Volkswagen Transporter 1998: MOT failure rate for its age

48.2% of 8,448 MOT tests of the Volkswagen Transporter first registered in 1998 failed at the first attempt (2019–2024; retests excluded). Against this model's own normal rate at the same ages the index is 98.0 (95% CI 95.0–101.0; 100 = normal for this model at that age): the 1998 build year is no different from other years of the same model at the same age.

Volkswagen Transporter built in 1998 at a glance
Measure	Value	Unit	Compared with	Years	Tests
Failed first time	48.2	%	all ages tested	2019–2024	8448
Index against this model at the same age (95% CI 95.0–101.0)	98.0	index	100 = normal for this model at that age	2019–2024	8448
Rank among this model's 23 build years	6	of 23	1 = fails least for its age	2019–2024	8448
Tested in 2024	163	tests	median 165,513 miles	2024	163

Built 1998 against Volkswagen Transporter normal for the age: first-time MOT failure share at each age, age 21: 47.9% vs 50.7%; age 22: 48.5% vs 47.4%. Axis from 0% to 60%. DVSA MOT bulk data, 2019–2024.

Check a 1998 Volkswagen Transporter by registration · All Volkswagen Transporter MOT statistics · Download the build-year table (CSV)

Data release dvsa-2024-v2 (24 Sep 2026) · page updated 30 Sep 2026 · full dataset (v5).

How does the 1998 Volkswagen Transporter fail at each age?

Cars built in 1998 were tested at ages 21 to 22 between 2019 and 2024. Each row compares their first-time failure share with what this model normally shows at that age, after allowing for the overall failure level of each test year.

Volkswagen Transporter built 1998: first-time MOT failure by age, against the model's normal rate at that age (2019–2024)
Age	Tests	Failed, %	95% interval	Normal for this model at that age, %	Index (100 = normal)
21	4,494	47.9	46.4–49.3	50.7	94.4
22	3,954	48.5	47–50.1	47.4	102.3

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 8,448 (initial tests) · Method: normal rate = this model's first-time failure share at that age across its build years (cells of 400+ tests), adjusted for each test year's overall level; cells of 30+ tests, under 500 marked rough · Updated: 30 Sep 2026 · Release: dvsa-2024-v2 · CSV

What fails most on the 1998 Volkswagen Transporter?

The most common failure group on cars built in 1998 is lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment: 52.2 items per 100 first tests, against 27 across all build years of the Volkswagen Transporter. These counts are not age-adjusted: cars built in 1998 were tested at ages 21 to 22.

Failure items per 100 first tests, Volkswagen Transporter built 1998 against the Volkswagen Transporter in all build years (2019–2024, not age-adjusted)
Failure group	Built 1998, per 100	All build years, per 100	Items
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment	52.2	27	10,830
Brakes	40	16.4	8,295
Suspension	38.1	25.2	7,907
Body, chassis, structure	37.2	10.7	7,713
Visibility	17.7	12.8	3,669

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 20,748 (initial tests of this build year) · Method: failure items grouped by DVSA's top-level defect groups, per 100 initial tests; groups with 30+ items · Updated: 30 Sep 2026 · Release: dvsa-2024-v2 · CSV

How does 1998 compare with the years around it?

Among the 23 published build years of the Volkswagen Transporter, 1998 ranks 6 (1 = fails least for its age). 1999: index 99.1.

Volkswagen Transporter build years: index against the model at the same age (2019–2024)
Build year	Index (100 = normal)	95% interval	Verdict	Tests
1998	98.0	95.0–101.0	no different	8,448
1999	99.1	96.7–101.6	no different	13,141
2000	101.4	99.4–103.4	no different	20,118
2001	101.1	99.6–102.7	no different	33,898
2002	99.6	98.2–101.1	no different	39,533
2003	100.8	99.4–102.2	no different	42,695
2004	103.1	101.8–104.3	worse	55,640
2005	101.6	100.4–102.8	worse	60,880
2006	103.0	101.8–104.1	worse	68,968
2007	102.0	100.9–103.0	worse	81,098
2008	103.8	102.6–104.9	worse	76,460
2009	103.6	102.2–105.0	worse	54,890
2010	95.7	94.4–96.9	better	64,392
2011	94.5	93.2–95.7	better	71,865
2012	96.7	95.4–98.0	better	73,629
2013	95.3	94.0–96.5	better	85,351
2014	102.2	100.9–103.4	worse	94,208
2015	101.7	100.4–102.9	worse	105,934
2016	97.4	96.2–98.7	better	116,586
2017	99.3	98.0–100.7	no different	100,386
2018	100.3	98.7–102.0	no different	76,987
2019	101.0	99.0–103.1	no different	54,896
2020	105.0	102.1–107.9	worse	28,105

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 1,428,108 (initial tests) · Method: observed failures against those expected for the same model at the same ages, test-year level adjusted; verdict follows the printed one-decimal bound · Updated: 30 Sep 2026 · Release: dvsa-2024-v2 · CSV

How to cite this page

MOT Risk Index (2026). Volkswagen Transporter 1998 MOT statistics (data release dvsa-2024-v2; full dataset motriskindex-families-2024-v5, DOI 10.5281/zenodo.22975051), updated 30 September 2026. motriskindex.co.uk/cars/volkswagen-transporter/1998/

How every figure is calculated: methodology. Age, test year and build year are tied together (age = test year − build year), so the test-year level is taken as observed, not estimated.

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