item: windscreen damaged
- £80–£200
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 90%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 47%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 122,346 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 Kuga, side by side
16 model years on record, from 2008 to 2023. Across them the pass rate runs from 74.9% to 96.0% — a spread of 21.1 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2008 75.4% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2009 74.9% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2010 75.0% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2011 75.7% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2012 76.9% coil spring fractured or broken
- 2013 81.5% position lamp not working
- 2014 82.4% position lamp not working
- 2015 84.3% position lamp not working
- 2016 86.7% position lamp not working
- 2017 88.7%brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick
- 2018 89.4% wipers does not clear the…
- 2019 90.0% brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick
- 2020 91.9% has a cut in excess of the…
- 2021 92.4% has a cut in excess of the…
- 2022 94.0% has a cut in excess of the…
- 2023 96.0% has a cut in excess of 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 2017 Ford Kuga 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 2017 cars with a similar record
- Land Rover Range Rover Evoque 88.7%
- Audi Q3 88.7%
- Toyota YARIS 88.8%
- Hyundai I20 88.8%
- Suzuki SX4 88.8%
- BMW 225 88.8%
Closest pass rates among 2017 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 2017 Ford Kuga 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 126,348 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tyres | 41,616 | 32.70% | 19.76% | +12.94 |
| Brakes | 37,824 | 29.70% | 20.89% | +8.81 |
| Suspension | 11,237 | 8.80% | 20.98% | −12.18 |
| Non-component advisories | 10,933 | 8.60% | 4.18% | +4.42 |
| Visibility | 9,121 | 7.20% | 4.97% | +2.23 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 5,775 | 4.50% | 12.21% | −7.71 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 4,115 | 3.20% | 5.52% | −2.32 |
| Identification of the vehicle | 2,771 | 2.20% | 1.76% | +0.44 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 2,380 | 1.90% | 5.57% | −3.67 |
| Steering | 576 | 0.50% | 2.57% | −2.07 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick Brakes | Major | 1.7% | £18–45 |
| Wipers does not clear the windscreen effectively Visibility | Major | 1.5% | £8–22 |
| Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view Visibility | Minor | 1.4% | £80–200 |
| Wipers blade defective Visibility | Minor | 1.4% | £8–22 |
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Major | 1.3% | £45–95 |
| Has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords Tyres | Major | 1.0% | £45–95 |
| Washers provides insufficient washer liquid Visibility | Major | 0.89% | £5–15 |
| Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 0.77% | £5–20 |
| Wipers does not clear the windscreen effectively Visibility | Rectified | 0.74% | £8–22 |
| Has ply or cords exposed Tyres | Major | 0.50% | £45–95 |
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 | 17.3% | £45–95 |
| Brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick Brakes | Advisory | 14.0% | £18–45 |
| Brake discs in such a condition that it is seriously weakened Brakes | Advisory | 9.9% | £45–110 |
| Has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Tyres | Advisory | 8.8% | £45–95 |
| Non-component advisories Child Seat fitted not allowing full inspection of adult belt Non-component advisories | Advisory | 4.2% | £20–80 |
| Shock absorbers has a serious fluid leak Suspension | Advisory | 2.9% | £30–75 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 11,336 | 92.6% | 22,959 mi |
| 30-60k | 62,241 | 89.6% | 46,137 mi |
| 60-90k | 39,293 | 87.1% | 71,907 mi |
| 90-120k | 7,767 | 84.9% | 100,614 mi |
| 120k+ | 1,650 | 83.7% | 140,307 mi |
Source: 122,346 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.
2017 Kuga MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2017 Ford Kuga?
88.7% of the 122,346 2017 Ford Kuga tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 86.0% for cars first used in 2017. First-attempt pass rate: 87.3%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2017 Ford Kuga?
The three most recorded items are brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick (1.70%), wipers does not clear the windscreen effectively (1.51%), windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view (1.43%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2017 Ford Kuga MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 92.6% of the time, falling to 83.7% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2017 Ford Kuga in this dataset had covered 54,446 mi.
Which fuel type is most reliable for a 2017 Ford Kuga?
Diesel: 88.8% pass rate across 100,350 tests. Petrol: 88.2% pass rate across 21,996 tests. Shares are of the tests on this vehicle that recorded each fuel type.
Does the season affect the 2017 Ford Kuga MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 88.6% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 88.8%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.