In 2025, 275,663 Ford Transit cars had a regular MOT in Great Britain. 62% passed first time, compared with 70% for all cars of the same ages, which makes the Transit 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, 81% of Transits passed first time (all cars that age: 88%). By 20 years, that figure is 56% (all cars: 58%). It trails the average car at most ages, most noticeably at 13 years (12 points behind).
Ford Transit All cars of that age
| Age | Tests | Transit passed first time | All cars | Typical mileage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 years | 697 | 81% | 88% | 38,434 |
| 6 years | 2,372 | 75% | 84% | 78,002 |
| 7 years | 18,490 | 71% | 81% | 91,281 |
| 8 years | 42,792 | 68% | 78% | 100,316 |
| 9 years | 40,405 | 67% | 75% | 109,713 |
| 10 years | 34,635 | 66% | 72% | 120,240 |
| 11 years | 27,806 | 64% | 69% | 127,349 |
| 12 years | 18,521 | 56% | 66% | 132,468 |
| 13 years | 13,739 | 51% | 63% | 137,615 |
| 14 years | 16,343 | 51% | 61% | 146,194 |
| 15 years | 13,319 | 51% | 59% | 149,908 |
| 16 years | 9,223 | 53% | 58% | 144,276 |
| 17 years | 9,662 | 54% | 57% | 140,030 |
| 18 years | 7,520 | 56% | 57% | 138,583 |
| 19 years | 4,388 | 58% | 57% | 129,829 |
| 20 years | 2,399 | 56% | 58% | 117,863 |
What fails most on a Ford Transit
The area that lets the Transit down most, relative to other cars, is body and structure: 18.1% of tests failed on it, 4.4 times the rate for the average car. It does comparatively well on tyres.
Share of Transit tests failing on this area Average car
The six most common failure items
| Failure item | Area | Share of tests |
|---|---|---|
| A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn | Suspension | 8.9% |
| A transmission shaft constant velocity joint boot missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt etc | Body and structure | 8.4% |
| 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 | 6.5% |
| Brake pipe damaged or excessively corroded | Brakes | 6.0% |
| A lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning | Lights and electrics | 5.5% |
| Stop lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning | Lights and electrics | 4.5% |
What to check when buying a used Transit
Based on where the Transit fails more often than other cars, these are the checks worth making before you buy:
- 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
- Lights and electrics: Walk round with the lights on: headlights (dipped and main), indicators, brake lights, number-plate and fog lights. Bulbs are cheap, but a seller who hasn’t noticed one out may have missed more. 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
Enter the registration to see its full MOT history, mileage record and reliability score, compared with these figures.
Check a TransitFrequently asked questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a Ford Transit?
In 2025, 62% of Ford Transit cars passed their MOT first time, across 275,663 tests. Cars of the same ages averaged 70%.
What do Ford Transit cars most often fail their MOT on?
The most common failure items were: a suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn (8.9% of tests); a transmission shaft constant velocity joint boot missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt etc (8.4% of tests); 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 (6.5% of tests).
Other Ford models
Ford Fiesta (65%), Ford Focus (67%), Ford Kuga (78%), Ford Mondeo (67%), Ford Ka (66%), Ford Transit Connect (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.