How often does the Ford Mustang fail its MOT?

7.0% of 2,846 first-time tests in 2024 were failures, against 12.0% for all electric cars.

What does the Ford Mustang most often fail on?

Tyres, 69.2% of failing defects. The single most common defect was: Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements.

Ford · Fully electric · 2,846 inspections in 2024 · Rank 22 of 81DVSA MOT analysis

Tyres are 69% of everything that fails a Ford Mustang

2,846 inspections in a single year make the MUSTANG a modestly documented electric car in the data. Tyres cause 69.2% of its failures; tyres take 2.9× the share they take on petrol and diesel cars of the same age.

FIGURE 1 // WHERE IT WEARSFord Mustang

Top three failure systems, annotated from 198 failed first-time tests. Arrows point to where the defect is found on the car.

First-time test findings

The three-year picture

AT THREE YEARS OLD7.2%

MUSTANG failure rate. Petrol cars of the same age fail 8.2%.

ALL ELECTRIC CARS12.0%

All electric cars in the data.

At three years old the Ford Mustang fails 7.2% of the time, under the 8.2% of a petrol car the same age. Tyres cause 69.2% of its failures.

FIGURE 2 // TYRE SECTION97 certificates in 2024

The tyre that wears from the inside

Tyres take 69.2% of the defects that fail this car, 2.9× the share seen on petrol and diesel cars of the same age. The most common item in that group is "Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements", recorded 97 times in 2024.

SECTION // TYRES CONCENTRATION

Where it concentrates

The MUSTANG stays under the petrol fleet at every age we can measure. What it does fail on is unusually concentrated.

DEFECT CONCENTRATION IN FAILED TESTS:

MUSTANG tyres share69.2%

Petrol and diesel average23.7%

The single most common item on a MUSTANG certificate is "Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements", recorded 97 times.

Source: DVSA MOT defect items, 2024 test year.

Buyer's protocolPre-purchase checklist

What to check

Check tyre age and tread across the full width, inner edge included. Electric cars wear tyres faster; a cheap mismatched set on a used car tells you how it was run. Trivial to fix, but a car advertised with worn wipers and a fresh failure certificate tells you how it was maintained. Check headlamp aim and every lamp before the test. It is the cheapest failure on the list and the easiest to avoid. Check the washers reach the screen. It fails the test and it is a thirty-second check. Ask for the full MOT history by registration on the free DVSA service: advisories are next year's failures.

3 inspection points:

✓ Tyre inner-edge wear and age

✓ Wipers and washers

✓ Headlamp aim and every lamp

FIGURE 3 // FAILURE RATE BY AGEvs petrol, diesel and all electric cars

Points hidden where fewer than 50 cars of that age were tested. Dashed lines are the same-age petrol and diesel fleets.

Data sheet

Inspections: 2,846
Passed: 2,583
Failed: 198
Passed after repair: 65
Failure rate: 7.0% (all EV 12.0%)
Average age: 3.0 years
Best year: 3 yrs · 7.2%
Worst year: 3 yrs · 7.2%
Top cause: Tyres 69.2%

TABLE 1 // WHAT FAILS, BY SYSTEMshare of failing defects

System	Share	vs petrol/diesel
Tyres	69.2%	2.9× more
Suspension	2.6%	5.2× less
Brakes	5.6%	3.3× less
Visibility	8.2%	1.5× less
Lighting	7.6%	2.2× less
Steering	0.0%	in line
Body	0.6%	6.8× less

TABLE 2 // TOP DEFECTS ON THE CERTIFICATE

Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements97
A tyre seriously damaged68
A tyre cords visible or damaged60
Wiper blade missing or obviously not clearing the windscreen10
The aim of a headlamp is not within limits laid down in the requirements8
Windscreen washers not working or not providing sufficient fluid to clear the windscreen8

Wording as printed by the tester, from the DVSA inspection manual.

Where it holds up

Suspension fail less often than on petrol and diesel cars (2.6% of defects vs 13.6%)
Brakes fail less often than on petrol and diesel cars (5.6% of defects vs 18.7%)
Visibility fail less often than on petrol and diesel cars (8.2% of defects vs 11.9%)
Lighting fail less often than on petrol and diesel cars (7.6% of defects vs 16.5%)

Where it fails

Tyres take a bigger share of failures than on petrol and diesel cars of the same age (69.2% vs 23.7%)

VERSIONS SEEN IN THE TESTSas recorded

MUSTANG MACH-E EXT RANGE AWD1,062
MUSTANG MACH-E STD RANGE RWD683
MUSTANG MACH-E EXT RANGE RWD500
MUSTANG MACH-E STD RANGE AWD366
MUSTANG MACH-E FST ED XRNG AWD173
MUSTANG MACH-E GT AWD56
MUSTANG6

OWNER REPORTS // MATCHED TO RECORDED DEFECTS0 read · 0 matched

No owner discussion has been matched to this car's recorded defects yet. Reports are re-collected every quarter; the figures on this page do not depend on them.

Summaries written by us, never quotes; every entry links to its source. Owner reports have no denominator and never feed the failure rate.

SIMILAR CARS IN THE DATAclosest rate and age, other brands

Citroen e-Berlingo6.9% fail · 102 tests Vauxhall Combo-e6.7% fail · 163 tests BMW i46.4% fail · 266 tests Mazda MX-306.4% fail · 2,026 tests

OTHER FORD ELECTRIC CARS

Ford Mondeo12.2% fail first time

Three things the data shows

2,846 inspections in 2024 make this one of the adequately-documented electric cars in the data.
Tyres take 2.9× the share of failures they take on petrol and diesel cars of the same age.
It ranks 22 of 81 electric cars by first-time failure rate.

LIMITS // WHAT THE INSPECTION DOES NOT TELL YOU

No battery health, no motor, no charging performance. The test covers brakes, suspension, steering, tyres, lights, visibility and structure. A car with a badly degraded battery passes as long as it stops and steers. Read this page as evidence about the chassis, not the powertrain. Cars are tested from their third year, so the newest model years are missing; every figure carries its sample size for that reason. Full methodology.