Volkswagen Transporter MOT pass rates & common failures

Every completed first-attempt MOT on a Volkswagen Transporter in Great Britain in 2025 — 320,511 tests. Figures cover every Transporter first-tested in 2025, all trims grouped. The Transporter is a van, tested in the car MOT class (class 4) to the same standard. How the Transporter ages, what it fails on, and what mileage is normal, computed directly from the official DVSA record of every test.

Pass rate 2025
68.2%
4.1 points below the class-4 average (72.3%); unadjusted for age — the age-matched comparison is below
Tests analysed
320,511
first tests, 2025
Arrived with a dangerous fault
6.7%
of Transporter first tests; national 7.3%
Typical mileage at 10 years
93,750
middle half: 66,250–123,750 miles (2,500-mile-band midpoints)

How the Transporter ages

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

Volkswagen TransporterAll cars
50%60%70%80%90%100%3579111315171920Vehicle age (years)Volkswagen Transporter, vehicle age 3: 83.8%Volkswagen Transporter, vehicle age 4: 81.8%Volkswagen Transporter, vehicle age 5: 80.3%Volkswagen Transporter, vehicle age 6: 79.2%Volkswagen Transporter, vehicle age 7: 77%Volkswagen Transporter, vehicle age 8: 75.3%Volkswagen Transporter, vehicle age 9: 74.5%Volkswagen Transporter, vehicle age 10: 71%Volkswagen Transporter, vehicle age 11: 69.2%Volkswagen Transporter, vehicle age 12: 69.8%Volkswagen Transporter, vehicle age 13: 67.2%Volkswagen Transporter, vehicle age 14: 65.7%Volkswagen Transporter, vehicle age 15: 63.5%Volkswagen Transporter, vehicle age 16: 59.5%Volkswagen Transporter, vehicle age 17: 58.4%Volkswagen Transporter, vehicle age 18: 57.6%Volkswagen Transporter, vehicle age 19: 55.7%Volkswagen Transporter, vehicle age 20: 55.9%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%Volkswagen Transporter 55.9%
View this chart as a table
Age (years)Transporter testsTransporter pass rateAll cars
312,71483.8%88.5%
418,28181.8%87.2%
514,60380.3%86.0%
618,86779.2%83.5%
720,07377.0%80.9%
820,24975.3%78.2%
920,00274.5%74.9%
1017,98571.0%71.9%
1115,85169.2%68.6%
1214,41269.8%65.8%
1312,39467.2%63.5%
1412,01365.7%61.2%
1510,70563.5%59.3%
168,90559.5%58.3%
1712,44058.4%57.2%
1813,10057.6%57.4%
1911,09055.7%57.0%
209,73755.9%57.6%

Better or worse than the average car?

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

Transporter aheadTransporter behind
-6-3+0+3+6Age 3: -4.7 points vs the average car3Age 4: -5.4 points vs the average carAge 5: -5.7 points vs the average car5Age 6: -4.3 points vs the average carAge 7: -3.9 points vs the average car7Age 8: -2.9 points vs the average carAge 9: -0.4 points vs the average car9Age 10: -0.9 points vs the average carAge 11: +0.6 points vs the average car11Age 12: +4.0 points vs the average carAge 13: +3.7 points vs the average car13Age 14: +4.5 points vs the average carAge 15: +4.2 points vs the average car15Age 16: +1.2 points vs the average carAge 17: +1.2 points vs the average car17Age 18: +0.2 points vs the average carAge 19: -1.3 points vs the average car19Age 20: -1.7 points vs the average car20Vehicle age (years)
View this chart as a table
Age (years)Gap (points)
3-4.7
4-5.4
5-5.7
6-4.3
7-3.9
8-2.9
9-0.4
10-0.9
11+0.6
12+4.0
13+3.7
14+4.5
15+4.2
16+1.2
17+1.2
18+0.2
19-1.3
20-1.7

The Transporter fleet on the road, by age

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

07k15k22k30kAge 3: 12k3Age 4: 18kAge 5: 14k5Age 6: 18kAge 7: 20k7Age 8: 20kAge 9: 20k9Age 10: 17kAge 11: 15k11Age 12: 14kAge 13: 12k13Age 14: 12kAge 15: 10k15Age 16: 8kAge 17: 12k17Age 18: 13kAge 19: 11k19Age 20: 9k20Vehicle age (years)
View this chart as a table
Age (years)First tests
312,714
418,281
514,603
618,867
720,073
820,249
920,002
1017,985
1115,851
1214,412
1312,394
1412,013
1510,705
168,905
1712,440
1813,100
1911,090
209,737

What a Transporter fails on

Where the failure items land when a Transporter 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 equipment23.0%
Suspension23.0%
Brakes17.0%
Body, chassis, structure8.6%
Tyres8.4%
Visibility7.5%
Noise, emissions and leaks5.0%
Steering4.2%

Share of all failure items, 2025 — the 8 biggest categories shown (96.7% of the items); smaller categories are not listed.

The advisories to watch

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

Brakes: 28.2% of advisories28.2%Suspension: 27.3% of advisories27.3%Tyres: 22.0% of advisories22.0%Noise, emissions and leaks: 6.2% of advisoriesNon-component advisories: 5.5% of advisoriesBody, chassis, structure: 4.2% of advisories
BrakesSuspensionTyresNoise, emissions and leaksNon-component advisoriesBody, chassis, structure
View this chart as a table
CategoryShare of advisories
Brakes28.2%
Suspension27.3%
Tyres22.0%
Noise, emissions and leaks6.2%
Non-component advisories5.5%
Body, chassis, structure4.2%

Petrol, diesel or hybrid Transporter?

First-time pass rate for the two most-tested Transporter 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: 68.3% of 312,335 tests68.3%Diesel312,335 testsPetrol: 64.6% of 8,074 tests64.6%Petrol8,074 tests
View this chart as a table
FuelTestsPass rate
Diesel312,33568.3%
Petrol8,07464.6%

What mileage is normal for a Transporter?

Mileage recorded at test by vehicle age, 2025. The line is the typical (median) Transporter; 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 Transporter (median)
0k25k50k75k100k125k150k175k200k225k3579111315171920Vehicle age (years)Age 3: typical 28,750 miles (middle half 18,750–46,250)Age 4: typical 41,250 miles (middle half 26,250–61,250)Age 5: typical 48,750 miles (middle half 33,750–73,750)Age 6: typical 56,250 miles (middle half 38,750–81,250)Age 7: typical 66,250 miles (middle half 46,250–93,750)Age 8: typical 76,250 miles (middle half 53,750–103,750)Age 9: typical 86,250 miles (middle half 61,250–116,250)Age 10: typical 93,750 miles (middle half 66,250–123,750)Age 11: typical 103,750 miles (middle half 76,250–136,250)Age 12: typical 113,750 miles (middle half 86,250–148,750)Age 13: typical 121,250 miles (middle half 91,250–156,250)Age 14: typical 131,250 miles (middle half 98,750–166,250)Age 15: typical 136,250 miles (middle half 103,750–173,750)Age 16: typical 138,750 miles (middle half 103,750–176,250)Age 17: typical 151,250 miles (middle half 113,750–188,750)Age 18: typical 158,750 miles (middle half 123,750–196,250)Age 19: typical 163,750 miles (middle half 128,750–203,750)Age 20: typical 171,250 miles (middle half 133,750–208,750)171k mi

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

View this chart as a table
Age (years)Lower quarterTypical (median)Upper quarter
318,75028,75046,250
426,25041,25061,250
533,75048,75073,750
638,75056,25081,250
746,25066,25093,750
853,75076,250103,750
961,25086,250116,250
1066,25093,750123,750
1176,250103,750136,250
1286,250113,750148,750
1391,250121,250156,250
1498,750131,250166,250
15103,750136,250173,750
16103,750138,750176,250
17113,750151,250188,750
18123,750158,750196,250
19128,750163,750203,750
20133,750171,250208,750

What fails at each age

The Transporter'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.

SuspensionTyresLamps, reflectors and electrical equipmentBrakesVisibilityNoise, emissions and leaksBody, chassis, structureEverything else
View this chart as a table
Age bandCategoryShare of the band's failure items
3-5 yrsSuspension30.4%
3-5 yrsTyres23.4%
3-5 yrsLamps, reflectors and electrical equipment12.9%
3-5 yrsBrakes11.6%
3-5 yrsVisibility6.9%
3-5 yrsEverything else14.8%
6-9 yrsSuspension30.7%
6-9 yrsTyres17.5%
6-9 yrsBrakes15.7%
6-9 yrsLamps, reflectors and electrical equipment11.5%
6-9 yrsNoise, emissions and leaks9.4%
6-9 yrsEverything else15.2%
10-13 yrsSuspension27.6%
10-13 yrsBrakes19.6%
10-13 yrsLamps, reflectors and electrical equipment15.4%
10-13 yrsTyres12.8%
10-13 yrsVisibility8.1%
10-13 yrsEverything else16.5%
14+ yrsSuspension23.1%
14+ yrsLamps, reflectors and electrical equipment21.7%
14+ yrsBrakes19.0%
14+ yrsBody, chassis, structure11.7%
14+ yrsVisibility6.2%
14+ yrsEverything else18.3%

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.