Pass rate
87.7%
Above average — 4.3 pts behind the 92.0% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 828 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £29–£71
2022 Ford S-Max MOT pass rate
- 2022
- 3 trims combined
- typical 23,480 mi
Most common fault
Tyres
44.1% 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 →
3.3 pts down across model years — 10.0% in 2006, 6.7% in 2021.
Which year to buy
- Best 2023 92.2% pass
- Avoid 2006 68.1% pass
Across the 18 years on record, a spread of 24.1 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 86.3%
- Typical mileage
- 23k mi
The 2022 Ford S-Max MOT pass rate is 87.7% of its MOT tests — 4.3 points behind what its age and mileage predict. Tyres is the biggest single reason it fails, at 44.1% of what testers record.
Check your postcode
MOT pass rates are national — type your postcode to see how Ford S-Max does in your corner of the country.
Expert verdict
Tyres: 2.2× the national share
Tyres make up 44.1% of everything recorded on the 2022 Ford S-Max, against 19.8% nationally — 24.3 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.
- Falls short of its own age and mileage. Like-for-like, cars this age and mileage expect about 92.0%; this one manages 87.7% — 4.3 points below. Age is a fair excuse; this is not age.
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 S-Max? Get an email when these numbers change .
Every Ford S-Max first registered in 2022 is combined here — 3 trim and body variants in total — so the sample is as large as the DVSA data allows.
How does the 2022 Ford S-Max compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 92.0%, so this figure is 4.3 points behind what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 86.3%. The median 2022 Ford S-Max in this dataset had covered 23,480 mi.
69% of the tests on this vehicle ran on Hybrid, which passed 88.6% of the time. Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 88.0% of the time, April–September 86.9%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Headlamp not working on dipped beam", noted on 2.29% of tests.
- 828 recorded tests behind this page.
- 87.7% overall pass rate, 86.3% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the Ford S-Max, the average is 76.8% — best year 2023 (92.2%), worst 2006 (68.1%).
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
- 828
- Typical mileage (median)
- 23,480 mi
- Make and model
- Ford S-Max
- Updated
- 2026-11-05
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 S-Max MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 69% so small gaps stay visible.
Fuel type and reliability
Pass rate by fuel type. Hybrid is the most common here (69% of tests).
Regional pass rates for the S-Max
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South East | 217 | 92.2% |
| East of England | 141 | 84.4% |
| West Midlands | 80 | 87.5% |
| North West | 76 | 88.2% |
| East Midlands | 67 | 85.1% |
| South West | 62 | 87.1% |
| London | 52 | 90.4% |
| Yorkshire | 52 | 86.5% |
| Scotland | 39 | 82.1% |
| Wales | 26 | 76.9% |
| North East | 16 | 93.8% |
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 2022 S-Max
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 2022 S-Max
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 2.3% of tests
“headlamp not working on dipped beam”
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 tyre tread 2.2% of tests
“tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm”
Check all four tyres cold, including the inner shoulder where wear hides — 1.6mm across the central three-quarters is the legal limit, and most testers fail at 1.6mm without argument.
-
Check the windscreen 1.6% 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 2022 S-Max through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £29–£71 — and 44% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £29–£71
- Cheapest common item: registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the…
- £5–£20
- Dearest common item: windscreen damaged
- £80–£200
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 80%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 44%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 828 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 S-Max, side by side
18 model years on record, from 2006 to 2023. Across them the pass rate runs from 68.1% to 92.2% — a spread of 24.1 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2006 68.1% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2007 69.8% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2008 71.7% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2009 72.4% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2010 74.1% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2011 75.4% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2012 74.9% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2013 75.2% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2014 76.4% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2015 80.9% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2016 84.6% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2017 85.5% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2018 86.4% brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick
- 2019 84.4% headlamp not working on dipped…
- 2020 87.1% headlamp not working on dipped…
- 2021 86.4% brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick
- 2022 87.7%headlamp not working on dipped…
- 2023 92.2% tread depth below requirements of…
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 2022 Ford S-Max 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 2022 cars with a similar record
- BMW IX3 87.7%
- MG 5 Excite 87.8%
- Toyota Hilux 87.6%
- MG Zs Excite Vti-Tech 88.0%
- BMW I4 EDRIVE40 88.1%
- Tesla Model Y 87.0%
Closest pass rates among 2022 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 2022 Ford S-Max 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 600 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 | 265 | 44.10% | 19.76% | +24.34 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 101 | 16.80% | 12.21% | +4.59 |
| Brakes | 89 | 14.80% | 20.89% | −6.09 |
| Non-component advisories | 64 | 10.60% | 4.18% | +6.42 |
| Visibility | 40 | 6.70% | 4.97% | +1.73 |
| Identification of the vehicle | 21 | 3.50% | 1.76% | +1.74 |
| Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | 11 | 1.80% | 0.82% | +0.98 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 5 | 0.80% | 5.52% | −4.72 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 3 | 0.50% | 5.57% | −5.07 |
| Suspension | 1 | 0.20% | 20.98% | −20.78 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Headlamp not working on dipped beam Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 2.3% | £5–25 |
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Major | 2.2% | £45–95 |
| Headlamp not working on dipped beam Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Rectified | 1.9% | £5–25 |
| Has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords Tyres | Major | 1.6% | £45–95 |
| Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view Visibility | Minor | 1.6% | £80–200 |
| Has a bulge, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Tyres | Major | 1.2% | £45–95 |
| Side repeaters not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 1.2% | £5–25 |
| Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 1.1% | £5–20 |
| Brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick Brakes | Major | 0.97% | £18–45 |
| Headlamp aim too high Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Rectified | 0.85% | £30–80 |
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 |
| Non-component advisories Child Seat fitted not allowing full inspection of adult belt Non-component advisories | Advisory | 4.8% | £20–80 |
| Brake discs in such a condition that it is seriously weakened Brakes | Advisory | 4.3% | £45–110 |
| Brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick Brakes | Advisory | 4.1% | £18–45 |
| Tread depth tread pattern not visible over the whole tread area when minimum depth required is 1.0mm Tyres | Advisory | 3.1% | £45–95 |
| Registration plates inscription illegible Identification of the vehicle | Advisory | 2.0% | £20–80 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 551 | 89.5% | 18,201 mi |
| 30-60k | 258 | 84.5% | 39,076 mi |
| 60-90k | 18 | 77.8% | 74,533 mi |
| 90-120k | 1 | 100.0% | 91,387 mi |
Source: 828 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.
2022 S-Max MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2022 Ford S-Max?
87.7% of the 828 2022 Ford S-Max tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 92.0% for cars first used in 2022. First-attempt pass rate: 86.3%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2022 Ford S-Max?
The three most recorded items are headlamp not working on dipped beam (2.29%), tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm (2.17%), headlamp not working on dipped beam (1.93%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2022 Ford S-Max MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 89.5% of the time, falling to 100.0% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2022 Ford S-Max in this dataset had covered 23,480 mi.
Which fuel type is most reliable for a 2022 Ford S-Max?
Hybrid: 88.6% pass rate across 572 tests. Diesel: 85.4% pass rate across 254 tests. Shares are of the tests on this vehicle that recorded each fuel type.
Does the season affect the 2022 Ford S-Max MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 88.0% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 86.9%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.