Ford Transit 2020: reliability & common MOT faults

In 2025, 77 in every 100 first MOTs on a 2020 Ford Transit were passes.

Summary

The 2020 Ford Transit follows the pattern of the model years either side.

At a glance

How 1,424 first tests went in 2025.

Passed first time
77 in every 100
Did not pass first time
23 in every 100322 failed first-attempt tests
The typical car
5 yearsabout 60,380 miles
First tests counted
1,424

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 2020 Ford Transit 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.

Lamps and electrical

One fault: side repeater indicators, 11 times as often as on similar cars.

Figures below are measured across the 322 failed first attempts in 2025 that had a mileage recorded, which allows a like-for-like comparison.

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.

Side repeater indicators

Failed on 28 first tests11 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

Sequential or dynamic direction indicators are not a reason to fail. Where a side repeater is required, it is allowed to be part of the front direction indicator if it has a marked wraparound lens, or an amber light coming through the front lens when viewed from a set distance to the side of the rear bumper. A lens defect with no effect on the emitted light is Minor, and one that adversely affects the light is Major.

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

Body and structure

One fault: drive shaft joints and boots (front), 4.2 times as often as on similar cars.

Drive shaft joints and boots (front)

Failed on 25 first tests4.2 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

A constant velocity boot that is only severely deteriorated is Minor. It is Major once it is missing, split or insecure so that it no longer prevents the ingress of dirt. A transmission joint excessively worn is Major, and graded Dangerous when it is so worn it is likely to fail.

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

Noise, emissions and leaks

One fault: diesel engine warning light, 2.7 times as often as on similar cars.

Diesel engine warning light

Failed on 34 first tests2.7 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

An engine malfunction indicator lamp that is illuminated to show a malfunction is graded Major on a diesel, but only on the diesels the test covers, which depends on the vehicle type and when it was first used. DVSA lists it under exhaust emissions for compression ignition engines, and the detail line for the row also names an inoperative lamp.

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. 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
77in every 100
Passed on the first test.
Fixed at the station
6in every 100
Failed, then fixed at the test station the same day.
Failed
17in every 100
Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.

First-attempt pass 77.4% of 1,424 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 82.7%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 6 fixed and the 17 not fixed make the 23 in every 100 that did not pass first time.

Same model, other years

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

406080100199520002005201020152020Older cars
406080100200020102020Older cars

Newer cars are younger, so look for a jump rather than the climb. A year earlier (2024), when these cars were a year younger, 80 in every 100 passed first time.

YearPassed first timeFirst tests
199460 in every 100364
199559 in every 100548
199659 in every 100643
199764 in every 100694
199861 in every 100774
199964 in every 100783
200063 in every 100886
200159 in every 1001,014
200257 in every 1001,490
200355 in every 1001,729
200453 in every 1001,599
200554 in every 1002,209
200657 in every 1004,061
200755 in every 1006,955
200852 in every 1008,917
200951 in every 1008,514
201050 in every 10012,354
201150 in every 10015,280
201250 in every 10012,952
201355 in every 10017,619
201464 in every 10026,599
201565 in every 10033,241
201667 in every 10039,075
201767 in every 10041,381
201871 in every 10017,846
201975 in every 1002,613
2020 This car77 in every 1001,424
202180 in every 1001,776
202283 in every 1001,748

FAQs

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

The 2020 Ford Transit follows the pattern of the model years either side. In 2025, 77.4% of 1,424 first MOTs on the 2020 Ford Transit passed first time (PRS: items fixed at the station the same day, counted as a fail). The official-style rate including PRS is 82.7%. Among 322 failed first-attempt MOT tests (test year 2025), Side repeater indicators appears more often than on similar cars (8.7% of those tests; 28 observed failures; about 11× 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.
Among failed first-attempt tests we highlight patterns that appear more often than on similar cars. Top example: Side repeater indicators (8.7% of those tests; 28 observed failures; about 11× more often than similar cars). These are statistical signals, not a diagnosis of any individual car.
Side repeater indicators shows up more often than on similar cars (8.7% of those tests; 28 observed failures; about 11× 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.
Common MOT problem areas for the 2020 Ford Transit include Side repeater indicators, Drive shaft joints and boots (front), Diesel engine warning light. These are the faults that stand out compared with similar cars, not a complete list of what can go wrong on any individual car.
This page highlights MOT failure patterns for the 2020 Ford Transit (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.
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.

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