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Volkswagen Crafter, Buying guide, MOT record, UK numbers and recalls

94,411 Volkswagen Crafters are licensed in the UK. In 2025 they passed 71.6% of initial MOT tests, 0.7 points below the 72.3% UK average.

Looking at a specific Crafter? Check its finance, write-off, stolen, mileage and keeper history. £15, no account needed.

Volkswagen Crafter at the MOT

71.6% of 8,428 initial tests passed in 2025, ranking the Crafter 321st of 575 models. Volkswagen Crafters aged 3 to 5 years passed 83.5% of MOT tests in 2025; for examples aged 11 years and over that fell to 64%.

First-time pass rate, 2025

Share of initial tests passed, retests excluded.

  • Volkswagen Crafter71.6%
  • All Volkswagen modelsThe Crafter is 1.5 pts behind73.1%
  • All cars72.3%

Pass rate by age at test

Volkswagen Crafter tests in 2025.

  • 3 to 5 years1,483 tests83.5%
  • 6 to 10 years2,852 tests73.1%
  • 11 years and over3,693 tests64%

Where Crafters fail

Share of all failure items recorded on Volkswagen Crafter tests in 2025.

  • Brakes33.2%
  • Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment21.8%
  • Suspension10.1%
  • Noise, emissions and leaks8%
  • Visibility7.5%

The items testers recorded most often were rbt (sp) efficiency below requirements (7.3%), malfunction indicator lamp inoperative or indicates a malfunction (5.2%) and rigid brake pipes excessively corroded (4.9%).

The MOT page lists every common Crafter MOT failure. For one car's own results and advisories, run a free MOT history check.

Full Volkswagen Crafter MOT record

What to look at on a viewing

The Crafter's most common failure areas, and what a tester checks in each.

  1. Brakes

    Make sure the pedal feels firm, the car stops in a straight line, the handbrake holds on a slope and no brake warning light is showing.33.2% of Crafter failure items

  2. Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment

    Walk round with every light on: headlights, brake lights, indicators, fog lights and the number plate lamp. Check no warning lights stay on after starting.21.8% of Crafter failure items

  3. Suspension

    Listen for knocks over bumps, check the car sits level, and look for leaking shock absorbers and split rubber gaiters.10.1% of Crafter failure items

Volkswagen Crafters in the UK

94,411 were licensed at the end of June 2026. The number licensed has grown 202% since the end of 2014.

Change since 2014
+202%from 31,258 licensed
Typical year of first use
2020half of those licensed at the end of 2025 were first used in 2020 or earlier
First registered in 2025
9,783against 10,541 in 2019
Declared off the road
9,8429.4% of those registered, under SORN

Licensed Volkswagen Crafters since 2014

Licensed at each year end and in the latest quarter.

Show the figures
DateLicensed
End of 201431,258
End of 201537,527
End of 201643,593
End of 201747,053
End of 201851,263
End of 201958,244
End of 202064,763
End of 202171,449
End of 202276,379
End of 202380,602
End of 202485,282
End of 202591,439
End of June 202694,411

How old they are

Licensed Volkswagen Crafters by year of first use.

  • Licensed at the end of 2025
  • First registered that year

A further 288 were first used before 2007.

Show the figures
First usedLicensed, end 2025First registered that year
20259,4849,783
20248,3138,671
20237,1977,525
20226,9167,464
20217,2738,119
20207,6398,675
20197,93210,541
20185,3506,399
20173,9155,098
20164,9806,762
20155,2927,715
20144,380
20132,984
20122,533
20111,860
20101,530
2009984
20081,288
20071,180

5,292 Crafters first used in 2015 were still licensed at the end of 2025, roughly 69% of the 7,715 first registered that year.

Crafter engine sizes

2.0 litre engines made up 74% of Volkswagen Crafter MOT tests in 2025, followed by 2.5 litre at 26%. Diesel accounts for 100% of licensed Crafters.

Engine size at MOT, 2025

Share of 8,418 initial MOT tests in 2025.

  • 2.0 litre74.1%
  • 2.5 litre25.7%

Volkswagen Crafter recalls

13 DVSA safety recalls launched from 1992 to October 2026 name the Volkswagen Crafter. The 8 most recent are below. Each covers vehicles built in a set period, so a recall does not mean every Crafter is affected.

  1. Aug 2025 R/2025/357

    Takata front drivers or passenger airbag replacement

    Crafters built Apr 2006 to Jun 2009 · 279 vehicles across the whole recall

    Defect and remedy
    Defect
    Urgent Safety Warning - Do Not Drive Your Vehicle Our information shows your vehicle was originally allocated to or used for an extended period of time in a region with a climate zone considered to as HIGH RISK. Issue: The front airbag in your VW vehicle contains an ageing inflator propellant that may explode when deployed due to long-term exposure to heat and humidity. Risk: If the airbag inflator explodes metal fragments may be ejected causing life-threatening or fatal injuries to anyone in the vehicle.
    Remedy
    The front airbag must be replaced. Immediate Action Required: Stop driving your vehicle immediately. Contact the Takata Stop Drive helpline at 0113 526 9646 (MONDAY to FRIDAY 9:00AM to 5:00PM to arrange your recall service.

  2. Sep 2024 R/2024/360

    Natural gas system leak test

    Crafters built Jan 2024 to Aug 2024 · 104 vehicles across the whole recall

    Defect and remedy
    Defect
    On Crafter "Grand California" vehicles of a limited production period there is a possibility that the leak test of the natural gas system was not correctly carried out. Leaks from the natural gas system cannot be ruled out.
    Remedy
    On all affected vehicles a leak test of the natural gas system must be performed and if unsuccessful necessary repairs completed. After the repair the leak test of the natural gas system must be carried out again.

  3. Jul 2024 R/2024/263

    Takata front passenger airbag

    Crafters built May 2006 to Jul 2016 · 1,746 vehicles across the whole recall

    Defect and remedy
    Defect
    On affected vehicles with passenger airbags from the manufacturer Takata in the event of an accident with airbag activation the passenger airbag gas generator housing may burst and produce fragments.
    Remedy
    : Replace the passenger's airbag on affected vehicles.

  4. Jun 2023 R/2023/178

    Takata Front airbag

    Crafters built Aug 2005 to Dec 2016 · 287,441 vehicles across the whole recall

    Defect and remedy
    Defect
    The function of the driver airbag inflators can degrade due to air and moisture ingress.
    Remedy
    Replace airbag

  5. Sep 2020 R/2020/257

    The side or rear windows may become loose

    Crafters built Jul 2017 to Sep 2019 · 148 vehicles across the whole recall

    Defect and remedy
    Defect
    Some side or rear windows may become loose
    Remedy
    On the affected vehicles the side or rear windows have to be replaced

  6. Mar 2017 R/2017/079

    Airbag/belt tensioners may not trigger in event of an accident

    Crafters built May 2016 to Oct 2016 · 3,879 vehicles across the whole recall

    Defect and remedy
    Defect
    Due to an error in the manufacturing process the air bag and/or seat belt pretensioner may not trigger in the event of a collision
    Remedy
    On affected vehicles replace air bag assembly and seatbelt pretensioner where necessary.

  7. Mar 2016 R/2016/040

    Bonded windows and/or fastening rails may detach

    Crafters built Sep 2015 to Oct 2015 · 10 vehicles across the whole recall

    Defect and remedy
    Defect
    It is possible that some vehicles have poor paint adhesion which can lead to a reduced retaining force of the bonded windows/fastening rails. The windows may not remain attached to the vehicle when it is subject to high forces during a collision.
    Remedy
    Recall the vehicles that are likely to be affected to remove the windscreen and prepare and repaint the receiving surfaces then re-bond the windscreen. If there are also windows in the load area these will be treated the same.

  8. Dec 2014 R/2015/001

    Gearbox prop shaft may detach

    Crafters built Aug 2011 to Jun 2013 · 994 vehicles across the whole recall

    Defect and remedy
    Defect
    The balance weight on the prop shaft may detach. This can lead to the prop shaft becoming insecure and in extreme cases where the concern is not rectified the prop shaft can detach. This will lead to significant damage to the vehicle and increase the risk of a collision.
    Remedy
    Recall the vehicles that are likely to be affected to replaced the balance weight on the prop shaft.
How to check a specific Crafter for recalls

Other Volkswagen models

The most-tested Volkswagen models in 2025, against the Crafter's 71.6% MOT pass rate.

All 31 Volkswagen models

Volkswagen Crafter FAQs

How many Volkswagen Crafters are there in the UK?

94,411 Volkswagen Crafters were licensed in the UK at the end of June 2026, with a further 9,842 declared off the road (SORN), according to DfT vehicle licensing statistics.

Is the Volkswagen Crafter reliable?

MOT data does not measure reliability. It records whether a car met the roadworthiness standard on the day of its test. What it does show is a 71.6% first-time pass rate for the Volkswagen Crafter across 8,428 tests in 2025, below the 72.3% average for all cars.

Has the Volkswagen Crafter had any recalls?

13 DVSA safety recalls launched from 1992 to October 2026 name the Volkswagen Crafter. The most recent was published in August 2025. A recall applies to vehicles built in a set period, so check a specific car on the GOV.UK vehicle recall checker.

What should I check before buying a used Volkswagen Crafter?

On the car itself, start with the areas it most often fails on: brakes, lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment and suspension. Then check the individual car's own records. Outstanding finance, insurance write-offs and police stolen markers are not part of the MOT record, so they take a history check.

How do I check a Volkswagen Crafter's history?

Enter the registration of the specific car. A Carpeep car history check reports outstanding finance, write-off category, stolen markers, mileage history, previous keepers, MOT and tax status, import and export markers and scrapped status in one £15 report.

Already found a Crafter?

Check its finance, write-off, theft, mileage and keeper history with a £15 vehicle history report.

Across the 1,548 vehicles of every make Carpeep has checked since November 2025, 19% had outstanding finance recorded and 13% an insurance write-off. More on the Volkswagen history check. To confirm a car's identity, see the Volkswagen VIN check.

  • Outstanding finance
  • Write-off records
  • Stolen markers
  • Mileage history
  • Previous keepers

MOT figures are aggregated from the DVSA MOT Anonymised data set for 2025 (class 4 initial tests, retests excluded), which also gives the engine sizes. Licensed, SORN, fuel and registration figures are from the Department for Transport vehicle licensing statistics (VEH0120, VEH0124, VEH0160). Recalls are from the DVSA vehicle recalls data, with recalls launched up to October 2026. Government data is used under the Open Government Licence v3.0. MOT results describe roadworthiness at test, not mechanical reliability. History-check findings are anonymous counts from reports bought on Carpeep, each vehicle counted once, and are published only where at least 100 vehicles returned an answer.