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Volkswagen Transporter 2001: MOT failure rate for its age

47.1% of 33,898 MOT tests of the Volkswagen Transporter first registered in 2001 failed at the first attempt (2019–2024; retests excluded). Against this model's own normal rate at the same ages the index is 101.1 (95% CI 99.6–102.7; 100 = normal for this model at that age): the 2001 build year is no different from other years of the same model at the same age.

Volkswagen Transporter built in 2001 at a glance
MeasureValueUnitCompared withYearsTests
Failed first time47.1%all ages tested2019–202433898
Index against this model at the same age (95% CI 99.6–102.7)101.1index100 = normal for this model at that age2019–202433898
Rank among this model's 23 build years13of 231 = fails least for its age2019–202433898
Tested in 20246326testsmedian 176,902 miles20246326
line · Volkswagen Transporter built 2001 · first-time MOT failure share by age · built 2001 49.3% vs model normal 50% at age 18 · 2019–2024
Built 2001 against Volkswagen Transporter normal for the age: first-time MOT failure share at each age, age 18: 49.3% vs 50%; age 19: 45.9% vs 46%; age 20: 47.7% vs 46.1%; age 21: 46.7% vs 45.1%; age 22: 45.9% vs 45.7%. Axis from 0% to 50%. DVSA MOT bulk data, 2019–2024.

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

How does the 2001 Volkswagen Transporter fail at each age?

Cars built in 2001 were tested at ages 18 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 2001: first-time MOT failure by age, against the model's normal rate at that age (2019–2024)
AgeTestsFailed, %95% intervalNormal for this model at that age, %Index (100 = normal)
187,26449.348.1–50.45098.6
196,47345.944.7–47.14699.8
206,77247.746.5–48.946.1103.5
216,73146.745.5–47.945.1103.6
226,65845.944.8–47.145.7100.5

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 33,898 (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 2001 Volkswagen Transporter?

The most common failure group on cars built in 2001 is lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment: 49.5 items per 100 first tests, against 27 across all build years of the Volkswagen Transporter. These counts are not age-adjusted: cars built in 2001 were tested at ages 18 to 22.

Failure items per 100 first tests, Volkswagen Transporter built 2001 against the Volkswagen Transporter in all build years (2019–2024, not age-adjusted)
Failure groupBuilt 2001, per 100All build years, per 100Items
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment49.52719,905
Brakes37.416.415,062
Suspension31.325.212,588
Body, chassis, structure2810.711,272
Steering24.65.39,897

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 40,224 (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 2001 compare with the years around it?

Among the 23 published build years of the Volkswagen Transporter, 2001 ranks 13 (1 = fails least for its age). 2000: index 101.4. 2002: index 99.6.

Volkswagen Transporter build years: index against the model at the same age (2019–2024)
Build yearIndex (100 = normal)95% intervalVerdictTests
199898.095.0–101.0no different8,448
199999.196.7–101.6no different13,141
2000101.499.4–103.4no different20,118
2001101.199.6–102.7no different33,898
200299.698.2–101.1no different39,533
2003100.899.4–102.2no different42,695
2004103.1101.8–104.3worse55,640
2005101.6100.4–102.8worse60,880
2006103.0101.8–104.1worse68,968
2007102.0100.9–103.0worse81,098
2008103.8102.6–104.9worse76,460
2009103.6102.2–105.0worse54,890
201095.794.4–96.9better64,392
201194.593.2–95.7better71,865
201296.795.4–98.0better73,629
201395.394.0–96.5better85,351
2014102.2100.9–103.4worse94,208
2015101.7100.4–102.9worse105,934
201697.496.2–98.7better116,586
201799.398.0–100.7no different100,386
2018100.398.7–102.0no different76,987
2019101.099.0–103.1no different54,896
2020105.0102.1–107.9worse28,105

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 2001 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/2001/

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.

Other pages for this model

Volkswagen Transporter 1998 · Volkswagen Transporter 1999 · Volkswagen Transporter 2000 · Volkswagen Transporter 2002 · Volkswagen Transporter 2003 · Volkswagen Transporter 2004 · Volkswagen Transporter 2005 · Volkswagen Transporter 2006 · Volkswagen Transporter 2007 · Volkswagen Transporter 2008 · Volkswagen Transporter 2009 · Volkswagen Transporter 2010 · Volkswagen Transporter 2011 · Volkswagen Transporter 2012 · Volkswagen Transporter 2013 · Volkswagen Transporter 2014 · Volkswagen Transporter 2015 · Volkswagen Transporter 2016 · Volkswagen Transporter 2017 · Volkswagen Transporter 2018 · Volkswagen Transporter 2019 · Volkswagen Transporter 2020 · Volkswagen Transporter in Norway · Volkswagen Transporter in Finland · Volkswagen Transporter in the Netherlands · Volkswagen Transporter by postcode area · Volkswagen Transporter body, chassis and structure failures · Volkswagen Transporter brakes failures · Volkswagen Transporter vehicle identification failures · Volkswagen Transporter lamps, reflectors and electrics failures · Volkswagen Transporter noise, emissions and leaks failures · Volkswagen Transporter road wheels failures · Volkswagen Transporter seat belts and airbags failures · Volkswagen Transporter steering failures · Volkswagen Transporter suspension failures · Volkswagen Transporter tyres failures · Volkswagen Transporter visibility failures