How reliable is the Ford Freedom compared with other cars?

We do not publish a comparison for the Ford Freedom, because the cars of this model that have been tested do not cover a wide enough range of ages and mileages. Its raw pass rate is 77.2% across 1,459 tests, but comparing a raw rate between models mostly ranks them by how new they are rather than how good they are. The failure and advisory patterns further down the page are still drawn from real tests and are worth reading.

What is the most common MOT failure on a Ford Freedom?

The item recorded most often is "a brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm", which appears in 18.1% of failed Ford Freedom tests. Because one failed test can list several items, these shares do not add up to 100%.

What do testers most often warn about on a Ford Freedom?

The most common advisory is "Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements", noted on 24.5% of all Ford Freedom tests. An advisory is not a failure: it flags something that will likely need attention before the next test.

What mileage does a Ford Freedom usually have at its MOT?

The average odometer reading recorded at test is 60,848 miles. This is the mileage across all tested examples of every age, not an annual figure, so treat it as a description of the fleet rather than a target for one car.

Which Ford Freedom years are the most reliable?

Going by MOT pass rate, Ford Freedom cars first registered 2020–2022 do best at 76.9%, and those registered 2014–2016 do worst at 77.1%. But that ordering is mostly age, not build year: almost every model passes less often as it wears, so the newest cars top this list whatever they are. A specific year looking strong here means little on its own; the failure items above, and the individual car's own MOT history, tell you far more.

Does a Ford Freedom get harder to pass as it ages?

Yes. At 3 to 5 years old, 76.9% of Ford Freedom tests pass. By 9 to 11 years, that falls to 77.1%. Nearly every model follows this pattern, which is why comparing raw pass rates between models is misleading unless age is accounted for.

Model reliability file

Ford Freedom MOT pass rate & common failures

From 1,459 recorded MOT tests of the Ford Freedom, published by DVSA.

Data updated 29 July 2026

Quick answer

Across 1,459 MOT tests, 77.2% of Ford Freedom tests ended in a pass. This figure is not adjusted for age or mileage, so it is not a reliability ranking: the Ford Freedom fleet does not yet cover a wide enough spread of ages and distances to compare it fairly against other models. Its most commonly recorded failure is a brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm, which appears in 18.1% of failed tests. Cars of this model average 60,848 miles on the odometer when tested.

At a glance

Recorded pass rate

77.2%unadjusted, not comparable1,459 tests

We are not publishing a ranking for the Freedom. The examples tested do not cover a wide enough spread of ages and mileages to compare it fairly, and an unadjusted pass rate mostly sorts models by how recently they were bought rather than how well they were built. The failure and advisory patterns below come from the same 1,459 tests and are worth reading on their own terms.

DVSA recorded wording

Most common failure items

Share of failed Ford Freedom tests in which each item was recorded. One failed test often lists several items, so these do not sum to 100%.

1.A brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm18.1%
49 occurrencesBrake drum or shoe worn or contaminated explained
2.A tyre seriously damaged12.5%
34 occurrencesTyre damaged or deteriorated explained
3.Wiper blade missing or obviously not clearing the windscreen11.1%
30 occurrencesWiper or washer not working properly explained
4.A tyre cords visible or damaged10.0%
27 occurrencesTyre ply or cord exposed, or the casing separating explained
5.Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements8.1%
22 occurrencesTyre worn close to the legal limit explained
6.Unknown (32135)7.4%
20 occurrences
7.A tyre pressure monitoring system malfunctioning or obviously inoperative7.0%
19 occurrencesTyre pressure monitoring system inoperative explained
8.Brake pipe damaged or excessively corroded5.9%
16 occurrencesBrake pipe corroded explained
9.Unknown (32134)5.5%
15 occurrences
10.Exhaust system leaking or insecure5.5%
15 occurrencesExhaust leaking or insecure explained

Warnings without a failure

Most common advisories

Share of all Ford Freedom tests carrying each advisory. The denominator differs from the failure list above because an advisory can be issued on a car that passed.

1.Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements24.5%
358 testsTyre worn close to the legal limit explained
2.A brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm11.8%
172 testsBrake drum or shoe worn or contaminated explained
3.A tyre seriously damaged9.0%
132 testsTyre damaged or deteriorated explained
4.Brake disc or drum excessively weakened, insecure or fractured4.2%
62 testsBrake disc worn, pitted or scored explained
5.Unknown (32135)3.9%
57 tests
6.Brake pipe damaged or excessively corroded3.7%
54 testsBrake pipe corroded explained
7.Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements2.8%
41 testsTyre worn close to the legal limit explained
8.Unknown (32134)2.7%
39 tests

The rest of the record

Everything else recorded on the Ford Freedom

The 23 other defects testers recorded on this model, beyond the most common listed above. Each links to what it means and what it takes to put right.

How wear changes the picture

Freedom pass rate by age and registration year

How often the Ford Freedom passes at each age, with the years those cars were first registered. Tests are from 2025, so a car aged 3 to 5 was first used in 2020–2022.

3–5 yrsreg. 2020–202277%

6–8 yrsreg. 2017–201978%

9–11 yrsreg. 2014–201677%

Read this as an age curve rather than a verdict on particular model years. Nearly every car passes less often as it gets older, so a newer Freedom outscoring an older one says more about wear than about how that year’s cars were built. Bands holding too few tests to be meaningful are omitted rather than shown as a rate.

What gets tested

The Freedom fleet

Average mileage recorded at test: 60,848
Fuel mix of tested cars: Diesel100.0%

Check a specific Ford Freedom

A model average tells you the pattern. Its own MOT record tells you the car.

Compare within the range

Other Ford models

Ford Fiesta — 67.1% adjusted
Ford Focus — 71.6% adjusted
Ford Kuga — 75.3% adjusted
Ford Transit — 68.0% adjusted
Ford Transit Custom — 77.3% unadjusted
Ford Mondeo — 76.0% adjusted
All Ford models

Common questions

How reliable is the Ford Freedom compared with other cars?: We do not publish a comparison for the Ford Freedom, because the cars of this model that have been tested do not cover a wide enough range of ages and mileages. Its raw pass rate is 77.2% across 1,459 tests, but comparing a raw rate between models mostly ranks them by how new they are rather than how good they are. The failure and advisory patterns further down the page are still drawn from real tests and are worth reading.
What is the most common MOT failure on a Ford Freedom?: The item recorded most often is "a brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm", which appears in 18.1% of failed Ford Freedom tests. Because one failed test can list several items, these shares do not add up to 100%.
What do testers most often warn about on a Ford Freedom?: The most common advisory is "Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements", noted on 24.5% of all Ford Freedom tests. An advisory is not a failure: it flags something that will likely need attention before the next test.
What mileage does a Ford Freedom usually have at its MOT?: The average odometer reading recorded at test is 60,848 miles. This is the mileage across all tested examples of every age, not an annual figure, so treat it as a description of the fleet rather than a target for one car.
Which Ford Freedom years are the most reliable?: Going by MOT pass rate, Ford Freedom cars first registered 2020–2022 do best at 76.9%, and those registered 2014–2016 do worst at 77.1%. But that ordering is mostly age, not build year: almost every model passes less often as it wears, so the newest cars top this list whatever they are. A specific year looking strong here means little on its own; the failure items above, and the individual car's own MOT history, tell you far more.
Does a Ford Freedom get harder to pass as it ages?: Yes. At 3 to 5 years old, 76.9% of Ford Freedom tests pass. By 9 to 11 years, that falls to 77.1%. Nearly every model follows this pattern, which is why comparing raw pass rates between models is misleading unless age is accounted for.

How this was worked out

Method and limits

Figures come from the DVSA anonymised MOT testing dataset, published under the Open Government Licence. Only class 4 initial tests are counted: retests are excluded so a car appears once, and abandoned tests are excluded entirely. No adjusted rate is shown because this model's tested examples do not cover enough of the national age and mileage range for standardisation to mean anything.

An MOT measures whether a car met a legal standard on the day. It is not a breakdown record, a service history or a running-cost estimate, and a pass rate is a property of a fleet rather than a prediction about one car.