Performance by cohort

3 year bands · 355,044 tests

Pass rate climbs 12.5 points across the cohorts — newer Mondeo examples clear the test more reliably than the early cars.

Pre-2018 cohort 335,620

Pass

72.4%

Fail

22.0%

PRS

4.9%

Avg mileage at test

119,948 mi

2018–2020 cohort 17,633

Pass

87.2%

Fail

10.1%

PRS

2.4%

Avg mileage at test

63,406 mi

2021+ cohort 1,791

Pass

85.0%

Fail

10.1%

PRS

4.6%

Avg mileage at test

40,571 mi

Cohort = vehicle's first-registration year band. Same model, different generations of build.

Generations on file · 4

Ford Mondeo · UK market

Photos: Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA / CC BY / public domain.

The picture

Mondeo at 113K Miles: 72.5% Pass, Powershift Trouble

Tested at an average of 113,009 miles — the highest mileage point of any Ford in this dataset — the Mondeo still manages a 72.5% first-time pass rate. Suspension bush wear, worn tyres, and plate lamp failures are the routine culprits. The bigger concern is the Powershift dual-clutch automatic fitted to 2.0 TDCi models: multiple owners describe the gearbox triggering a 'Transmission limited function' warning and requiring a full stop-restart to clear. One owner described the fault recurring on a long motorway run.

High-pressure fuel pump seal failure was reported at just 47,000 miles on a 2016 car. Manual Mondeos avoid the Powershift lottery altogether, making them the safer used buy at high mileage.

ABI Insurance Group

Group 17–29

Around the UK fleet average for insurance cost. 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 →

17–29

out of 50

Compare quotes →

Top ten reasons for rejection.

Filter failures:

Hide wear items to see the model's real defects.

01

A rear registration plate lamp or light source missing or inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources

16,180 occurrences · 4.6% of tests
02

Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements

9,513 occurrences · 2.7% of tests
03

A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn

8,390 occurrences · 2.4% of tests
04

Windscreen or window damaged or seriously discoloured but not adversely affecting driver's view

8,331 occurrences · 2.3% of tests
05

a brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm

7,123 occurrences · 2.0% of tests
06

A lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning

7,030 occurrences · 2.0% of tests
07

A tyre cords visible or damaged

6,728 occurrences · 1.9% of tests
08

A transmission shaft constant velocity joint boot severely deteriorated

5,282 occurrences · 1.5% of tests
09

A suspension joint dust cover severely deteriorated

4,878 occurrences · 1.4% of tests
10

The aim of a headlamp is not within limits laid down in the requirements

4,786 occurrences · 1.3% 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 4 failures

£228–£530

If every one of this Mondeo'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 →

Try the calculator

Build your own retest budget.

Year-band analysis

Best year to buy. Worst to avoid.

First-time MOT pass rate split by registration band. A 14.8-point gap between bands means the year you buy Ford Mondeo has a real effect on what turns up at the garage.

Best band to buy

87.2%

2018–2020 registration

the 2018–2020 band climbs to 87.2% — a 14.8-point improvement. Tests in this band average 63,406 miles — roughly 57K miles fewer on the clock than the older band. Failures here are mostly wear items: tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm, inoperative in the case of multiple lamps… — 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

72.4%

Pre-2018 registration

On the older band (pre-2018), the data shows a 72.4% pass rate against a fleet average of 87.2% on the newer band. The main culprits logged at test: inoperative in the case of multiple lamps…, tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm, and pin or bush excessively worn. Average mileage on test for this band is 119,948 miles — high-mileage wear items are a recurring theme. Honest John records: "Report of 2015 Ford Mondeo 2.0 SCTI Ecoboost Titanium draining its battery if left for a couple of days."

Best band to buy: 2018-2020 (87.2% first-time pass). Worst band to avoid: pre-2018 (72.4% pass). That's a 14.8-point spread across 335,620 older tests and 17,633 newer ones — year of build makes a material difference on this model.

Year-spread leaderboard →

Tools that pre-empt a retest.

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

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

Item 02 · 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 03 · 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

My Motor World · affiliate

Parts & supplies for this fix

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£9.89

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Click Mechanic · affiliate

Book a mobile mechanic

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Owner reports · Honest John

What owners actually report.

Verbatim faults logged by owners on honestjohn.co.uk over recent years. We didn't summarise — these are the words people typed in.

What's good

The Ford Mondeo once served as a barometer for the state of the country. Now it’s been pushed aside by SUVs, but remains a comfortable, capable family car.

Where it falls short

Steering isn’t as sharp as previous Ford Mondeos. Bumpy ride of ST-Line models. Some of the diesels are quite noisy.

Recent owner-reported faults

10 May 2020
Problems with Powershift transmission of 2016 Mondeo 2.0TDCI continue (see 3-10-2019). On a long trip, again the transmission seemed to jump out of gear, with the same message “Transmission limited function - See manual” as previously. Stopped for a while, but the problem was still there and got steadily worse. Feels as if it jumps out of gear and the clutch starts slipping, but suddenly it all engages again briefly, before jumping again. Dealer says there is a communication failure between the control module and the gearbox, which will cost about £4,500 to repair. Also told owner that the fluid and filter weren’t changed when they had it last, despite what they told me - they topped up the fluid and re-set the software.
26 Oct 2019
Report of engine of 2015 Ford MOndeo 2.0TDCI Titanium cutting out, but all electrics remaining on. Engine will not re-start unless all power is cut and then button started. Fault usually occurs when driving at speed in 5th or 6th but the other day it happened in 4th driving through town at 40mph. "While it's in cut out mode the engine will try and start itself but fails as if it's on turn over but can not fully start."
13 Oct 2019
Report of high pressure fuel pump seals leaking on a 2016 Ford Mondeo 2.0TDCI at 47,000 miles, 6 months out of warranty. Dealer wants £381 to fix. If car has been consistently maintained on time by Ford dealers then we think there is room for a goodwill contribution from Ford towards this repair.
3 Oct 2019
Report of problems with Powershift transmission of 2015 Ford Mondeo 2.0TDCI at 38,000 miles. A message flagged up "Transmission Limited Function" and immediately the car indicated it was not happy when changing gears 1 - 4, less so heading into 5th and 6th. We think probably overdue a transmission oil and filter change that should be carried out every 3 years or 38,000 miles whichev er comes first.
2 Oct 2019
Report of electrics playing up in 2015 Ford Mondeo Titanium X. All the windows drop down and the sunroof opens after locking the car. Additionally, I locked it after moving it off the drive and the tailgate opened. Likely to be moisture seeping into the locking and windows ECU inside the driver's door.
10 Aug 2019
Report of leather cover of steering wheel of 2015 Ford Mondeo 2.0 SCTi T EcoBoost 240 Auto Start/Stop Titanium coming apart at 4 years old.
1 Aug 2019
Report of ESC failure on a 2015/65 Ford Mondeo at 25,000 miles, as well as Hill assist not available, Adaptive cruise control not available, Pre collision assist not available, Active city stop malfunction, Lane keeping system malfunction, steering assist malfunction, all whilst towing a caravan. Dealer advised that the car was not safe to driver and prescribed a new "sensor motor located in the steering gear" costing £1,600. (Possibly the dealer meant the front radar sensor.)
16 Jul 2019
Report of small coolant leak from 1.5 EcoBoost engine into cylinder 2 of 2015 Ford Mondeo resulting in "bore scoring and cooling jacket grooving". No Ford goodwill. Ford cannot even supply an engine, which has been "on back order" for 2 months. We managed to find some on eBay.
13 Mar 2019
Problem with severely out of date mapping in Fords's Sync 3 satnav (in this case in an April 2017 Kuga) fiinally cured by an update. If you visit https://www.ford.co.uk/owner/resources-and-support/sync-bluetooth/update#/status/ and enter your chassis number it tells you an update is required. It needs to be downloaded onto a USB stick and then loaded into the car.This takes a long time because the file is massive approx. (25GB). Enter chassis number bottom right, then it’ll find map update required and click ‘prepare maps download’ and then take it from there. This afflicts all Sync 3 sat navs to date.
30 Dec 2018
Report of 2015 Ford Mondeo 2.0 SCTI Ecoboost Titanium draining its battery if left for a couple of days.
23 Aug 2018
Report of engine oil found in cooling system of 2015 Ford Mondeo 1.6 TDCI at 80,000 miles. Head gasket and oil cooler replaced, but still has problems.
5 Jul 2018
Report from reader that Ford dealer unable to complete Safety Recall 12-3-2018: R/2018/53 (see Recalls) on Mondeo 2.0 Duratorq estate and had problems with other attempts for customers.

Source: honestjohn.co.uk · 19 reports indexed, top 12 shown

Recall history

35 UK recalls on record.

The Mondeo has 35 official UK vehicle recalls covering defect details, remedies, and affected build dates.

See all recalls

Buying or keeping a Mondeo?

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 Mondeo 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.