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MOT fail rates

Volkswagen Transporter MOT fail rate by age

How often the Volkswagen Transporter fails its MOT at each age, compared with all cars of the same age, and what it fails on. From 1,135,020 DVSA MOT tests taken 2022 to 2025.

MOT data updated

At 6 years, the most tested age

MOT fail rate at age 6 (n=78,853)21.3%
All cars at 6 years (n=10,382,720)17.8%
Median mileage at test59,315
All cars, median mileage44,951

255 of 340 model groups with enough tests fail less often at 6 years.

What stands out

  • At 3 years the Volkswagen Transporter fails 17.0% of MOTs (63,918 tests), 4.9 points above the 12.1% for all cars that age. At 25 years it fails 44.2% (16,029 tests), 7.9 points above the 36.3% average.
  • The gap is widest at 25 years: 7.9 points above all cars.
  • Its most common structural or mechanical fail item at 6 years: Coil spring broken, at 4.6 per 100 MOTs.

MOT fail rate by age

3 years 25 years 49.9%

Solid line: this model. Dashed line: all cars at the same age.

Volkswagen Transporter: share of MOT tests that failed, by age, against all cars. Ages with fewer than 1,000 tests are not shown.
AgeMOT fail rateTests (n)All carsDifferenceMedian mileage
3 years17.0%63,91812.1%+4.9 pts30,952 miles
4 years17.5%71,47513.4%+4.2 pts40,680 miles
5 years19.6%73,40015.3%+4.2 pts49,710 miles
6 years21.3%78,85317.8%+3.5 pts59,315 miles
7 years23.2%78,40120.6%+2.6 pts68,937 miles
8 years25.0%74,57023.8%+1.2 pts78,411 miles
9 years26.7%69,15927.1%−0.5 pts88,514 miles
10 years29.1%61,47630.3%−1.2 pts97,750 miles
11 years30.2%55,67833.3%−3.1 pts107,695 miles
12 years31.7%50,23136.0%−4.3 pts117,115 miles
13 years34.4%44,81938.3%−3.8 pts123,968 miles
14 years37.3%45,00340.3%−2.9 pts132,183 miles
15 years40.1%46,43041.6%−1.5 pts140,427 miles
16 years42.2%46,96242.6%−0.4 pts147,567 miles
17 years42.8%47,88343.1%−0.3 pts154,756 miles
18 years44.2%44,45343.3%+0.9 pts161,936 miles
19 years44.5%37,86743.2%+1.3 pts166,819 miles
20 years44.5%32,89142.8%+1.8 pts170,533 miles
21 years45.2%29,31042.1%+3.2 pts173,060 miles
22 years45.4%24,94841.0%+4.4 pts172,773 miles
23 years45.0%22,02839.6%+5.4 pts175,155 miles
24 years45.0%19,23637.8%+7.2 pts175,066 miles
25 years44.2%16,02936.3%+7.9 pts172,551 miles

Most common fail items at 6 years

Split into structural or mechanical items and wear items. Wear items (tyres, brake pads, wipers, bulbs) say more about upkeep than about the design.

Structural and mechanical

Fail itemPer 100 MOTs
Coil spring broken Major4.6
Malfunction indicator lamp: inoperative or indicates a malfunction Major2.6
Suspension arm bush worn Major1.3

Out of 78,853 MOTs. A test with two faults counts twice.

Wear and upkeep

Fail itemPer 100 MOTs
Tyre tread below 1.6 mm Dangerous2.4
Tyre condition: has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords Major1.7
Brake pads under 1.5 mm Dangerous1.6
Headlight aimed too high Major1.5
Wipers not clearing screen Major1.2
Headlamp aim: too low Major1.2
Brake light not working Major1.1

Out of 78,853 MOTs. A test with two faults counts twice.

Other models at 6 years

ModelMOT fail rateTests (n)All cars
Volkswagen Caddy23.8%46,51917.8%
Ford Transit26.1%108,42417.8%
Ford Transit Custom23.0%70,21717.8%

MOT fail rate by first-use year

Each year has its own page: the fail rate for cars first used that year at each MOT from 2022 to 2025 with at least 1,000 tests, the most common faults at that age, and the car tax and ULEZ rules for that year.

First-use year data updated .

Latest MOT age with at least 1,000 tests for each first-use year.
First usedAge at testMOT fail rateTests (n)All cars
199825 years in 202344.6%4,00736.3%
199925 years in 202443.4%4,13336.3%
200025 years in 202543.7%4,48036.3%
200124 years in 202544.2%6,14237.8%
200223 years in 202544.0%6,22439.6%
200322 years in 202544.1%6,76241.0%
200421 years in 202544.6%8,90842.1%
200520 years in 202543.7%9,82142.8%
200619 years in 202544.0%11,17643.2%
200718 years in 202542.1%13,20543.3%
200817 years in 202541.3%12,52643.1%
200916 years in 202540.3%8,95342.6%
201015 years in 202536.3%10,77741.6%
201114 years in 202534.2%12,06740.3%
201213 years in 202532.6%12,49338.3%
201312 years in 202530.0%14,74136.0%
201411 years in 202530.6%16,20633.3%
201510 years in 202528.9%18,10430.3%
20169 years in 202525.4%20,12627.1%
20178 years in 202524.5%20,36523.8%
20187 years in 202522.8%20,20920.6%
20196 years in 202520.7%18,97617.8%
20205 years in 202519.5%14,70115.3%
20214 years in 202518.1%18,45613.4%
20223 years in 202516.0%12,87712.1%

More on the Volkswagen Transporter

Read this with care. A fail rate is not a measure of build quality. How far cars are driven, how they are used and how well owners maintain them all change it, and wear items such as tyres and brake pads are common fails. Compare a model only with cars of the same age. Methodology and limits.

Looking at one Volkswagen Transporter?

These are figures for the model, not for one car. The VetTheCar Buying Report looks at a single car: its MOT tests, defects, advisories and mileage readings.

See an example report Browse the car tools

Source

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data, class 4 normal MOT tests, 2022 to 2025. MOT data updated 22 September 2026.

Not affiliated with or endorsed by DVSA. How we calculate these figures · Data sources