Pass rate
78.7%
Around average — 1.5 pts ahead of the 77.2% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 46,005 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £32–£90
2012 Volkswagen Transporter MOT pass rate
- 2012
- Van
- 2 trims combined
- typical 116,797 mi
Most common fault
Suspension
25.9% of faults · 21.0% nationally
mostly worn arm bushes, split ball-joint boots and broken coil springs.
Part only £35–£75 for Suspension pin or bush excessively worn. What fitting it takes →
3.6 pts down across model years — 4.4% in 2000, 0.8% in 2022.
Which year to buy
- Best 2023 91.7% pass
- Avoid 2001 69.5% pass
Across the 24 years on record, a spread of 22.2 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 73.4%
- Typical mileage
- 117k mi
The 2012 Volkswagen Transporter MOT pass rate is 78.7% of its MOT tests — 1.5 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. Suspension is the biggest single reason it fails, at 25.9% of what testers record.
Check your postcode
MOT pass rates are national — type your postcode to see how Volkswagen Transporter does in your corner of the country.
Watching a Volkswagen Transporter? Get an email when these numbers change .
Every Volkswagen Transporter first registered in 2012 is combined here — 2 trim and body variants in total — so the sample is as large as the DVSA data allows.
How does the 2012 Volkswagen Transporter compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 77.2%, so this figure is 1.5 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 73.4%. The median 2012 Volkswagen Transporter in this dataset had covered 116,797 mi.
The most common fuel recorded here is Diesel — 100% of tests, with a 78.7% pass rate. Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 79.2% of the time, April–September 78.3%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources", noted on 10.01% of tests.
- 46,005 recorded tests behind this page.
- 78.7% overall pass rate, 73.4% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the Volkswagen Transporter, the average is 78.9% — best year 2023 (91.7%), worst 2001 (69.5%).
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
- 46,005
- Typical mileage (median)
- 116,797 mi
- Make and model
- Volkswagen Transporter
- Updated
- 2026-11-05
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 Transporter MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 68% so small gaps stay visible.
Fuel type and reliability
Pass rate by fuel type. Diesel is the most common here (100% of tests).
Regional pass rates for the Transporter
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South West | 9,887 | 77.8% |
| South East | 8,232 | 80.0% |
| West Midlands | 4,952 | 80.4% |
| North West | 4,702 | 79.5% |
| Wales | 3,859 | 75.7% |
| Yorkshire | 3,614 | 78.8% |
| East of England | 3,392 | 80.8% |
| East Midlands | 2,887 | 79.7% |
| Scotland | 2,643 | 73.9% |
| North East | 1,483 | 78.9% |
| London | 352 | 83.5% |
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 Transporter
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 Transporter
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 10.0% 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 6.1% 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 coil springs 3.3% of tests
“coil spring fractured or broken”
Look up inside each wheel arch with a torch, all the way round the spring. A snapped spring usually breaks at the very bottom coil, where a quick glance will not reach.
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 Transporter through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £32–£90 — and 41% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £32–£90
- Cheapest common item: washers provides insufficient washer liquid
- £5–£15
- Dearest common item: joints constant velocity boot severely…
- £80–£250
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 70%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 41%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 46,005 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 Transporter, side by side
24 model years on record, from 2000 to 2023. Across them the pass rate runs from 69.5% to 91.7% — a spread of 22.2 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2000 69.5% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2001 69.5% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2002 70.4% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2003 70.4% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2004 71.0% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2005 71.3% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2006 71.3% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2007 73.1% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2008 73.4% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2009 74.6% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2010 76.1% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2011 77.6% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2012 78.7%registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2013 80.5% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2014 80.0% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2015 81.2% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2016 83.1% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2017 83.6% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2018 85.2% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2019 86.7% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2020 87.1% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2021 87.2% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2022 88.8% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2023 91.7% has a cut in excess of the…
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 Volkswagen Transporter 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
- Renault Master 79.0%
- Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 77.4%
- Citroen Relay 76.2%
- Peugeot Partner 76.1%
- Peugeot Boxer 84.0%
- Fiat Doblo 72.8%
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 Volkswagen Transporter 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 83,202 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Suspension | 21,943 | 25.90% | 20.98% | +4.92 |
| Brakes | 16,408 | 19.40% | 20.89% | −1.49 |
| Tyres | 13,457 | 15.90% | 19.76% | −3.86 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 11,559 | 13.60% | 12.21% | +1.39 |
| Visibility | 6,381 | 7.50% | 4.97% | +2.53 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 3,506 | 4.10% | 5.57% | −1.47 |
| Non-component advisories | 3,200 | 3.80% | 4.18% | −0.38 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 2,628 | 3.10% | 5.52% | −2.42 |
| Steering | 2,266 | 2.70% | 2.57% | +0.13 |
| Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | 1,854 | 2.20% | 0.82% | +1.38 |
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 | 10.0% | £5–20 |
| Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view Visibility | Minor | 6.1% | £80–200 |
| Coil spring fractured or broken Suspension | Major | 3.3% | £25–65 |
| Joints constant velocity boot severely deteriorated Body, chassis, structure | Minor | 2.5% | £80–250 |
| Pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn Suspension | Major | 2.1% | £40–150 |
| Ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated Suspension | Minor | 1.7% | £18–45 |
| Track rod end ball joint has excessive play Steering | Major | 1.6% | £18–45 |
| Washers provides insufficient washer liquid Visibility | Major | 1.4% | £5–15 |
| Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of a single lamp or all lamps Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 1.4% | £5–20 |
| Linkage ball joint dust cover ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated Suspension | Minor | 1.4% | £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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Advisory | 16.1% | £45–95 |
| Pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn Suspension | Advisory | 12.3% | £40–150 |
| Brake discs in such a condition that it is seriously weakened Brakes | Advisory | 9.3% | £45–110 |
| Brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick Brakes | Advisory | 7.9% | £18–45 |
| Coil spring corroded so that its cross sectional area is reduced and seriously weakened Suspension | Advisory | 7.0% | £25–65 |
| Has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Tyres | Advisory | 4.9% | £45–95 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 397 | 87.9% | 23,039 mi |
| 30-60k | 3,197 | 85.0% | 48,320 mi |
| 60-90k | 8,562 | 81.7% | 77,042 mi |
| 90-120k | 11,977 | 78.8% | 104,858 mi |
| 120k+ | 21,700 | 76.5% | 163,792 mi |
Source: 46,005 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 Transporter MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2012 Volkswagen Transporter?
78.7% of the 46,005 2012 Volkswagen Transporter tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 77.2% for cars first used in 2012. First-attempt pass rate: 73.4%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2012 Volkswagen Transporter?
The three most recorded items are registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources (10.01%), windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view (6.10%), coil spring fractured or broken (3.26%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2012 Volkswagen Transporter MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 87.9% of the time, falling to 76.5% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2012 Volkswagen Transporter in this dataset had covered 116,797 mi.
Which fuel type is most reliable for a 2012 Volkswagen Transporter?
Diesel: 78.7% pass rate across 45,835 tests. Petrol: 79.1% pass rate across 163 tests. Shares are of the tests on this vehicle that recorded each fuel type.
Does the season affect the 2012 Volkswagen Transporter MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 79.2% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 78.3%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.