In 2025, 157,701 Ford Transit Connect cars had a regular MOT in Great Britain. 66% passed first time, compared with 73% for all cars of the same ages, which makes the Transit Connect worse than average. Most are commercial vans or pick-ups, which usually cover far higher mileages and harder work than private cars, so we leave them out of the car rankings.
That comparison matters: older cars fail more often, so a raw pass rate flatters models that are mostly young. We compare each model against every car on the road at the same age.
Pass rate by age
At 3 years old, 80% of Transit Connects passed first time (all cars that age: 88%). By 20 years, that figure is 49% (all cars: 58%). It trails the average car at most ages, most noticeably at 5 years (12 points behind).
Ford Transit Connect All cars of that age
| Age | Tests | Transit Connect passed first time | All cars | Typical mileage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 years | 2,600 | 80% | 88% | 44,478 |
| 4 years | 10,967 | 79% | 87% | 58,838 |
| 5 years | 10,996 | 74% | 86% | 67,441 |
| 6 years | 14,650 | 73% | 84% | 77,446 |
| 7 years | 16,184 | 75% | 81% | 90,201 |
| 8 years | 17,864 | 74% | 78% | 100,552 |
| 9 years | 13,540 | 70% | 75% | 111,683 |
| 10 years | 12,699 | 69% | 72% | 118,398 |
| 11 years | 10,150 | 66% | 69% | 127,752 |
| 12 years | 3,994 | 59% | 66% | 117,286 |
| 13 years | 5,155 | 54% | 63% | 120,915 |
| 14 years | 5,076 | 54% | 61% | 131,476 |
| 15 years | 4,332 | 50% | 59% | 134,713 |
| 16 years | 4,119 | 50% | 58% | 129,748 |
| 17 years | 5,868 | 50% | 57% | 140,866 |
| 18 years | 6,253 | 49% | 57% | 145,083 |
| 19 years | 5,223 | 48% | 57% | 141,863 |
| 20 years | 3,551 | 49% | 58% | 141,830 |
What fails most on a Ford Transit Connect
The area that lets the Transit Connect down most, relative to other cars, is seat belts and airbags: 2.6% of tests failed on it, 7.9 times the rate for the average car.
Share of Transit Connect tests failing on this area Average car
The six most common failure items
| Failure item | Area | Share of tests |
|---|---|---|
| The aim of a headlamp is not within limits laid down in the requirements | Lights and electrics | 5.3% |
| Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements | Tyres | 4.4% |
| Wiper blade missing or obviously not clearing the windscreen | Visibility | 4.3% |
| The strength or continuity of the load bearing structure within 30cm of any sub-frame, spring or suspension component mounting (a 'prescribed area') is significantly reduced or inadequately repaired | Suspension | 4.3% |
| A brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm | Brakes | 3.7% |
| A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn | Suspension | 3.6% |
What to check when buying a used Transit Connect
Based on where the Transit Connect fails more often than other cars, these are the checks worth making before you buy:
- Seat belts and airbags: Pull every belt out fully and let it retract, check the buckles latch, and make sure the airbag light goes out after starting. More
- Body and structure: Get underneath with a torch: sills, jacking points, subframe mounts and floor pans. Structural rust is the failure that can make a car uneconomic to fix. Repair guide
- Brakes: Look through the wheels for lipped or scored discs, check the handbrake holds on a slope, and feel for pulling or vibration under firm braking. Repair guide
Then check the individual car: its own MOT history will show whether it follows the pattern. A car with repeated advisories in the same weak area is more likely to fail its next test.
Check a specific Transit Connect
Enter the registration to see its full MOT history, mileage record and reliability score, compared with these figures.
Check a Transit ConnectFrequently asked questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a Ford Transit Connect?
In 2025, 66% of Ford Transit Connect cars passed their MOT first time, across 157,701 tests. Cars of the same ages averaged 73%.
What do Ford Transit Connect cars most often fail their MOT on?
The most common failure items were: the aim of a headlamp is not within limits laid down in the requirements (5.3% of tests); tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements (4.4% of tests); wiper blade missing or obviously not clearing the windscreen (4.3% of tests).
Other Ford models
Ford Fiesta (65%), Ford Focus (67%), Ford Kuga (78%), Ford Transit (62%), Ford Mondeo (67%), Ford Ka (66%). All Ford models
Source: DVSA anonymised MOT tests and results, 2025 (class 4 normal tests; first-time pass means passed with no faults fixed at the test). Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.