Ford
190,619 MOT tests analysed. lands in the middle of the pack — here's where C Maxs pass, fail, and end up on the retest sheet.
That's 3.1 points below the UK fleet average across our 1,984 tracked models — buyers should expect more first-time fails than the typical UK car.
Pass
74.4%
Pass-after-fix
5.1%
Fail
19.9%
Avg miles
81,582
Pass + Pass-after-fix + Fail = 100%
Some examples of this model are borderline — a small number of diesels were certified Euro 6 before September 2015. Check your registration on the government's ULEZ checker to be certain. Daily charges if driven in the zone: London £12.50 · Birmingham £8.00 · Bristol £9.00 .
Performance by cohort
2 year bands · 190,602 tests
Pass rate climbs 11.9 points across the cohorts — newer C Max examples clear the test more reliably than the early cars.
Pass
73.9%
Fail
20.3%
PRS
5.2%
Avg mileage at test
83,778 mi
Pass
85.8%
Fail
11.1%
PRS
2.7%
Avg mileage at test
33,094 mi
Cohort = vehicle's first-registration year band. Same model, different generations of build.
Generations on file · 2
Ford C Max · UK market
2003–2010
2010–2019
Photos: Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA / CC BY / public domain.
The picture
The Ford C-Max is a car produced by the Ford Motor Company from 2003 to 2019. It has a five-door compact multi-purpose vehicle (MPV) design.
MOT data from 144,438 tests puts this car on a 75.2% first-time pass rate, roughly in line with the UK fleet average. Average mileage at test is 76,224 miles. The most common fail item is brake pads worn below 1.5mm, followed by tyre tread below the legal limit.
Buyers weighing up a used C Max should treat the failure breakdown as a pre-purchase checklist. The pass rate is reasonable, but the gap between first attempt and a clean sheet narrows with age and mileage.
ABI Insurance Group
Below the fleet average — generally reasonable to insure. Lower groups cost less to insure; UK fleet average is around Group 22.
Source: ABI Group Rating Panel · administered by Thatcham Research · groups cover standard variants; performance trims may sit higher. Browse all insurance groups →
14–22
out of 50
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A transmission shaft constant velocity joint boot severely deteriorated
4,667 occurrences · 2.4% of tests
Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements
4,656 occurrences · 2.4% of tests
a brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm
4,556 occurrences · 2.4% of tests
A rear registration plate lamp or light source missing or inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources
4,409 occurrences · 2.3% of tests
Windscreen or window damaged or seriously discoloured but not adversely affecting driver's view
3,893 occurrences · 2.0% of tests
A tyre cords visible or damaged
3,780 occurrences · 2.0% of tests
A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn
3,317 occurrences · 1.7% of tests
A transmission shaft constant velocity joint boot missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt etc
3,199 occurrences · 1.7% of tests
A lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning
2,492 occurrences · 1.3% of tests
Stop lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning
2,300 occurrences · 1.2% of tests
Counts cover Major and Dangerous defects logged at test. Advisory items excluded so this shows why a car was rejected, not just what the tester flagged in passing.
Worst-case fix budget · top 3 failures
£148–£290
If every one of this C Max's most-logged Major fails hit at the same MOT, that's the real-world UK garage range. Reality is usually one or two items, not all of them. Open the estimator →
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Build your own retest budget.
Year-band analysis
First-time MOT pass rate split by registration band. A 11.9-point gap between bands means the year you buy Ford C Max has a real effect on what turns up at the garage.
Best band to buy
85.8%
2018–2020 registration
the 2018–2020 band climbs to 85.8% — a 11.9-point improvement. Tests in this band average 33,094 miles — roughly 51K miles fewer on the clock than the older band. Failures here are mostly wear items: less than 1.5 mm thick, does not clear the windscreen effectively — the structural issues that drag down older examples don't appear in the top-10 for this band. The stricter post-2018 MOT test rules meant manufacturers had to tighten up emissions and electrical checks, but this band still shows far fewer major failures on suspension and bodywork than the older fleet.
Band to be cautious about
73.9%
Pre-2018 registration
On the older band (pre-2018), the data shows a 73.9% pass rate against a fleet average of 85.8% on the newer band. The main culprits logged at test: constant velocity boot severely deteriorated, tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm, and inoperative in the case of multiple lamps…. Average mileage on test for this band is 83,778 miles — high-mileage wear items are a recurring theme.
Best band to buy: 2018-2020 (85.8% first-time pass). Worst band to avoid: pre-2018 (73.9% pass). That's a 11.9-point spread across 182,372 older tests and 8,230 newer ones — year of build makes a material difference on this model.
Picked against this car's top failure patterns. Affiliate links to Amazon UK — we earn a small cut at no cost to you. Disclosed up-front, doesn't shape the data.
Item 01 · Amazon UK
Digital tyre-tread depth gauge
Five quid for a gauge beats £150 for a retest. UK MOT minimum is 1.6mm — most testers fail anything below 2mm to be safe.
Search Amazon UK
Item 02 · Amazon UK
Brake pad measurement gauge
Testers fail pads under 1.5mm. A wear gauge tells you if you've got two months left or two weeks.
Search Amazon UK
Item 03 · Amazon UK
H7 / W21W bulb pack
A spare-bulb kit lives in the boot. Test morning is not the time to find your stop-lamp's gone.
Search Amazon UK
My Motor World · affiliate
Affiliate links — small commission, no extra cost to you.
Summit
Summit ADRG-18 Ford Replacement Stick-On Tinted Mirror Glass LHS
£8.79
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Summit
Summit ADRG-10 Ford Replacement Stick-On Tinted Mirror Glass RHS
£9.89
View at My Motor World →
Summit
Summit ADRG-47 Ford Replacement Stick-On Tinted Mirror Glass LHS
£9.89
View at My Motor World →
Summit
Summit ADRG-85 Ford Replacement Stick-On Tinted Mirror Glass RHS
£9.89
View at My Motor World →
Click Mechanic · affiliate
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Mobile mechanic · UK-wide
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Recall history
The C Max has 6 official UK vehicle recalls covering defect details, remedies, and affected build dates.
Use the failure ranking as a pre-test checklist or a haggling lever. Treat the headline pass rate as a fleet-wide trend, not a guarantee on any individual car.
If you own a C Max and your last MOT looked nothing like the ranked failures above, that's normal — individual cars vary widely. The ranking shows the patterns testers flag most often across the country.
