VehicleScore research
Ford Focus: suspension-arm comments on older cars
Suspension-arm comments appeared on 30.2% of 11,053 Ford Focuses aged 12–14 with 60,000–119,999 miles, against 18.5% of other vehicles in the slice. 12.6% of the Focus comments were failures.
The Fiesta’s distinctive comment in this dataset is the ball joint, and it shows up from ages 6–8. The Focus pattern published here is the suspension arm, and it is an older-car pattern. At ages 9–11 in the same mileage band, 24.1% of 16,614 Focuses had an arm comment, against 14.8%. At 15 or over, 40.2% of 5,287, against 24.9%. The gap widens as the band gets older. The failure share stays low: 12.7% at 9–11 and 13.5% at 15 or over.
Suspension-arm comments, 60,000–119,999 miles
Age 9–11
Age 12–14
Age 15 or over
Share of Focus vehicles in each age and mileage slice with at least one matching MOT comment. The comparison is other vehicles in the same slice, not the model itself. Failure share is the percentage of matched comments recorded as a fail. The rest are advisory, minor or PRS comments.
| Comment | Slice | Focus | Other vehicles | Gap | Comments that were failures |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Suspension arm issues | Age 9–11, 60,000–119,999 miles | 24.1% 4,009 of 16,614 | 14.8% 495,217 vehicles | +9.3 pp | 12.7% 891 of 7,036 |
| Suspension arm issues | Age 12–14, 60,000–119,999 miles | 30.2% 3,336 of 11,053 | 18.5% 319,715 vehicles | +11.7 pp | 12.6% 781 of 6,192 |
| Suspension arm issues | Age 15 or over, 60,000–119,999 miles | 40.2% 2,127 of 5,287 | 24.9% 183,214 vehicles | +15.3 pp | 13.5% 592 of 4,384 |
The age-standardised pass rate is 78.2%, beside a crude rate of 78.3%, on 29,583 vehicles. Age explains almost none of the Focus’s position against the overall 78.5%. The pass rate and the arm comments answer different questions. One says how often tests passed. The other says which line keeps appearing on older cars, usually as a note rather than a fail.
Buying a Focus?
On a Focus over about nine years old, read the suspension-arm comment and its type. Enter the registration to see that history. The Fiesta page is a different part.
Related VehicleScore research
Methodology
Snapshot 27 September 2026, job 2026-09-27.1. All three rows hold mileage at 60,000–119,999 and change only the age band. Comparisons exclude the Focus. Wilson intervals do not overlap. No cause is inferred. Checked vehicles only.