Ford Transit MOT failures and reliability

In 2023 the Ford Transit took 317,603 MOT tests in Britain and passed 63% of them first time, below the national average of 71% for all cars. The figures below come from the DVSA's record of every test, so they show what testers actually found on these cars rather than what owners report.

MOT tests in 2023: 317,603
First-time pass rate: 63%
All cars: 71%

What the Transit fails on

Share of tests with at least one failure in each area, against the figure for all cars.

Lights and electrics17.9% (all cars 11.3%)
Suspension13.2% (all cars 9.0%)
Brakes11.9% (all cars 6.8%)
Body and structure10.1% (all cars 3.5%)
Visibility7.7% (all cars 4.8%)
Tyres5.2% (all cars 6.4%)
Exhaust and emissions4.7% (all cars 3.1%)
Steering2.6% (all cars 1.8%)

Most common failure items

Share of tests on which each item was recorded.

Joints: constant velocity boot split or insecure, no longer prevents the ingress of dirt 5.1%
Position lamp: not working 4.8%
Stop lamp: not working 4.3%
Registration plate lamp(s): inoperative in the case of a single lamp or all lamps 4.1%
Rigid brake pipes: excessively corroded 3.9%
Suspension arms, pins and bushes: pin or bush excessively worn 3.4%
Component mounting prescribed areas: prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength 3.2%
Wipers: does not clear the windscreen effectively 3.1%

Most common advisories

Rigid brake pipes: corroded, covered in grease or other material 18.5%
Tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge 14.9%
Suspension arms, pins and bushes: pin or bush worn but not resulting in excessive movement 14.8%
Brake discs: worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened 14.4%
Brake pads: wearing thin 10.3%
Engine oil leaks: leak, but not excessive 9.7%
Tyres, condition: slightly damaged/cracking or perishing 6.8%
Brake discs: worn, but not excessively 3.4%

Pass rate by year of registration

Older cars fail more often whatever the model, so compare a car with others of the same age.

First registered	Tests	Pass rate
1989	410	63%
1990	377	59%
1991	306	59%
1994	455	62%
1995	682	63%
1996	805	60%
1997	837	62%
1998	925	66%
1999	1,011	67%
2000	1,138	62%
2001	1,536	59%
2002	2,390	58%
2003	2,828	53%
2004	2,748	56%
2005	3,848	56%
2006	7,062	55%
2007	11,987	53%
2008	14,679	52%
2009	12,529	51%
2010	17,609	49%
2011	20,429	50%
2012	16,400	50%
2013	20,830	56%
2014	29,294	65%
2015	35,927	68%
2016	41,573	71%
2017	43,999	73%
2018	19,230	76%
2019	2,777	78%
2020	1,497	80%

Typical mileage by age

Average odometer reading at the MOT, by the car's age in years at the test.

Age at test	Average mileage
3 years	42,840 miles
4 years	55,935 miles
5 years	70,704 miles
6 years	80,633 miles
7 years	91,818 miles
8 years	104,441 miles
9 years	113,193 miles
10 years	122,078 miles
11 years	129,998 miles
12 years	140,116 miles
13 years	145,371 miles
14 years	142,498 miles
15 years	140,623 miles
16 years	142,548 miles
17 years	134,552 miles
18 years	121,691 miles
19 years	120,679 miles
20 years	129,552 miles

Check a particular Transit

Model figures tell you what to look out for. To see one car's own MOT history, mileage and tax, enter its registration.

Other Ford models

Source: Department for Transport, Anonymised MOT tests and results, 2023, cars and light vans, normal tests only. Pass rates are first-time passes; a pass after repair at the test station counts as a fail. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.