Pass rate
70.6%
Below average — 6.6 pts behind the 77.2% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 60,992 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £39–£116
2012 Ford Transit MOT pass rate
- 2012
- Van
- 4 trims combined
- typical 130,354 mi
Check your postcode
Most common fault
Brakes
23.7% of faults · 20.9% nationally
mostly worn pads and discs, corroded pipes and a handbrake that will not hold.
Part only £25–£55 for Rigid brake pipes excessively corroded. What fitting it takes →
5.0 pts down across model years — 8.6% in 2000, 3.6% in 2019.
Which year to buy
- Best 2024 96.9% pass
- Avoid 2010 68.6% pass
Across the 25 years on record, a spread of 28.3 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 60.5%
- Typical mileage
- 130k mi
The 2012 Ford Transit MOT pass rate is 70.6% of its MOT tests — 6.6 points behind what its age and mileage predict. Brakes is the biggest single reason it fails, at 23.7% of what testers record.
Expert verdict
Lamps & electrics: 1.7× the national share
Lamps & electrics make up 20.3% of everything recorded on the 2012 Ford Transit, against 12.2% nationally — 8.1 points above. Brakes are still the single largest share at 23.7%, but at 20.9% nationally that one is ordinary. Walk round the car with the lights on before the test: bulbs, indicators and number-plate lamps are the cheapest failures to prevent and among the most common.
- Falls short of its own age and mileage. Like-for-like, vans this age and mileage expect about 77.2%; this one manages 70.6% — 6.6 points below. Age is a fair excuse; this is not age.
Written from this page's own figures: fault shares against the national composition, the like-for-like pass rate, and the priced repair list. How these are worked out
Watching a Ford Transit? Get an email when these numbers change .
Every Ford Transit first registered in 2012 is combined here — 4 trim and body variants in total — so the sample is as large as the DVSA data allows.
How does the 2012 Ford Transit compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 77.2%, so this figure is 6.6 points behind what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 60.5%. The median 2012 Ford Transit in this dataset had covered 130,354 mi.
100% of the tests on this vehicle ran on Diesel, which passed 70.6% of the time. Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 70.6% of the time, April–September 70.6%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources", noted on 12.50% of tests.
- 60,992 recorded tests behind this page.
- 70.6% overall pass rate, 60.5% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the Ford Transit, the average is 75.6% — best year 2024 (96.9%), worst 2010 (68.6%).
Figures count every completed test on this vehicle-year in the dataset, including retests. See methodology for the exact definition.
This page's data
- Tests analysed
- 60,992
- Typical mileage (median)
- 130,354 mi
- Make and model
- Ford Transit
- Updated
- 2026-11-07
Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data (2023–2025), OGL v3.0.
Top part to budget for
Number Plate Lamp
Usually a DIY or independent-garage job.
Does mileage affect the Transit MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 61% so small gaps stay visible.
Fuel type and reliability
Pass rate by fuel type. Diesel is the most common here (100% of tests).
Where the Ford Transit is most common
Across all Transit model years on record (2000–2024): 437,433 Ford Transit cars tested in a recordable postcode area, across 1,107,481 tests. Birmingham (B) has the most, with 11,899 cars tested there. Cars are counted by the postcode area of the MOT station, so this is where they were tested, not necessarily where their owners live.
| # | Postcode area | Cars | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Birmingham (B) | 11,899 | 80.7% |
| 2 | Sheffield (S) | 10,336 | 80.2% |
| 3 | Nottingham (NG) | 8,752 | 74.1% |
| 4 | Bristol (BS) | 8,428 | 71.9% |
| 5 | Cardiff (CF) | 8,318 | 72.7% |
| 6 | Portsmouth (PO) | 7,553 | 71.9% |
| 7 | Peterborough (PE) | 7,498 | 75.2% |
| 8 | Newcastle upon Tyne (NE) | 7,475 | 75.5% |
| 9 | Leicester (LE) | 7,107 | 77.4% |
| 10 | Glasgow (G) | 7,100 | 76.0% |
| 11 | Swansea (SA) | 6,733 | 73.9% |
| 12 | Reading (RG) | 6,640 | 80.6% |
| 13 | Manchester (M) | 6,510 | 78.2% |
| 14 | Southampton (SO) | 6,164 | 74.3% |
| 15 | Liverpool (L) | 6,020 | 78.6% |
| 16 | Ashford (TN) | 6,013 | 75.7% |
| 17 | Brighton (BN) | 5,769 | 68.7% |
| 18 | Derby (DE) | 5,642 | 77.4% |
| 19 | Doncaster (DN) | 5,589 | 75.6% |
| 20 | Exeter (EX) | 5,527 | 70.7% |
The twenty areas with the most Ford Transit cars in the record, sorted by car count — sort the columns for a different question. Cars tested at a station whose postcode area could not be resolved are counted in the model's total but in no area, so the shares add up to slightly under 100% even across every area, and an area's cars are a subset of the model's. Pass rate is blank below 30 tests in an area, where a percentage is noise rather than a finding. How this model's pass rate varies by postcode →
Regional pass rates for the Transit
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South East | 10,417 | 72.6% |
| South West | 8,110 | 65.9% |
| North West | 7,542 | 70.0% |
| East of England | 6,152 | 72.9% |
| Scotland | 5,592 | 68.1% |
| Yorkshire | 5,384 | 71.2% |
| West Midlands | 5,378 | 73.2% |
| East Midlands | 4,349 | 70.6% |
| Wales | 4,326 | 68.1% |
| North East | 2,945 | 72.0% |
| London | 797 | 84.3% |
Regions come from the postcode area recorded at the test station. Areas on region borders are assigned to the region with the majority of their population.
What fails a 2012 Transit
Everything a tester recorded on this vehicle, grouped into the inspection sections that produced it. The notch on each bar is the national share, so you can see at a glance whether this car is unusual or just ordinary.
A test can record several items, so these percentages do not add up to 100%. The exact strings, with prices, are in the full DVSA record at the bottom of this page.
Before your test
Three checks worth doing on a 2012 Transit
These are not generic tips — they are the faults recorded most often on this exact model, rewritten as things you can check yourself. All three take about ten minutes and cost nothing.
-
Check the lights 12.5% of tests
“registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources”
Switch everything on and walk round the car: both headlamps on dip and main, every indicator, both brake lights, reverse, fog and the two number-plate lamps. A bulb is a few pounds and a five-minute job.
-
Check the windscreen 9.4% of tests
“windscreen damaged”
Check the driver’s side of the screen within the swept area for chips and cracks; anything larger than 10mm in the driver’s central view is a fail. Most chips can be resin-repaired for far less than a new screen.
-
Check the brake pipes 4.5% of tests
“rigid brake pipes excessively corroded”
Brake pipes run under the car, usually in front of the rear wheels. Flaking or crusty metal is what fails; a light dusting of surface rust does not. Worth asking a garage to look while it is on a ramp.
Shares are the proportion of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item, so they overlap: one test can record several.
What it costs to get a 2012 Transit through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £39–£116 — and 47% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £39–£116
- Cheapest common item: stop lamp not working
- £3–£12
- Dearest common item: joints constant velocity boot severely…
- £80–£250
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 50%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 47%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 60,992 MOT tests on this vehicle. They exclude diagnostics, retest fees and garage labour where the part is a DIY fit, and they are not figures from the DVSA dataset. Older and higher-mileage examples cost more than the average. How these estimates are built → · All MOT repair costs → · Cheapest cars to put through a test →
Every year of the Transit, side by side
25 model years on record, from 2000 to 2024. Across them the pass rate runs from 68.6% to 96.9% — a spread of 28.3 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2000 74.8% component mounting prescribed…
- 2001 72.0% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2002 71.6% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2003 69.4% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2004 70.3% component mounting prescribed…
- 2005 70.2% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2006 71.1% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2007 70.5% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2008 69.4% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2009 69.1% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2010 68.6% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2011 69.4% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2012 70.6%registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2013 72.9% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2014 76.2% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2015 77.3% joints constant velocity boot…
- 2016 79.3% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2017 80.7% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2018 83.2% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2019 84.4% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2020 86.2% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2021 87.6% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2022 90.9% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2023 93.1% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2024 96.9% headlamp aim too high
Colour is the pass rate on a fixed scale, so a block means the same thing on any model. Each year links to its own page with the full fault breakdown.
Compare the 2012 Ford Transit with another year
The raw pass rate mostly measures age. The year comparison adds the like-for-like figure, the mileage bands and the repair bill.
Other 2012 vans with a similar record
- Nissan NV200 70.5%
- Citroen Dispatch 71.3%
- Fiat Scudo 71.4%
- Renault Kangoo 69.7%
- Renault Trafic 69.0%
- Fiat Doblo Cargo 72.3%
Closest pass rates among 2012 vans with at least 1,000 tests, so a small sample cannot flatter itself into the list. Full rankings: best vans and worst vans for MOT pass rates.
The full DVSA record for the 2012 Ford Transit 10 failure items · 6 advisories · 10 inspection categories · mileage brackets · all of it in the page, none of it above the fold
Every inspection category
Shares of the 213,568 individual items recorded on this vehicle, and the same share across all cars nationally. A single test can record several items, so a row is not a percentage of tests.
| Category | Items | This car | Nationally | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brakes | 51,313 | 23.70% | 20.89% | +2.81 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 43,953 | 20.30% | 12.21% | +8.09 |
| Suspension | 40,669 | 18.80% | 20.98% | −2.18 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 19,590 | 9.10% | 5.57% | +3.53 |
| Tyres | 17,148 | 7.90% | 19.76% | −11.86 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 14,297 | 6.60% | 5.52% | +1.08 |
| Visibility | 12,574 | 5.80% | 4.97% | +0.83 |
| Steering | 6,047 | 2.80% | 2.57% | +0.23 |
| Non-component advisories | 5,051 | 2.30% | 4.18% | −1.88 |
| Identification of the vehicle | 2,926 | 1.40% | 1.76% | −0.36 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 12.5% | £5–20 |
| Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view Visibility | Minor | 9.4% | £80–200 |
| Joints constant velocity boot severely deteriorated Body, chassis, structure | Minor | 8.8% | £80–250 |
| Position lamp not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 8.8% | £5–25 |
| Joints constant velocity boot split or insecure, no longer prevents the ingress of dirt Body, chassis, structure | Major | 7.8% | £80–250 |
| Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of a single lamp or all lamps Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 7.8% | £5–20 |
| Stop lamp not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 4.9% | £3–12 |
| Rigid brake pipes excessively corroded Brakes | Major | 4.5% | £80–180 |
| Pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn Suspension | Major | 4.2% | £40–150 |
| Linkage ball joints ball joint excessively worn Suspension | Major | 3.2% | £18–45 |
Severity is as recorded: Major and Dangerous fail the test outright; Minor and Advisory do not. Costs are estimates from typical UK parts prices — see how they are built.
What testers noted without failing the car
Advisories are the early warnings — the same parts a year or two before they fail. Reading them is how you tell a car that has been maintained from one that has been patched.
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rigid brake pipes excessively corroded Brakes | Advisory | 29.4% | £80–180 |
| Pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn Suspension | Advisory | 18.7% | £40–150 |
| Brake discs in such a condition that it is seriously weakened Brakes | Advisory | 17.1% | £45–110 |
| Engine oil leaks leaking excessively from engine Noise, emissions and leaks | Advisory | 15.2% | £200–700 |
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Advisory | 14.2% | £45–95 |
| Brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick Brakes | Advisory | 10.4% | £18–45 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 495 | 84.2% | 21,592 mi |
| 30-60k | 2,399 | 76.2% | 48,402 mi |
| 60-90k | 7,467 | 72.0% | 77,549 mi |
| 90-120k | 14,208 | 69.2% | 105,833 mi |
| 120k+ | 35,866 | 70.3% | 162,578 mi |
Source: 60,992 recorded tests on this vehicle-year. Every row above is recomputed from the same DVSA extract as the rest of the page — see the methodology.
2012 Transit MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2012 Ford Transit?
70.6% of the 60,992 2012 Ford Transit tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 77.2% for cars first used in 2012. First-attempt pass rate: 60.5%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2012 Ford Transit?
The three most recorded items are registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources (12.50%), windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view (9.45%), joints constant velocity boot severely deteriorated (8.84%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2012 Ford Transit MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 84.2% of the time, falling to 70.3% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2012 Ford Transit in this dataset had covered 130,354 mi.
Which fuel type is most reliable for a 2012 Ford Transit?
Diesel: 70.6% pass rate across 60,929 tests. Petrol: 81.0% pass rate across 58 tests. Shares are of the tests on this vehicle that recorded each fuel type.
Does the season affect the 2012 Ford Transit MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 70.6% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 70.6%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.