Ford Transit Connect MOT pass rate & common failures

At a glance

Pass rate, adjusted for age and mileage

The Transit Connect is 3.9 percentage points below the national pass rate once age and mileage are accounted for, which is below average. The unadjusted figure is 66.6%; the difference is what the age and mileage of this model’s fleet was hiding.

DVSA recorded wording

Most common failure items

Share of failed Ford Transit Connect tests in which each item was recorded. One failed test often lists several items, so these do not sum to 100%.

1. 1.Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements15.3%

   6,583 occurrencesTyre worn close to the legal limit explained

2. 2.A brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm14.3%

   6,174 occurrencesBrake drum or shoe worn or contaminated explained

3. 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 repaired13.9%

   6,010 occurrencesSuspension mounting corroded or insecure explained

4. 4.Wiper blade missing or obviously not clearing the windscreen12.5%

   5,414 occurrencesWiper or washer not working properly explained

5. 5.A transmission shaft constant velocity joint boot missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt etc12.0%

   5,201 occurrencesDriveshaft CV joint gaiter split or missing explained

6. 6.A tyre cords visible or damaged10.4%

   4,477 occurrencesTyre ply or cord exposed, or the casing separating explained

7. 7.A lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning9.0%

   3,875 occurrencesLamp not working explained

8. 8.Parking brake efficiency below minimum requirement8.7%

   3,746 occurrencesParking brake efficiency too low explained

9. 9.Brake pipe damaged or excessively corroded8.6%

   3,703 occurrencesBrake pipe corroded explained

10. 10.A tyre seriously damaged8.4%

    3,637 occurrencesTyre damaged or deteriorated explained

Warnings without a failure

Most common advisories

Share of all Ford Transit Connect tests carrying each advisory. The denominator differs from the failure list above because an advisory can be issued on a car that passed.

1. 1.Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements33.9%

   55,541 testsTyre worn close to the legal limit explained

2. 2.Brake pipe damaged or excessively corroded14.5%

   23,696 testsBrake pipe corroded explained

3. 3.A brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm14.3%

   23,429 testsBrake drum or shoe worn or contaminated explained

4. 4.Brake disc or drum excessively weakened, insecure or fractured11.1%

   18,112 testsBrake disc worn, pitted or scored explained

5. 5.Fluid leaking excessively and likely to harm the environment or to pose a safety risk to other road users10.6%

   17,381 tests

6. 6.A tyre seriously damaged7.4%

   12,182 testsTyre damaged or deteriorated explained

7. 7.Number plate inscription missing or illegible4.6%

   7,511 testsRegistration plate missing, insecure or illegible explained

8. 8.Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements4.2%

   6,850 testsTyre worn close to the legal limit explained

How wear changes the picture

Pass rate by vehicle age

Bands holding too few tests to be meaningful are omitted rather than shown as a rate.

What gets tested

The Transit Connect fleet

Average mileage recorded at test

103,686

Across examples of every age, so this is a description of the fleet rather than an annual figure.

Fuel mix of tested cars

Diesel98.7%

Petrol1.3%

Compare within the range

Other Ford models

• Ford Fiesta — 67.1% adjusted
• Ford Focus — 71.6% adjusted
• Ford Kuga — 75.3% adjusted
• Ford Transit — 68.0% adjusted
• Ford Transit Custom — 77.3% unadjusted
• Ford Mondeo — 76.0% adjusted
• All Ford models →

Similar test volumes

Compare against other makes

• Toyota Prius — 81.4% adjusted, ranked 45
• Citroen C1 — 68.7% adjusted, ranked 184
• Renault Captur — 70.8% adjusted, ranked 162
• Hyundai Tucson — 74.8% adjusted, ranked 115

Common questions

Is the Ford Transit Connect reliable?

On MOT evidence the Ford Transit Connect is below average. It passes 68.4% of tests once age and mileage are accounted for, against a national average of 72.3%, which ranks it 192 of 262 models with enough data for a fair comparison. This measures how often the car meets the MOT standard, not how often it breaks down or what a repair costs.

What is the most common MOT failure on a Ford Transit Connect?

The item recorded most often is "Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements", which appears in 15.3% of failed Ford Transit Connect tests. Because one failed test can list several items, these shares do not add up to 100%.

What do testers most often warn about on a Ford Transit Connect?

The most common advisory is "Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements", noted on 33.9% of all Ford Transit Connect tests. An advisory is not a failure: it flags something that will likely need attention before the next test.

What mileage does a Ford Transit Connect usually have at its MOT?

The average odometer reading recorded at test is 103,686 miles. This is the mileage across all tested examples of every age, not an annual figure, so treat it as a description of the fleet rather than a target for one car.

Does a Ford Transit Connect get harder to pass as it ages?

Yes. At 3 to 5 years old, 77.2% of Ford Transit Connect tests pass. By fifteen years or more, that falls to 49.1%. Nearly every model follows this pattern, which is why comparing raw pass rates between models is misleading unless age is accounted for.

Are most Ford Transit Connect models petrol or diesel?

Of the Ford Transit Connect cars tested, 99% are diesel, 1% are petrol. Fuel type affects which items tend to fail, particularly emissions and exhaust components.

How this was worked out

Method and limits

Figures come from the DVSA anonymised MOT testing dataset, published under the Open Government Licence. Only class 4 initial tests are counted: retests are excluded so a car appears once, and abandoned tests are excluded entirely. The adjusted rate is directly standardised across twenty-five age and mileage bands and reweighted onto the national distribution, so this model is compared against cars that have lived a similar life rather than against a younger or lighter-used fleet.

An MOT measures whether a car met a legal standard on the day. It is not a breakdown record, a service history or a running-cost estimate, and a pass rate is a property of a fleet rather than a prediction about one car.

Further reading

Make sense of the numbers

• How to judge reliability from evidence rather than reputation
• What counts as high or low mileage for a car’s age
• The most common MOT failures and how to avoid them
• What to check before buying a used Ford