Common problems

Mazda Bongo suspension problems

How often MOT testers find suspension faults on the Mazda Bongo at each age, against all cars of the same age, and which items come up most. From 35,066 DVSA MOT tests taken 2022 to 2025.

MOT data updated 28 September 2026

At 17 years, the most tested age

Suspension fails per 100 MOTs (n=2,600)26.6

All cars at 17 years (n=4,040,458)17.2

Suspension advisories and minor defects per 100 MOTs (n=2,600)33.7

All cars, same age (n=4,040,458)34.7

What stands out

At 17 years, 26.6 of every 100 MOTs of the Mazda Bongo found a suspension fail (n=2,600), against 17.2 for all cars of that age (n=4,040,458).
It is above the all-car rate at 17 of the 20 ages with at least 1,000 tests.
The gap is widest at 10 years: 21.8 per 100 MOTs against 9.7 for all cars.
The suspension fail item recorded most often at 17 years: component mounting prescribed areas: prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength, on 14.0 per 100 MOTs.
The most common suspension advisory or minor defect: coil spring: corroded, on 7.7 per 100 MOTs.

Suspension fails by age

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

Mazda Bongo: suspension fails and advisories per 100 MOTs, by age, against all cars. Ages with fewer than 1,000 tests are not shown.
Age	Tests (n)	Fails	All cars	Advisories	All cars
6 years	1,012	11.8	2.9	22.5	6.1
7 years	1,323	15.1	4.4	25.1	8.7
8 years	1,545	16.3	6.1	26.3	11.8
9 years	1,601	17.2	7.9	27.5	14.9
10 years	1,535	21.8	9.7	30.4	18.2
11 years	1,533	22.1	11.6	32.4	21.6
12 years	1,566	22.5	13.4	33.9	24.9
13 years	1,594	24.6	14.9	33.4	27.9
14 years	1,833	26.6	16.0	34.6	30.4
15 years	2,205	25.1	16.7	35.6	32.3
16 years	2,398	27.1	17.1	35.0	33.7
17 years	2,600	26.6	17.2	33.7	34.7
18 years	2,524	23.3	17.2	30.5	35.3
19 years	2,147	20.5	16.9	29.0	35.4
20 years	1,857	16.6	16.5	24.6	35.2
21 years	1,608	13.6	15.9	21.9	35.0
22 years	1,571	14.5	15.2	23.1	34.4
23 years	1,723	14.5	14.5	22.8	33.8
24 years	1,494	16.9	13.5	23.4	32.5
25 years	1,397	18.0	12.8	27.1	31.5

Suspension fail items at 17 years

Suspension fail items on the Mazda Bongo at 17 years (n=2,600), per 100 MOTs, with all cars at the same age (n=4,040,458).
Item	Per 100 MOTs	All cars	Typical repair (estimate)
Component mounting prescribed areas: prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength	14.0	1.9
Linkage ball joint dust cover: ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt	3.2	1.8	£33 to £102 per link (rough guide)
Suspension arm ball joint dust cover: ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt	2.5	1.0	£75 to £237 per side (rough guide)
Anti-roll bar pins and bushes: pin or bush excessively worn	2.4	0.3	£92 to £237 per arm (rough guide)
Anti-roll bar link worn	2.4	1.5	£33 to £102 per link (rough guide)
Linkage pins and bushes: pin or bush excessively worn	1.9	0.2
Sub-frame mounting prescribed areas: prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength	1.9	0.2

Suspension advisories and minor defects at 17 years

Advisories and minor defects are recorded, but the car still passes. Across all cars, a part with an advisory or minor defect failed at the next MOT 5.5 times in 100 (n=88,666,940 pairs of consecutive MOTs), against 0.3 times in 100 when the same part had none (n=12,936,860,350).

Suspension advisories and minor defects on the Mazda Bongo at 17 years (n=2,600), per 100 MOTs, with all cars at the same age (n=4,040,458).
Item	Per 100 MOTs	All cars	If it needs replacing (estimate)
Coil spring: corroded	7.7	7.5
Component mounting prescribed areas: prescribed area is corroded but not considered excessive	7.2	2.4
Anti-roll bar pins and bushes: pin or bush worn but not resulting in excessive movement	4.8	0.9	£92 to £237 per arm (rough guide)
Linkage ball joints: ball joint has slight play	4.2	2.7	£33 to £102 per link (rough guide)
Linkage pins and bushes: pin or bush worn but not resulting in excessive movement	3.3	0.9
Suspension arm ball joint dust cover: ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated	3.0	1.9
Suspension arm pins and bushes: pin or bush worn but not resulting in excessive movement	2.6	8.7	£92 to £237 per arm (rough guide)

Repair estimates are a guide for an independent garage: labour at the national median local garage rate (median £78 an hour from 65 garages, ONS price quotes) times estimated labour hours, plus a parts band. Labour hours and most parts bands are estimates, not quotes, and prices vary by model, engine and region. A warning light fault shows the cost of the diagnosis only.

What to check on a viewing

On the Mazda Bongo, the suspension items testers fail most are component mounting prescribed areas: prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength; linkage ball joint dust cover: ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt; suspension arm ball joint dust cover: ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt.

Listen for knocks or clonks over speed bumps and rough roads on the test drive.
Push down hard on each corner: the car should settle at once rather than keep bouncing.
Look behind the wheels for broken or heavily rusted coil springs and split rubber bushes.
Check that the car sits level and that no tyre is worn on one edge only.

Ask for the car's MOT history: a suspension advisory that repeats from year to year has not been fixed. GOV.UK MOT history.

Questions

What are the common suspension problems on the Mazda Bongo?

At 17 years (2,600 MOTs), the suspension fail items testers record most often are component mounting prescribed areas: prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength (14.0 per 100 MOTs), linkage ball joint dust cover: ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt (3.2 per 100 MOTs), suspension arm ball joint dust cover: ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt (2.5 per 100 MOTs). The most common suspension advisories or minor defects are coil spring: corroded (7.7) and component mounting prescribed areas: prescribed area is corroded but not considered excessive (7.2).

Does the Mazda Bongo have more suspension problems than other cars?

At 17 years it has 26.6 suspension fails per 100 MOTs against 17.2 for all cars of the same age (9.4 more). It is above the all-car rate at 17 of the 20 ages with enough tests.

What does a suspension repair cost on the Mazda Bongo?

For linkage ball joint dust cover: ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt, an independent garage estimate is £33 to £102 per link (rough guide). This is a guide built from the national median garage labour rate and estimated labour hours, not a quote.

Suspension problems on other Mazda models

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.

The all cars figures cover all class 4 vehicles (cars and light vans) tested at the same age.

Looking at a Mazda Bongo?

These figures describe the model, not the car in front of you. Found one you might buy? See what the VetTheCar Buying Report covers, or use the tools that work without a registration.

See a sample report Car tools · MOT fail rates by model · Compare models by MOT record

Repair estimates: ONS consumer price quotes for local garage labour (09/2025 to 08/2026), the MOT inspection manual for defect wording, and estimated labour hours and parts bands. Not affiliated with or endorsed by ONS.

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 28 September 2026.

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