Ford Fiesta MOT failures: Brakes
Last updated · OBDCode UK editorial
Ford Fiesta Brakes fail-item records → 11.7% (95% CI 11.7–11.8) of this model's fail items (345,944 of 2,946,704, 2023–2025). Compiled by OBDCode UK, edition 2026.1. These are not official statistics and not a DVSA or DVLA statistic. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
11.7%; national 17.8%; 2023–2025; edition 2026.1; floor 300.
How to read this defect-group page
This page isolates one defect group for the Ford Fiesta. The group is Brakes. It accounts for 11.7% (95% CI 11.7–11.8) of the recorded defects in this cell, from 345,944 items. Share is a slice of recorded defects, not the chance this car will fail.
What the brakes group covers
The brakes group covers pads and discs, drums and shoes, flexible hoses and rigid pipes, the parking-brake linkage, and the effort measured at each wheel on the rollers. A tester records a defect here when lining is worn past its limit, a disc is scored or corroded, a hose weeps, or one side of the car pulls. Most entries are wear from use. They are not a design verdict on the model.
How this compares with the baseline
Braking accounts for 11.7% of the recorded defects in this cell, against 17.8% for the baseline, a gap of −6.1 points. The interval sits wholly on the healthier side, so the group difference holds rather than being noise. That is not a verdict on one Ford Fiesta. A car with recent pads can sit well clear of its group.
After a fail on this group
Read the fail item on the certificate and take the car to a garage with that wording, not a guess. Ask them to measure remaining pad and disc thickness and to recheck balance if the rollers flagged one side. Keep the certificate for the retest. A repair does not guarantee a pass on the next visit.
No scanner needed for this group
You do not need to buy a scanner to check this group. Feel the pedal, look at pad faces through the spokes, and listen for a scrape. A code reader may show an anti-lock warning lamp, but it cannot measure lining thickness or roller balance. Those are the items a tester records here.
When this needs a garage
See a garage if the pedal sinks, the car pulls under braking, or you hear a metal scrape. If the pedal goes to the floor, do not keep driving: arrange recovery to a qualified garage. That visit is not a promise the next test will pass.
What an advisory means here
An advisory in this group is not a fail. The car can be driven legally with that wording on the certificate. It usually means lining or a disc is wearing toward a limit, not past it. Watch the same item on the next test; many advisories become fails if left. That is a pattern, not a deadline.
Why this page prints no price
This page prints no repair price because labour rates, parts and the exact defect vary by car and by area. A figure that fitted one quote would be wrong for most readers. Ask a garage for a written quote against the certificate wording.
Driving after a failed test
A failed MOT does not by itself tell you whether the car may be driven. The rule depends on whether the car is still roadworthy and whether a previous certificate is still in date. Read https://www.gov.uk/check-mot-history for the current rule. This page does not decide your legal position.
What MOT data cannot tell you
MOT data is an annual snapshot of what a tester could see on the day, not a reliability survey. It does not record how a car drives between tests, or what was repaired the week before. It cannot tell you whether your Ford Fiesta is about to fail.
Where these figures come from
We compile these figures from anonymised MOT test records released as public sector information. They are licensed under the Open Government Licence. The source extract is linked at https://www.data.gov.uk/dataset/c63fca52-ae4c-4b75-bab5-8b4735e1a4c9/anonymised-mot-tests-and-results. These counts are not an official statistic.
Source: DVSA Anonymised MOT tests and results, 2023–2025 extracts (Class 4). Grain: fail-item records (F or PRS). Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.