carpeep

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

360,185 Volkswagen Transporters are licensed in the UK, the 20th most common model on the road. In 2025 they passed 68.3% of initial MOT tests, 4 points below the 72.3% UK average.

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

Volkswagen Transporter at the MOT

68.3% of 321,556 initial tests passed in 2025, ranking the Transporter 379th of 575 models. Volkswagen Transporters aged 3 to 5 years passed 80.9% of MOT tests in 2025; for examples aged 11 years and over that fell to 60.3%.

First-time pass rate, 2025

Share of initial tests passed, retests excluded.

  • Volkswagen Transporter68.3%
  • All Volkswagen modelsThe Transporter is 4.8 pts behind73.1%
  • All cars72.3%

Pass rate by age at test

Volkswagen Transporter tests in 2025.

  • 3 to 5 years47,937 tests80.9%
  • 6 to 10 years94,119 tests74.5%
  • 11 years and over169,325 tests60.3%

Where Transporters fail

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

  • Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment23%
  • Suspension22.9%
  • Brakes17%
  • Body, chassis, structure8.5%
  • Tyres8.4%

The items testers recorded most often were coil spring fractured or broken (4.5%), pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn (3.8%) and joints constant velocity boot split or insecure, no longer prevents the ingress of dirt (3.3%).

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

Full Volkswagen Transporter MOT record

What to look at on a viewing

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

  1. 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.23% of Transporter failure items

  2. Suspension

    Listen for knocks over bumps, check the car sits level, and look for leaking shock absorbers and split rubber gaiters.22.9% of Transporter failure items

  3. 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.17% of Transporter failure items

Volkswagen Transporters in the UK

360,185 were licensed at the end of June 2026, the 3rd most of any Volkswagen. The number licensed has grown 102% since the end of 2014.

Change since 2014
+102%from 178,159 licensed
Typical year of first use
2016half of those licensed at the end of 2025 were first used in 2016 or earlier
First registered in 2025
11,144against 23,965 in 2018
Declared off the road
29,5177.6% of those registered, under SORN

Licensed Volkswagen Transporters since 2014

Licensed at each year end and in the latest quarter.

Show the figures
DateLicensed
End of 2014178,159
End of 2015196,143
End of 2016217,162
End of 2017237,203
End of 2018257,142
End of 2019274,874
End of 2020289,292
End of 2021308,584
End of 2022320,766
End of 2023332,607
End of 2024342,871
End of 2025350,498
End of June 2026360,185

How old they are

Licensed Volkswagen Transporters by year of first use.

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

A further 40,564 were first used before 2006.

Show the figures
First usedLicensed, end 2025First registered that year
20258,71511,144
202414,73515,878
202316,98117,965
202214,67915,833
202120,30622,162
202015,73917,141
201920,17022,107
201821,79423,965
201721,46023,672
201620,99623,486
201518,81221,106
201416,770
201314,972
201212,544
201112,133
201010,587
20098,593
200811,934
200712,205
20069,417

18,812 Transporters first used in 2015 were still licensed at the end of 2025, roughly 89% of the 21,106 first registered that year.

Transporter engines and fuel

2.0 litre engines made up 64% of Volkswagen Transporter MOT tests in 2025, followed by 1.9 litre at 18%. Diesel accounts for 97% of licensed Transporters and petrol for 1.8%. Electric examples were 0.1% of tests.

Engine size at MOT, 2025

Share of 321,366 initial MOT tests in 2025.

  • 2.0 litre64.3%
  • 1.9 litre18.1%
  • 2.5 litre14.7%
  • 2.4 litre1.9%

Fuel type, licensed Transporters

DfT licensing statistics, June 2026.

FuelLicensedShare
Petrol6,5572%
Diesel349,63397%
Battery electric3,8651%
Hybrid electric9<0.1%
Gas121<0.1%

Volkswagen Transporter recalls

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

  1. Oct 2026 R/2026/384

    Rear lid gas strut

    Transporters built Jul 2026 to Sep 2026 · 800 vehicles across the whole recall

    Defect and remedy
    Defect
    For affected vehicles applying excess pressure to open the rear lid to its end position may cause the upper ball socket to detach from the gas strut allowing the rear lid to fall without restraint as one gas strut alone cannot hold it open.
    Remedy
    The gas struts of the rear lid will be checked and if necessary replaced.

  2. Aug 2026 R/2026/320

    Correct speed restriction

    Transporters built Sep 2025 to Oct 2025 · 31 vehicles across the whole recall

    Defect and remedy
    Defect
    On affected vehicles the speed limit of 70 mph is not implemented as described in the technical data and stated in the vehicle registration document.
    Remedy
    Adjust the software in various control units.

  3. Nov 2025 R/2025/475

    Rear axle shock absorbers

    Transporters built Jul 2025 · 8 vehicles across the whole recall

    Defect and remedy
    Defect
    On affected vehicles there is a possibility the rear axle shock absorbers could break.
    Remedy
    Check and replace the rear shock absorbers if necessary.

  4. Aug 2025 R/2025/357

    Takata front drivers or passenger airbag replacement

    Transporters built Nov 2007 to Jun 2014 · 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.

  5. Jun 2023 R/2023/178

    Takata Front airbag

    Transporters built Jan 2007 to Aug 2015 · 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

  6. Dec 2021 R/2022/010

    There is a possibility that tyres could suddenly lose air

    Transporters built Mar 2020 to Feb 2021 · 370 vehicles across the whole recall

    Defect and remedy
    Remedy
    On the affected vehicles the production data (DOT number) of all tyres including spare wheel are checked and if necessary tyres will be replaced.

  7. Sep 2021 R/2021/344

    With temperatures below zero the door lock bowden cables can freeze

    Transporters built Nov 2019 to Mar 2021 · 3,046 vehicles across the whole recall

    Defect and remedy
    Remedy
    On the affected vehicles the door Bowden cables are replaced and all door locks are given a sealing foil.

  8. Sep 2021 R/2021/343

    With temperatures below zero the door lock bowden cables can freeze

    Transporters built Nov 2019 to Mar 2021 · 23,068 vehicles across the whole recall

    Defect and remedy
    Remedy
    On the affected vehicles the door Bowden cables are replaced and all door locks are given a sealing foil.
How to check a specific Transporter for recalls

Transporter vs similar cars

Head-to-head comparisons on the same 2025 DVSA data.

Other Volkswagen models

The most-tested Volkswagen models in 2025, against the Transporter's 68.3% MOT pass rate.

All 31 Volkswagen models

Volkswagen Transporter FAQs

How many Volkswagen Transporters are there in the UK?

360,185 Volkswagen Transporters were licensed in the UK at the end of June 2026, with a further 29,517 declared off the road (SORN), according to DfT vehicle licensing statistics.

Is the Volkswagen Transporter 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 68.3% first-time pass rate for the Volkswagen Transporter across 321,556 tests in 2025, below the 72.3% average for all cars.

Has the Volkswagen Transporter had any recalls?

26 DVSA safety recalls launched from 1992 to October 2026 name the Volkswagen Transporter. The most recent was published in October 2026. 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 Transporter?

On the car itself, start with the areas it most often fails on: lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment, suspension and brakes. 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 Transporter'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 Transporter?

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 Transporter 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.