Ford Transit Connect 2016: reliability & common MOT faults

At a glance

How 13,126 first tests went in 2025.

Passed first time: 70 in every 100
Did not pass first time: 30 in every 1003,894 failed first-attempt tests
The typical car: 9 yearsabout 108,050 miles
First tests counted: 13,126

What failed most often

Brake pads (rear)11 in every 100 failed tests
Tyre tread depth (front)10 in every 100 failed tests
Tyre condition (front)9 in every 100 failed tests

How we count this. Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Only Class 4 cars on their first MOT of the year are counted. A car that fails and is fixed at the test station still counts as a fail in the first-attempt rate. These are raw results, not adjusted for age, mileage, or peer mix. The MOT does not test engine or gearbox internals.

Note:

These are patterns across 2016 Ford Transit Connect vehicles in 2025, not a prediction that any one car will have them. Faults are grouped by part of the car. They come from MOT defect codes, not manufacturer bulletins, recalls or a diagnosis of any one car.

Brakes

One fault: brake pedal, 5.4 times as often as on similar cars.

Figures below are measured across the 3,889 of 3,894 failed first attempts (99.9%) that recorded an odometer reading in 2025. Mileage is needed to compare like with like.

We only list faults with at least 20 failures and a rate of about 2.0 times that of similar cars, which keeps one-off results out of the list.

Brake pedal

Failed on 89 first tests5.4 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

What it means

A brake pedal rubber worn smooth is not a defect, and nor is a worn design pattern on an aftermarket rubber. A pedal with no rubber is rejected if its grooves or raised grip sections are worn smooth, unless the vehicle was made without them. Insufficient reserve travel is Major, but a vehicle is failed for it only if the pedal or lever is touching the floor or handlebar.

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage.

Noise, emissions and leaks

One fault: diesel emissions test (compression-ignition rules for vehicles from 01/01/2014), 5.3 times as often as on similar cars.

Diesel emissions test (compression-ignition rules for vehicles from 01/01/2014)

Failed on 338 first tests5.3 times as often as similar carsStrong evidence

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage.

Advisories

Other things testers noted as worn or close to failing, more often than on similar cars.

An advisory is a note from the tester about something that has not failed yet. It is an early warning, not a fail.

Brake light

Noted on 51 first tests2.3 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Counts cover advisories recorded on failed first tests only, compared with cars of the same age and mileage.

MOT pass rates

How first tests ended, and how the pass rates are counted.

Passed first time: 70in every 100; Passed on the first test.
Fixed at the station: 8in every 100; Failed, then fixed at the test station the same day.
Failed: 22in every 100; Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.

First-attempt pass 70.3% of 13,126 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 77.7%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 8 fixed and the 22 not fixed make the 30 in every 100 that did not pass first time.

Same model, other years

Passed first time in every 100, all tested in 2025.

Newer cars are younger, so look for a jump rather than the climb. A year earlier (2024), when these cars were a year younger, 72 in every 100 passed first time.

Year	Passed first time	First tests
2003	48 in every 100	1,656
2004	48 in every 100	2,349
2005	48 in every 100	3,332
2006	46 in every 100	4,900
2007	47 in every 100	5,865
2008	48 in every 100	5,473
2009	48 in every 100	3,846
2010	49 in every 100	4,020
2011	53 in every 100	4,794
2012	53 in every 100	4,871
2013	58 in every 100	3,796
2014	65 in every 100	9,833
2015	68 in every 100	12,339
2016 This car	70 in every 100	13,126
2017	74 in every 100	17,395
2018	75 in every 100	15,680
2019	73 in every 100	14,001
2020	73 in every 100	10,444
2021	79 in every 100	10,665
2022	79 in every 100	7,683

If you are buying one

What this year's MOT record means for the decision in front of you.

Mileage matters most on a 2016 Transit Connect.

Of 2016 Transit Connect vehicles with under 76,000 miles, 79 in every 100 passed their 2025 MOT first time. With 144,000 miles or more, 66 in every 100 did.

Under 76,0002,665 tests

79

76,000–98,0002,575 tests

72

98,000–119,000 Typical car2,684 tests

68

119,000–144,0002,551 tests

66

144,000 and over2,634 tests

66

What to check at your mileage

How often each fault turned up on a failed first test, by the car's mileage. Read it as: what is likely to need looking at on a car like the one in front of you.

	Under 76,000	98,000–119,000	144,000 and over
Brake pads (rear)	1.8	3.4	4.2
Tyre tread depth (front)	1.7	3.2	3.6
Tyre condition (front)	2.0	3.0	2.5
Windscreen washers	1.6	2.6	2.3
Individual sidelight or tail light (front)	0.7	1.8	4.2

Faults per 100 first tests, by the car's mileage at the test.

When a car fails

38in every 100

of failed cars had one item to fix.

33in every 100

of failed cars had three or more items to fix.

9in every 100

of all first tests had a defect the tester marked dangerous (unsafe to drive away).

Every figure here is a first-attempt MOT rate from DVSA open data for this model line, for cars of this model year tested in 2025. Each mileage band holds a fifth of the tests. MOTs do not test engine or gearbox internals, so this is a pre-purchase checklist, not a full reliability score.

FAQs

Short answers about how to read this model-year guide.

Is the 2016 Ford Transit Connect reliable?

The 2016 Ford Transit Connect follows the pattern of the model years either side. Its main cause of failure was Brake pads (rear), about 11 in every 100 failed tests. In 2025, 70.3% of 13,126 first MOTs on the 2016 Ford Transit Connect passed first time (PRS: items fixed at the station the same day, counted as a fail). The official-style rate including PRS is 77.7%. Among 3,894 failed first-attempt MOT tests (test year 2025), Brake pedal appears more often than on similar cars (2.3% of those tests; 89 observed failures; about 5.4× more often than similar cars). There is no single reliability score here; this is a pre-purchase checklist built from DVSA open data, not a guarantee for any individual car.

What is most likely to fail on a 2016 Ford Transit Connect?

Ranked by how often they were actually recorded, the items that most often failed a 2016 Ford Transit Connect at the first attempt were Brake pads (rear) (10.6%), Tyre tread depth (front) (9.8%) and Tyre condition (front) (9.0%), each as a share of the year's failed first attempts. That is what goes wrong most often on the car. The common faults table shows a different measure: faults that are unusual compared with similar cars.

What common MOT faults stand out on the Ford Transit Connect 2016?

Among failed first-attempt tests we highlight patterns that appear more often than on similar cars. Top example: Brake pedal (2.3% of those tests; 89 observed failures; about 5.4× more often than similar cars). These are statistical signals, not a diagnosis of any individual car.

Why does Brake pedal stand out?

Brake pedal shows up more often than on similar cars (2.3% of those tests; 89 observed failures; about 5.4× more often than similar cars). That does not prove a design fault. Age, mileage, and how the car was used still matter. Treat it as a pre-purchase checkpoint, not a manufacturer service bulletin.

What are common problems with the 2016 Ford Transit Connect?

Common MOT problem areas for the 2016 Ford Transit Connect include Brake pedal. These are the faults that stand out compared with similar cars, not a complete list of what can go wrong on any individual car.

How should I read advisories vs fails?

Advisories flag issues noted at the test and are not a fail rate. We show advisory patterns that appear more often than on similar cars among failed first-attempt tests, separate from common failure rows. Use them as early-warning checks, not as a pass/fail score.

What does this Ford Transit Connect 2016 MOT report cover?

This page highlights MOT failure patterns for the 2016 Ford Transit Connect (registration year) using UK DVSA open data for the selected test year. Patterns are compared with cars of a similar age and mileage. It is a buyer checklist from MOT defect statistics, not a full service history or manufacturer service-bulletin list.

Does this include engine and gearbox problems?

No. MOT tests do not cover engine internals, gearboxes, or many electronic modules. Patterns here come from MOT defect statistics only and should not be read as engine or gearbox reliability scores.

About this data

How this page is built and what it can (and can't) say.

These figures come from UK MOT open data for this model year. We surface common failure patterns against similar cars, not a full reliability score, and not a pass/fail verdict on any individual vehicle.

2024 2025

What we include

UK Class 4 cars only. Normal MOT tests (not retests); first test per vehicle per calendar year; results pass, PRS, or fail.

Same-day repairs

PRS means the car failed items that were fixed at the test station and then passed the same day. We count PRS as a first-attempt fail in headline rates so same-day repairs do not hide problems.

How we compare

We compare this model year with other Class 4 cars of similar age and mileage in the same test year. This model family is left out of the peer group so the car is not measured against itself.

What this does not cover

MOTs do not cover engine internals, gearboxes, or many electronics; this is not a full reliability score.
Common faults come from MOT defect stats, not manufacturer TSBs or recalls.
Age and mileage matching reduces, but does not remove, differences in how cars were used and maintained.
If the data for a car is too thin to say anything useful, we say so rather than guess.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.