Mazda Bongo Friendee MOT Pass Rate & Official DVSA Failure Statistics

Mazda Bongo Friendee MOT History and Failure Rates vs UK National Average

The Mazda Bongo Friendee passed on its first attempt in 74.3%, and its overall record sits −2.5 percentage points below the national average for all cars. These figures come from every recorded DVSA MOT test for the Mazda Bongo Friendee in the 2023–2025 data: 2,556 tests across 21 model years (2000–2021). A test still carries exactly one pass or fail verdict.

Figures are computed from every recorded DVSA test for this model in the 2023–2025 data.

Most Common Mazda Bongo Friendee MOT Problems by Failure Category

Every MOT failure a tester records belongs to one inspection section of the DVSA manual. For the Mazda Bongo Friendee, the Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment section leads the record — the breakdown below shows where the recorded failures cluster, then the exact strings behind the three biggest sections.

Shares are over the Mazda Bongo Friendee's recorded defect strings, merged across its year pages.

Top Recorded Mazda Bongo Friendee DVSA MOT Test Statistics & Defect Descriptions

The descriptions below are the exact DVSA failure strings testers recorded most often for the Mazda Bongo Friendee, each with how many of the model's 2,556 tests it was noted on.

• "Component mounting prescribed areas prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength" (Major) — noted on about 120 Mazda Bongo Friendee tests, 4.7% of the model's MOT record.
• "Headlamp lens slightly defective" (Minor) — noted on about 99 Mazda Bongo Friendee tests, 3.9% of the model's MOT record.
• "Ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated" (Minor) — noted on about 91 Mazda Bongo Friendee tests, 3.6% of the model's MOT record.
• "Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources" (Minor) — noted on about 84 Mazda Bongo Friendee tests, 3.3% of the model's MOT record.
• "Rear fog lamp not working" (Major) — noted on about 58 Mazda Bongo Friendee tests, 2.3% of the model's MOT record.
• "Track rod end ball joint dust cover damaged or deteriorated, but preventing the ingress of dirt" (Minor) — noted on about 50 Mazda Bongo Friendee tests, 2.0% of the model's MOT record.

Best and Worst Mazda Bongo Friendee Model Years by Pass Rate

The strongest Mazda Bongo Friendee model year on record is 2002 (91.3% across 206 tests), and the weakest is 2012 (65.0%). The gap between them is 26.3 points. Years with fewer than 50 recorded tests are excluded, so these are the years with enough MOT history to mean something.

Mazda Bongo Friendee reliability is improving in the DVSA data — the pass rate moves about 3.9 points a year across the most recent model years shown above.

Newest model year first. Only years with at least 50 recorded tests are listed.

Pre-MOT Inspection Checklist for Mazda Bongo Friendee Owners

These checks follow this Mazda Bongo Friendee's own most-recorded failure strings, starting with what a tester is most likely to flag on a Mazda Bongo Friendee.

• corrosion — “component mounting prescribed areas prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength”

  Look under the sills, around the jacking points and where the suspension mounts meet the body. Flaking, holed or crumbly metal fails; a brown stain on sound metal does not.

• the lights — “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.

• the suspension joints — “ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated”

  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.

Derived from the DVSA failure strings testers recorded for the Mazda Bongo Friendee. A check that finds nothing means the item is likely fine, not that the test is guaranteed.

Where the Mazda Bongo Friendee is most common

Across every Bongo Friendee model year 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.

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 →

Frequently Asked Questions: Mazda Bongo Friendee MOT & Reliability