The picture
Fox: a below-average pass rate worth digging into
Across 38,598 MOT tests, the Fox returns 64.3% first-time pass — well below the UK fleet average. The single most-logged Major fail is a number-plate lamp out. A defective headlamp lens and a broken or weak spring round out the top three. Average tested mileage sits at 77,408, which is the lens to read those failure rankings through. If you own one and the next test is close, the ranked list below is a sensible pre-test checklist.
Top ten reasons for rejection.
- 01
A rear registration plate lamp or light source missing or inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources
2,398 occurrences · 6.2% of tests
- 02
Headlamp reflector or lens slightly defective
2,294 occurrences · 5.9% of tests
- 03
A spring or spring component fractured or seriously weakened
1,812 occurrences · 4.7% of tests
- 04
A transmission shaft constant velocity joint boot severely deteriorated
1,774 occurrences · 4.6% of tests
- 05
Exhaust system leaking or insecure
1,576 occurrences · 4.1% of tests
- 06
A suspension joint dust cover severely deteriorated
1,568 occurrences · 4.1% of tests
- 07
A suspension joint dust cover missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt etc
1,478 occurrences · 3.8% of tests
- 08
Lambda coefficient outside the default limits or the range specified by the manufacturer
1,478 occurrences · 3.8% of tests
- 09
A transmission shaft constant velocity joint boot missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt etc
1,415 occurrences · 3.7% of tests
- 10
Wiper blade missing or obviously not clearing the windscreen
1,365 occurrences · 3.5% 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
£218–£635
If every one of this Fox'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.
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
Headlight restoration kit
Yellowed lenses fail the light-output test. A restoration kit lifts the haze in an afternoon for £20.
Search Amazon UK
Buying or keeping a Fox?
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 Fox 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.