Ford Transit MOT pass rates & common failures

Every completed first-attempt MOT on a Ford Transit in Great Britain in 2025 — 281,049 tests. Figures cover every Transit first-tested in 2025, all trims grouped. The Transit is a van, tested in the car MOT class (class 4) to the same standard. How the Transit ages, what it fails on, and what mileage is normal, computed directly from the official DVSA record of every test.

Pass rate 2025
62.4%
9.9 points below the class-4 average (72.3%); unadjusted for age — the age-matched comparison is below
Tests analysed
281,049
first tests, 2025
Arrived with a dangerous fault
9.0%
of Transit first tests; national 7.3%
Typical mileage at 10 years
116,250
middle half: 88,750–146,250 miles (2,500-mile-band midpoints)

How the Transit ages

First-time pass rate by vehicle age, Transit vs all cars, 2025.

Ford TransitAll cars
50%60%70%80%90%100%3579111315171920Vehicle age (years)Ford Transit, vehicle age 3: 83.3%Ford Transit, vehicle age 4: 80.5%Ford Transit, vehicle age 5: 77.6%Ford Transit, vehicle age 6: 75.1%Ford Transit, vehicle age 7: 71.1%Ford Transit, vehicle age 8: 67.5%Ford Transit, vehicle age 9: 67.4%Ford Transit, vehicle age 10: 65.8%Ford Transit, vehicle age 11: 64.2%Ford Transit, vehicle age 12: 55.8%Ford Transit, vehicle age 13: 51.2%Ford Transit, vehicle age 14: 51.4%Ford Transit, vehicle age 15: 51.5%Ford Transit, vehicle age 16: 52.6%Ford Transit, vehicle age 17: 53.9%Ford Transit, vehicle age 18: 56%Ford Transit, vehicle age 19: 58.4%Ford Transit, vehicle age 20: 55.8%All cars, vehicle age 3: 88.5%All cars, vehicle age 4: 87.2%All cars, vehicle age 5: 86%All cars, vehicle age 6: 83.5%All cars, vehicle age 7: 80.9%All cars, vehicle age 8: 78.2%All cars, vehicle age 9: 74.9%All cars, vehicle age 10: 71.9%All cars, vehicle age 11: 68.6%All cars, vehicle age 12: 65.8%All cars, vehicle age 13: 63.5%All cars, vehicle age 14: 61.2%All cars, vehicle age 15: 59.3%All cars, vehicle age 16: 58.3%All cars, vehicle age 17: 57.2%All cars, vehicle age 18: 57.4%All cars, vehicle age 19: 57%All cars, vehicle age 20: 57.6%All cars 57.6%Ford Transit 55.8%
View this chart as a table
Age (years)Transit testsTransit pass rateAll cars
31,82483.3%88.5%
41,82780.5%87.2%
51,46877.6%86.0%
62,71475.1%83.5%
718,49871.1%80.9%
842,79867.5%78.2%
940,41867.4%74.9%
1034,64465.8%71.9%
1127,81864.2%68.6%
1218,52655.8%65.8%
1313,74951.2%63.5%
1416,35051.4%61.2%
1513,33451.5%59.3%
169,23052.6%58.3%
179,67353.9%57.2%
187,53256.0%57.4%
194,39258.4%57.0%
202,40455.8%57.6%

Better or worse than the average car?

The Transit's pass rate minus the all-cars pass rate at each age, in percentage points. Bars above zero: the Transit beats the average car of that age. Below zero: it trails.

Transit aheadTransit behind
-14-7+0+7+14Age 3: -5.2 points vs the average car3Age 4: -6.7 points vs the average carAge 5: -8.4 points vs the average car5Age 6: -8.4 points vs the average carAge 7: -9.8 points vs the average car7Age 8: -10.7 points vs the average carAge 9: -7.5 points vs the average car9Age 10: -6.1 points vs the average carAge 11: -4.4 points vs the average car11Age 12: -10.0 points vs the average carAge 13: -12.3 points vs the average car13Age 14: -9.8 points vs the average carAge 15: -7.8 points vs the average car15Age 16: -5.7 points vs the average carAge 17: -3.3 points vs the average car17Age 18: -1.4 points vs the average carAge 19: +1.4 points vs the average car19Age 20: -1.8 points vs the average car20Vehicle age (years)
View this chart as a table
Age (years)Gap (points)
3-5.2
4-6.7
5-8.4
6-8.4
7-9.8
8-10.7
9-7.5
10-6.1
11-4.4
12-10.0
13-12.3
14-9.8
15-7.8
16-5.7
17-3.3
18-1.4
19+1.4
20-1.8

The Transit fleet on the road, by age

How many took a first MOT in 2025 at each age — the shape of the Transit fleet still in use.

012k25k37k50kAge 3: 1k3Age 4: 1kAge 5: 1k5Age 6: 2kAge 7: 18k7Age 8: 42kAge 9: 40k9Age 10: 34kAge 11: 27k11Age 12: 18kAge 13: 13k13Age 14: 16kAge 15: 13k15Age 16: 9kAge 17: 9k17Age 18: 7kAge 19: 4k19Age 20: 2k20Vehicle age (years)
View this chart as a table
Age (years)First tests
31,824
41,827
51,468
62,714
718,498
842,798
940,418
1034,644
1127,818
1218,526
1313,749
1416,350
1513,334
169,230
179,673
187,532
194,392
202,404

What a Transit fails on

Where the failure items land when a Transit fails or needs a fix at test, 2025. Use it as a pre-purchase checklist: these are the areas to look at first.

Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment24.7%
Suspension20.3%
Brakes17.6%
Body, chassis, structure15.2%
Visibility7.0%
Tyres5.4%
Noise, emissions and leaks4.6%
Steering2.4%

Share of all failure items, 2025 — the 8 biggest categories shown (97.2% of the items); smaller categories are not listed.

The advisories to watch

Where testers most often write "keep an eye on this" for a Transit, 2025 — the faults in the post.

Brakes: 37.9% of advisories37.9%Suspension: 22.4% of advisories22.4%Tyres: 15.6% of advisories15.6%Body, chassis, structure: 6.5% of advisoriesNoise, emissions and leaks: 6.5% of advisoriesLamps, reflectors and electrical equipment: 3.2% of advisories
BrakesSuspensionTyresBody, chassis, structureNoise, emissions and leaksLamps, reflectors and electrical equipment
View this chart as a table
CategoryShare of advisories
Brakes37.9%
Suspension22.4%
Tyres15.6%
Body, chassis, structure6.5%
Noise, emissions and leaks6.5%
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment3.2%

Petrol, diesel or hybrid Transit?

First-time pass rate for the two most-tested Transit fuel types, 2025, against the all-cars average. Fleet ages differ by fuel — newer fleets help the electrified bars.

50%60%70%80%90%100%all cars 72.3%Diesel: 62.4% of 279,503 tests62.4%Diesel279,503 testsPetrol: 61.6% of 1,322 tests61.6%Petrol1,322 tests
View this chart as a table
FuelTestsPass rate
Diesel279,50362.4%
Petrol1,32261.6%

What mileage is normal for a Transit?

Mileage recorded at test by vehicle age, 2025. The line is the typical (median) Transit; the shaded band holds the middle half. A car far outside the band, in either direction, is worth questions the recorded history can answer.

Typical Transit (median)
0k25k50k75k100k125k150k175k200k3579111315171920Vehicle age (years)Age 3: typical 36,250 miles (middle half 21,250–56,250)Age 4: typical 48,750 miles (middle half 28,750–71,250)Age 5: typical 61,250 miles (middle half 36,250–86,250)Age 6: typical 71,250 miles (middle half 46,250–101,250)Age 7: typical 86,250 miles (middle half 61,250–116,250)Age 8: typical 96,250 miles (middle half 71,250–123,750)Age 9: typical 103,750 miles (middle half 78,750–136,250)Age 10: typical 116,250 miles (middle half 88,750–146,250)Age 11: typical 123,750 miles (middle half 96,250–153,750)Age 12: typical 128,750 miles (middle half 101,250–158,750)Age 13: typical 133,750 miles (middle half 103,750–166,250)Age 14: typical 141,250 miles (middle half 111,250–176,250)Age 15: typical 146,250 miles (middle half 113,750–181,250)Age 16: typical 143,750 miles (middle half 106,250–178,750)Age 17: typical 138,750 miles (middle half 103,750–173,750)Age 18: typical 138,750 miles (middle half 101,250–173,750)Age 19: typical 128,750 miles (middle half 91,250–166,250)Age 20: typical 113,750 miles (middle half 73,750–153,750)113k mi

Mileage values are midpoints of 2,500-mile bands.

View this chart as a table
Age (years)Lower quarterTypical (median)Upper quarter
321,25036,25056,250
428,75048,75071,250
536,25061,25086,250
646,25071,250101,250
761,25086,250116,250
871,25096,250123,750
978,750103,750136,250
1088,750116,250146,250
1196,250123,750153,750
12101,250128,750158,750
13103,750133,750166,250
14111,250141,250176,250
15113,750146,250181,250
16106,250143,750178,750
17103,750138,750173,750
18101,250138,750173,750
1991,250128,750166,250
2073,750113,750153,750

What fails at each age

The Transit's failure mix by age band, 2025 — each band's top categories at their true share of that band's failure items; the pale remainder is everything else. How the mix shifts with age is the point of the chart.

Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipmentBrakesTyresVisibilityBody, chassis, structureSuspensionEverything else
View this chart as a table
Age bandCategoryShare of the band's failure items
3-5 yrsLamps, reflectors and electrical equipment31.4%
3-5 yrsBrakes19.3%
3-5 yrsTyres15.3%
3-5 yrsVisibility12.3%
3-5 yrsBody, chassis, structure7.2%
3-5 yrsEverything else14.5%
6-9 yrsBrakes23.5%
6-9 yrsLamps, reflectors and electrical equipment18.5%
6-9 yrsBody, chassis, structure16.7%
6-9 yrsSuspension14.6%
6-9 yrsTyres9.3%
6-9 yrsEverything else17.4%
10-13 yrsLamps, reflectors and electrical equipment22.6%
10-13 yrsBrakes20.8%
10-13 yrsSuspension18.4%
10-13 yrsBody, chassis, structure15.3%
10-13 yrsTyres6.2%
10-13 yrsEverything else16.7%
14+ yrsSuspension28.6%
14+ yrsLamps, reflectors and electrical equipment20.1%
14+ yrsBody, chassis, structure17.3%
14+ yrsBrakes15.3%
14+ yrsVisibility4.8%
14+ yrsEverything else13.9%

More vehicles we've checked

How these figures are computed. Every number on this page is calculated by SortedCars from the DVSA anonymised MOT results dataset (every MOT test in Great Britain — 2025 for single-year figures; trend figures state their span, currently 2023–2025). Where a figure comes from a sample or uses banded values (mileage is banded to 2,500 miles), the page says so beside the figure. Test class 4 only, first tests only — retests are excluded. Class 4 is the car MOT class and also covers car-derived vans, pickups and motorhomes tested to the same standard; where this page says "cars" it means class 4. Pass rate = passes ÷ (passes + failures + pass-after-rectification): a vehicle that failed and was fixed during the visit counts as a fail. Pass rates describe fleets, not individual machines: they reflect how cars were driven, maintained and used as well as how they were built, and beyond recorded mileage none of that is in the data. A well-kept example of a model with a weak average can still pass; a neglected example of a strong one can still fail. No figure is shown for any group with fewer than 500 tests. Alias spellings of a make in the DVSA file are counted under one make name, and all trims and variants of a model are grouped under one model name, using SortedCars' grouping tables. “Dangerous” is DVSA's statutory defect category (in force since May 2018): a defect posing an immediate risk to road safety — driving the vehicle before repair is an offence. What these figures are for. These statistics are general information about groups of vehicles. They are not advice, a valuation or a recommendation to buy, avoid or price any particular vehicle, and no decision about one car should rest on them alone — check the car itself and its own records. We take care over the calculations, but we cannot guarantee they are complete, current or free of error, and we accept no liability for loss arising from reliance on them. This does not limit any liability that cannot lawfully be limited — see our Terms & Conditions. If you believe any figure on this page is inaccurate, contact us. SortedCars is not affiliated with, or endorsed by, the DVSA or DVLA. DVSA publishes the raw test records; the statistics on this page are SortedCars' own calculations from them. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.