Volkswagen Transporter 1999: MOT failure rate for its age

47.7% of 13,141 MOT tests of the Volkswagen Transporter first registered in 1999 failed at the first attempt (2019–2024; retests excluded). Against this model's own normal rate at the same ages the index is 99.1 (95% CI 96.7–101.6; 100 = normal for this model at that age): the 1999 build year is no different from other years of the same model at the same age.

Volkswagen Transporter built in 1999 at a glance
Measure	Value	Unit	Compared with	Years	Tests
Failed first time	47.7	%	all ages tested	2019–2024	13141
Index against this model at the same age (95% CI 96.7–101.6)	99.1	index	100 = normal for this model at that age	2019–2024	13141
Rank among this model's 23 build years	7	of 23	1 = fails least for its age	2019–2024	13141
Tested in 2024	914	tests	median 180,421 miles	2024	914

Built 1999 against Volkswagen Transporter normal for the age: first-time MOT failure share at each age, age 20: 47.4% vs 50.2%; age 21: 46.8% vs 47%; age 22: 49% vs 47%. Axis from 0% to 60%. DVSA MOT bulk data, 2019–2024.

Check a 1999 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 1999 Volkswagen Transporter fail at each age?

Cars built in 1999 were tested at ages 20 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 1999: 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)
20	4,701	47.4	46–48.8	50.2	94.5
21	4,121	46.8	45.2–48.3	47	99.5
22	4,319	49	47.5–50.5	47	104.2

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 13,141 (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 1999 Volkswagen Transporter?

The most common failure group on cars built in 1999 is lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment: 51.2 items per 100 first tests, against 27 across all build years of the Volkswagen Transporter. These counts are not age-adjusted: cars built in 1999 were tested at ages 20 to 22.

Failure items per 100 first tests, Volkswagen Transporter built 1999 against the Volkswagen Transporter in all build years (2019–2024, not age-adjusted)
Failure group	Built 1999, per 100	All build years, per 100	Items
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment	51.2	27	11,613
Brakes	38.7	16.4	8,784
Suspension	33.3	25.2	7,547
Body, chassis, structure	32.3	10.7	7,332
Steering	18.2	5.3	4,130

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 22,682 (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 1999 compare with the years around it?

Among the 23 published build years of the Volkswagen Transporter, 1999 ranks 7 (1 = fails least for its age). 1998: index 98.0. 2000: index 101.4.

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 1999 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/1999/

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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