Used car guide

2020 Ford Fiesta Active Edition Turbo: common problems and what to check

What gets flagged at MOT on 2020 Ford Fiesta Active Edition Turbos, from 1,060 tests in 2025, plus known faults and what to look at before you buy one.

1,060MOT tests in 2025
86%pass first time (all 2020 cars: 86%)
6,000typical miles a year
3×the usual rate for shock absorbers

What stands out

Parts flagged at MOT more often on 2020 Ford Fiesta Active Edition Turbos than on all cars registered in 2020.

  • Shock absorbers3× usual
    Ford Fiesta Active Edition Turbo
    5.9% All 2020 cars
    2%

    Failed outright at MOT: 1.6%, against 0.3% of all 2020 cars. The rest were advisories or minor defects.

    Rough price £200–£300 (pair, average rear to front) ClickMechanic

    At the viewing: Push down hard on each corner. It should bounce once and settle. Look for oil on the shock absorber body.

By area

The share of 2020 Ford Fiesta Active Edition Turbo MOT tests where testers flagged each area, as a fail or an advisory. Rough prices are typical independent-garage costs.

  • Tyres
    31% of testsRough price £70–£150

    At the viewing: Check the tread on all four tyres, including the inside edges, and look for cracks or bulges.

  • Brakes
    16% of testsRough price £150–£350

    At the viewing: Look for a lip on the disc edges and feel for judder or pulling when braking firmly from about 40mph.

  • Suspension
    6% of testsRough price £120–£400

    At the viewing: Listen for knocks over speed bumps, and look behind each front wheel for a snapped coil spring.

  • Lights and electrics
    5% of testsRough price £10–£80

    At the viewing: Ask a friend to check every light, including brake lights and indicators, while you operate them.

  • Seats and seatbelts
    2% of testsRough price £80–£250

    At the viewing: Pull each seatbelt sharply. It should lock, and retract cleanly.

  • Wipers, windscreen and mirrors
    2% of testsRough price £15–£250

    At the viewing: Check for chips in the driver's view, and test the wipers and washers.

Known faults

Reported by owners, mechanics and buying guides for this model and age. Check which engine the car has, as some apply to one engine only.

  • Timing belt that runs in oil (1.0 EcoBoost)
    1.0 EcoBoost petrol

    The 1.0 EcoBoost’s timing belt sits in the engine oil. If oil changes are missed or the wrong oil is used, the belt can break down and shed bits that block the oil pickup, which can wreck the engine.

    At the viewing: Ask for a full service history with regular oil changes, and whether the timing belt has been changed when Ford says it’s due.

    If it needs doing: Timing belt (cambelt) change, about £300–£700 (often with the water pump). ClickMechanic

    Source: Bumper: Ford Fiesta reliability guide

  • PowerShift automatic gearbox
    Automatic versions only

    Automatic Fiestas with the PowerShift gearbox can give jerky changes, hesitate, or in bad cases lose drive. Repairs can be expensive.

    At the viewing: If it’s an automatic, pull away gently from a standstill several times and drive in slow traffic. Any judder, clunk or hesitation is a warning sign.

    Source: Bumper: Ford Fiesta reliability guide

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Other years

YearMOT testsMost flagged
2021642Tyres 25%

Where this comes from: the DVSA's anonymised results for every MOT test in Great Britain in 2025, counting tests of 2020 Ford Fiesta Active Edition Turbos registered in 2020. "Flagged" includes advisories, so it isn't the same as a fail rate. How we score