Calculate my fail sheet

2019 Mazda Bongo Friendee MOT pass rate

Only 53 tests of this exact model and year are in the DVSA data, below the 100 we ask for before a page goes in the index. The figures are still shown, because they are the only ones there are.

Check your postcode

Pass rate by postcode →

Pass rate

88.7%

Above average — 0.8 pts behind the 89.5% that cars this age and mileage manage.

Across 53 recorded tests.

Typical repair bill £17–£61

Which year to buy

  • Best 2002 91.3% pass
  • Avoid 2012 65.0% pass

Across the 21 years on record, a spread of 26.3 points. See every year →

First-attempt pass
87.2%
Typical mileage
85k mi

The 2019 Mazda Bongo Friendee MOT pass rate is 88.7% of its MOT tests — about what its age and mileage predict. Lamps & electrics is the biggest single reason it fails, at 27.6% of what testers record.

MOT PASS RATES

The 2019 Mazda Bongo Friendee on the real record

88.7% of 2019 Mazda Bongo Friendee MOTs passed — 53 tests, 2023–2025

Pass rate

The answer from the DVSA's class-4 MOT records.

Expert verdict

Lamps & electrics: 2.3× the national share

Lamps & electrics make up 27.6% of everything recorded on the 2019 Mazda Bongo Friendee, against 12.2% nationally — 15.4 points above. 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.

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 Mazda Bongo Friendee? Get an email when these numbers change .

How does the 2019 Mazda Bongo Friendee compare?

Cars of this age and mileage average 89.5%, so this figure is 0.8 points behind what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 87.2%. The median 2019 Mazda Bongo Friendee in this dataset had covered 84,962 mi.

The single most recorded failure item is "Headlamp lens slightly defective", noted on 15.09% of tests.

  • 53 recorded tests behind this page.
  • 88.7% overall pass rate, 87.2% on a first attempt.
  • Across every year of the Mazda Bongo Friendee, the average is 78.5% — best year 2002 (91.3%), worst 2012 (65.0%).

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
53
Typical mileage (median)
84,962 mi
Make and model
Mazda Bongo Friendee
Updated
2026-11-07

Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data (2023–2025), OGL v3.0.

Top part to budget for

Headlight Bulb

Usually a DIY or independent-garage job.

Does mileage affect the Bongo Friendee MOT pass rate?

0-30k 100.0%
30-60k 100.0%
60-90k 76.5%
90-120k 88.9%
120k+ 91.7%

Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 68% so small gaps stay visible.

Where the Mazda Bongo Friendee is most common

Across all Bongo Friendee model years on record (2000–2021): 1,064 Mazda Bongo Friendee cars tested in a recordable postcode area, across 2,556 tests. Newcastle upon Tyne (NE) has the most, with 139 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 Share of all Tests Pass rate
1 Newcastle upon Tyne (NE) 139 13.1% 342 94.7%
2 Halifax (HX) 85 8% 152 96.1%
3 Kingston upon Thames (KT) 40 3.8% 58 87.9%
4 Bristol (BS) 34 3.2% 90 68.9%
5 Plymouth (PL) 33 3.1% 87 78.2%
6 Southampton (SO) 33 3.1% 56 89.3%
7 Portsmouth (PO) 26 2.4% 85 68.2%
8 Stockport (SK) 23 2.2% 47 80.9%
9 Brighton (BN) 22 2.1% 69 69.6%
10 Gloucester (GL) 18 1.7% 59 69.5%
11 Exeter (EX) 17 1.6% 56 62.5%
12 Reading (RG) 17 1.6% 44 77.3%
13 Carlisle (CA) 17 1.6% 35 82.9%
14 Ashford (TN) 15 1.4% 40 75.0%
15 Cardiff (CF) 14 1.3% 40 60.0%
16 Newton Abbot (TQ) 14 1.3% 38 78.9%
17 Newport (NP) 14 1.3% 35 77.1%
18 Sheffield (S) 14 1.3% 31 83.9%
19 Dorchester (DT) 13 1.2% 35 65.7%
20 Poole (BH) 13 1.2% 34 64.7%

The twenty areas with the most Mazda Bongo Friendee 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 Bongo Friendee

Region Tests Pass rate
South West 16 87.5%
North East 16 93.8%

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 2019 Bongo Friendee

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.

Lamps & electrics 27.6%
+15.4 pts vs national national 12.2% Order bulbs & wipers
Suspension 23.7%
+2.7 pts vs national national 21.0% Price suspension parts
Brakes 17.1%
−3.8 pts vs national national 20.9% Price brakes parts
Tyres 10.5%
−9.3 pts vs national national 19.8% Compare tyre prices
Show the other 5 fault categories
  • Emissions & leaks 7.9%
  • Body & chassis 5.3%
  • Advisories 3.9%
  • Visibility 2.6%
  • Identification 1.3%

Shares are of every item recorded on 2019 Mazda Bongo Friendee tests — a composition, so they add to 100% across all sections, not per test.

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 2019 Bongo Friendee

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.

  1. Check the lights 15.1% of tests

    “headlamp lens slightly defective”

    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.

  2. Check the wipers and washers 3.8% of tests

    “wipers does not clear the windscreen effectively”

    Run the wipers with the screen wet: they should clear it in one sweep without smearing or juddering. Top the washer bottle up and check both jets hit the screen.

  3. Check the suspension joints 1.9% of tests

    “ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt”

    With the car parked on level ground, rock the top of each front wheel in and out while someone watches the suspension arm. Clunks, or rubber boots split and greasy, are what testers record here.

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 2019 Bongo Friendee through its MOT

Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £17–£61 — and 70% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.

Average repair across the 10 common items
£17–£61
Cheapest common item: registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the…
£5–£20
Dearest common item: catalyst emissions carbon monoxide content…
£60–£250
Common items a careful owner can do at home
70%
Repairs that still cost under £30
70%

Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 53 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 Bongo Friendee, side by side

21 model years on record, from 2000 to 2021. Across them the pass rate runs from 65.0% to 91.3% — a spread of 26.3 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.

  1. 2000 83.5% catalyst emissions carbon…
  2. 2001 83.5% registration plate lamp(s)…
  3. 2002 91.3% ball joint dust cover severely…
  4. 2003 82.5% rear fog lamp not working
  5. 2004 89.0% ball joint dust cover severely…
  6. 2005 77.7% component mounting prescribed…
  7. 2006 74.7% component mounting prescribed…
  8. 2007 74.1% component mounting prescribed…
  9. 2008 66.2% component mounting prescribed…
  10. 2009 65.9% component mounting prescribed…
  11. 2010 72.5% headlamp lens slightly defective
  12. 2011 68.0% ball joint dust cover severely…
  13. 2012 65.0% registration plate lamp(s)…
  14. 2013 72.9% ball joint dust cover severely…
  15. 2014 67.4% component mounting prescribed…
  16. 2015 70.3% headlamp lens slightly defective
  17. 2016 75.5% headlamp lens slightly defective
  18. 2017 78.0% headlamp lens slightly defective
  19. 2019 88.7%
    headlamp lens slightly defective
  20. 2020 88.9% ball joint dust cover severely…
  21. 2021 87.3% position lamp not working

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 2019 Mazda Bongo Friendee 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.

Compare 2019 with another year →

Compare two different cars instead →

Other 2019 cars with a similar record

Closest pass rates among 2019 cars with at least 2,000 tests, so a small sample cannot flatter itself into the list. See the full rankings: best and worst MOT pass rates.

The full DVSA record for the 2019 Mazda Bongo Friendee 10 failure items · 6 advisories · 9 inspection categories · mileage brackets · all of it in the page, none of it above the fold

Every inspection category

Shares of the 76 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
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 21 27.60% 12.21% +15.39
Suspension 18 23.70% 20.98% +2.72
Brakes 13 17.10% 20.89% −3.79
Tyres 8 10.50% 19.76% −9.26
Noise, emissions and leaks 6 7.90% 5.52% +2.38
Body, chassis, structure 4 5.30% 5.57% −0.27
Non-component advisories 3 3.90% 4.18% −0.28
Visibility 2 2.60% 4.97% −2.37
Identification of the vehicle 1 1.30% 1.76% −0.46

The exact failure items, in the tester's words

Share of the 53 tests on this vehicle that recorded each item
Recorded item Severity Tests Est. cost Part
Headlamp lens slightly defective Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment Minor 15.1% £5–25 Headlight Bulb →
Position lamp not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment Rectified 3.8% £5–25 Headlight Bulb →
Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment Minor 3.8% £5–20 Number Plate Lamp →
Wipers does not clear the windscreen effectively Visibility Rectified 3.8% £8–22 Wiper Blade →
Ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt Suspension Major 1.9% £18–45 Ball Joint →
Ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated Suspension Minor 1.9% £18–45 Ball Joint →
Brake pads worn down to wear indicator Brakes Major 1.9% £18–45 Brake Pads Set →
Catalyst emissions carbon monoxide content after 2nd fast idle exceeds manufacturer's specified limits Noise, emissions and leaks Major 1.9% £60–250 Emissions Repair →
Catalyst emissions carbon monoxide content at idle exceeds manufacturer's specified limits Noise, emissions and leaks Major 1.9% £60–250 Emissions Repair →
Door condition cannot be opened from inside the vehicle Body, chassis, structure Major 1.9% £80–250 Body Panel Repair →

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.

Items recorded as advisory on this vehicle
Recorded item Severity Tests Est. cost
Brake discs in such a condition that it is seriously weakened Brakes Advisory 11.3% £45–110
Pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn Suspension Advisory 9.4% £40–150
Linkage ball joints ball joint excessively worn Suspension Advisory 7.5% £18–45
Brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick Brakes Advisory 5.7% £18–45
Engine oil leaks leaking excessively from engine Noise, emissions and leaks Advisory 5.7% £200–700
Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres Advisory 5.7% £45–95

Pass rate by mileage

Mileage Tests Pass rate Median odometer
0-30k 3 100.0% 20,093 mi
30-60k 12 100.0% 46,719 mi
60-90k 17 76.5% 75,548 mi
90-120k 9 88.9% 105,621 mi
120k+ 12 91.7% 142,623 mi

Source: 53 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.

2019 Bongo Friendee MOT questions

What is the MOT pass rate for a 2019 Mazda Bongo Friendee?

88.7% of the 53 2019 Mazda Bongo Friendee tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 89.5% for cars first used in 2019. First-attempt pass rate: 87.2%.

What are the most common MOT failures on a 2019 Mazda Bongo Friendee?

The three most recorded items are headlamp lens slightly defective (15.09%), position lamp not working (3.77%), registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources (3.77%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.

Does mileage affect the 2019 Mazda Bongo Friendee MOT pass rate?

Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 100.0% of the time, falling to 91.7% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2019 Mazda Bongo Friendee in this dataset had covered 84,962 mi.