Ford Transit Custom MOT failure rate and common faults
176,450 Ford Transit Custom vans aged 3 to 20 took their MOT in 2025, and 22.8% failed at the first attempt. An average car of the same age failed 14.7% of the time, which makes the Ford Transit Custom 55% more likely to fail than the typical car on the road. Here is what fails, and which years to look for.
22.8%
failed first time
176,450 MOT tests in 2025
+55%
vs same age average
average car of this age mix: 14.7%
22 of 24
age adjusted rank
among vans and pickups; 1 fails least
81.0
dangerous defects per 1,000
same age average: 65.8
What fails on a Ford Transit Custom MOT
Failure items recorded per 1,000 tests, by part of the car, set against an average car with exactly the same spread of ages. A figure well above average is a weak spot worth checking before you buy.
The most common Ford Transit Custom MOT failures
The individual failure items testers recorded most often, per 1,000 tests.
| Failure item | Area | Per 1,000 tests |
|---|---|---|
| Wipers: does not clear the windscreen effectively | Windscreen, wipers and mirrors | 42.5 |
| Headlamp: not working on dipped beam | Lights and electrics | 30.9 |
| Brake pads: less than 1.5 mm thick | Brakes | 30.5 |
| Headlamp aim: too high | Lights and electrics | 20.7 |
| Tyres: has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords | Tyres | 19.8 |
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm | Tyres | 16.6 |
| Stop lamp: not working | Lights and electrics | 16.2 |
| Drive shafts: constant velocity boot split or insecure, no longer prevents the ingress of dirt | Body, chassis, exhaust and drive shafts | 15.4 |
| Registration plate lamp(s): inoperative in the case of a single lamp or all lamps | Lights and electrics | 14.4 |
| Malfunction indicator lamp: inoperative or indicates a malfunction | Engine, emissions and leaks | 11.2 |
Ford Transit Custom MOT failure rate by year
Every car fails more often as it ages, so each registration year is compared with the average for all cars of the same age. Years with fewer than 500 tests are left out.
| First registered | Tests | Failed | Same age average | Average mileage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 31,979 | 22.7% | 11.4% | 48,700 |
| 2021 | 41,554 | 21.6% | 12.8% | 60,400 |
| 2020 | 32,957 | 21.9% | 14.1% | 69,900 |
| 2019 | 41,318 | 22.9% | 16.5% | 81,900 |
| 2018 | 27,644 | 25.0% | 19.1% | 91,900 |
Advisories to look for in a Ford Transit Custom's MOT history
An advisory is a tester's warning that something is wearing but has not failed yet. These are the ones written most often on the Ford Transit Custom, per 1,000 tests. If the car you are looking at has one of these, ask whether it has been fixed since.
- Tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge182.8
- Brake pads: wearing thin127.9
- Brake discs: worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened91.8
- Tyres: slightly damaged/cracking or perishing67.8
- Rigid brake pipes: corroded, covered in grease or other material58.8
- Brake discs: worn, but not excessively53.3
Checking a used Ford Transit Custom before you buy
Against cars of the same age, the Ford Transit Custom fails more often than average on lights and electrics, brakes and windscreen, wipers and mirrors. Start there.
Lights and electrics
Walk round the car with every light on: headlights on dip and main beam, indicators, brake lights, fog lights and the number plate lamp. A pattern of electrical faults costs more than a bulb.
Brakes
Look through the wheel spokes at the discs for a deep lip or scoring, check the handbrake holds the car on a slope, and feel for a pull to one side when braking hard.
Windscreen, wipers and mirrors
Look for chips or cracks in the driver's line of sight, and test the wipers and washers. Windscreen damage in the swept area is an MOT failure.
Averages only take you so far. The specific car's MOT history shows whether it has already failed on any of these, how often advisories were ignored, and whether the mileage climbs steadily from test to test. Read our guide to reading a car's MOT history before you go to view it.
Ford Transit Custom MOT questions
What is the Ford Transit Custom MOT failure rate?
22.8% of Ford Transit Custom vans failed their first MOT test of 2025, from 176,450 tests on vehicles aged 3 to 20. An average car with the same age mix failed 14.7% of the time, so the Ford Transit Custom was 55% more likely to fail.
What fails most often on a Ford Transit Custom MOT?
Lights and electrics caused the most failure items, at 145 per 1,000 tests. The single most common failure item was "Wipers: does not clear the windscreen effectively", recorded 42.5 times per 1,000 tests.
Which Ford Transit Custom year has the best MOT record?
Measured against cars of the same age, 2018 registrations did best: 25.0% failed against an average of 19.1% for cars that age. Older cars always fail more often, so compare a year with its age group rather than with newer cars.
Does this tell me whether a particular Ford Transit Custom will pass?
No. These are averages across every Ford Transit Custom tested in 2025. The car in front of you has its own record: its full MOT history shows every pass, failure and advisory it has had, and it is free to view by registration.
Other Ford models
- Ford Fiesta34.1% failed
- Ford Focus31.4% failed
- Ford Kuga20.6% failed
- Ford Transit37.5% failed
- Ford Ka33.3% failed
- Ford Mondeo32.3% failed
Ranked close to the Ford Transit Custom
- Vauxhall Vivarorank 19
- Citroen Berlingorank 20
- Nissan NV200rank 21
- Citroen Dispatchrank 23
How these figures are calculated
Source: DVSA Anonymised MOT tests and results, 2025 release. We count first tests of cars and small vans (class 4) aged 3 to 20, so a car that fails and is retested is counted once. A failure includes faults fixed and passed within the same visit. The same age average weights the national failure rate for each age by how many Ford Transit Custom vans of that age were tested, so a model is never penalised for having an older fleet. Make and model are as recorded at the test; trim levels are combined. Full method and rankings.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.