Volkswagen Transporter 2016: MOT failure rate for its age

20.4% of 116,586 MOT tests of the Volkswagen Transporter first registered in 2016 failed at the first attempt (2019–2024; retests excluded). Against this model's own normal rate at the same ages the index is 97.4 (95% CI 96.2–98.7; 100 = normal for this model at that age): close to other build years of the same model at the same age (within 5 points of normal).

Volkswagen Transporter built in 2016 at a glance
Measure	Value	Unit	Compared with	Years	Tests
Failed first time	20.4	%	all ages tested	2019–2024	116586
Index against this model at the same age (95% CI 96.2–98.7)	97.4	index	100 = normal for this model at that age	2019–2024	116586
Rank among this model's 23 build years	5	of 23	1 = fails least for its age	2019–2024	116586
Tested in 2024	19447	tests	median 77,895 miles	2024	19447

Built 2016 against Volkswagen Transporter normal for the age: first-time MOT failure share at each age, age 3: 16.9% vs 17.9%; age 4: 17.5% vs 18%; age 5: 20% vs 19.9%; age 6: 20.9% vs 21.4%; age 7: 23% vs 23.5%; age 8: 24% vs 24.8%. Axis from 0% to 30%. DVSA MOT bulk data, 2019–2024.

Check a 2016 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 2016 Volkswagen Transporter fail at each age?

Cars built in 2016 were tested at ages 3 to 8 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 2016: 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)
3	19,249	16.9	16.3–17.4	17.9	94.1
4	18,663	17.5	17–18	18	97.2
5	19,800	20	19.4–20.5	19.9	100.1
6	19,667	20.9	20.3–21.5	21.4	97.5
7	19,760	23	22.4–23.6	23.5	98.1
8	19,447	24	23.4–24.6	24.8	97

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 116,586 (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 2016 Volkswagen Transporter?

The most common failure group on cars built in 2016 is suspension: 9.1 items per 100 first tests, against 25.2 across all build years of the Volkswagen Transporter. These counts are not age-adjusted: cars built in 2016 were tested at ages 3 to 8.

Failure items per 100 first tests, Volkswagen Transporter built 2016 against the Volkswagen Transporter in all build years (2019–2024, not age-adjusted)
Failure group	Built 2016, per 100	All build years, per 100	Items
Suspension	9.1	25.2	10,579
Visibility	7.5	12.8	8,736
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment	7.3	27	8,520
Tyres	6.9	7.6	7,996
Brakes	4.6	16.4	5,368

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 116,586 (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 2016 compare with the years around it?

Among the 23 published build years of the Volkswagen Transporter, 2016 ranks 5 (1 = fails least for its age). 2015: index 101.7. 2017: index 99.3.

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 2016 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/2016/

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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