Model Reports 4 min read Updated 18 Oct 2026

Peugeot Partner 2021: reliability & common MOT faults

In 2025, 72 in every 100 first MOTs on a 2021 Peugeot Partner were passes. Most common reason for a fail: Windscreen wipers.

Summary

A 2021 Peugeot Partner passed first time about 4 in every 100 less often than the average of the 2020 and 2022 model years.

At a glance

How 10,020 first tests went in 2025.

Passed first time
72 in every 100
Did not pass first time
28 in every 1002,816 failed first-attempt tests
The typical car
4 yearsabout 56,987 miles
First tests counted
10,020

What failed most often

  1. Windscreen wipers15 in every 100 failed tests
  2. Headlight aim12 in every 100 failed tests
  3. Headlight (front)8 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 2021 Peugeot Partner vehicles in 2025, not a prediction that any one car will have them. Faults are grouped by part of the car. A wear pattern follows age and use more than the way the car was built. They come from MOT defect codes, not manufacturer bulletins, recalls or a diagnosis of any one car.

Lamps and electrical

Three faults and two wear patterns. The strongest is the horn: 12 times as often as on similar cars.

Figures below are measured across the 2,816 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.

Horn

Failed on 154 first tests12 times as often as similar carsStrong evidence

What it means

A horn that does not work, or is likely to be confused with an emergency vehicle siren, is graded Major. Gongs, bells, sirens and anything with more than one tone, which includes a horn that alternates between its notes, are not allowed, except a gong, bell or siren on vehicles first used before a set date. Sound defects are Minor for named cases such as a bell or harsh sound, and Major under a general row.

Headlight aim not tested (front)

Failed on 60 first tests5.0 times as often as similar carsWear pattern

What it means

Headlamp aim recorded as not tested, or unable to be tested, is a Major failure. These results must only be used where it becomes apparent during the test that the item cannot be tested, and this could not have been identified before starting. The reason must be included in the additional information box.

Headlight (front)

Failed on 239 first tests3.2 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

What it means

On vehicles first used on or after a set date, a halogen headlamp unit converted to take HID or LED bulbs fails for light source and lamp not compatible, which is Major. A complete unit built with those light sources is not failed for that. The precise position of the lamps is not part of the inspection beyond a visual look to see that they sit at about the same height and distance from each side.

Number plate lights (rear)

Failed on 141 first tests2.5 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

Registration plate lamps must light up the rear registration plate and operate at the same time as the position lamps. A missing or inoperative lamp is Major when the plate has only one lamp or all its lamps are not working, and Minor when the plate has several lamps or light sources and not all have failed. A lamp throwing direct white light to the rear is also Minor.

Headlight aim (front)

Failed on 268 first tests2.1 times as often as similar carsWear pattern

What it means

Beam aim too high, too low or off to either side is Major. Where a driver's beam aim control is fitted, the aim is tested without altering the setting, and rechecked at the highest setting only if it would fail for being too low. Masks or converter kits on right hand dip headlamps are acceptable.

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

Steering

One fault: track rod end (front), 3.2 times as often as on similar cars.

Track rod end (front)

Failed on 68 first tests3.2 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

What it means

A steering ball joint with excessive wear or free play is Major, and one worn to the extent there is a serious risk of detachment is graded Dangerous. A dust cover that is damaged but still keeps dirt out is Minor, and one missing or no longer keeping dirt out is Major. Testers must tell wear from a joint's built-in clearance or spring loading.

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

Brakes

One wear pattern: brake discs (rear), 2.8 times as often as on similar cars.

Brake discs (rear)

Failed on 111 first tests2.8 times as often as similar carsWear pattern

What it means

A brake disc or drum must be significantly worn before it is rejected, and being worn below the manufacturer's recommended limits is not a reason in itself. Significantly and obviously worn is Major, as is contamination with oil or grease. A disc or drum that is fractured, insecure, seriously weakened or missing is graded Dangerous.

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), 2.6 times as often as on similar cars.

Drive shaft joints and boots (front)

Failed on 112 first tests2.6 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.

Visibility

One fault: windscreen wipers, 2.2 times as often as on similar cars.

Windscreen wipers

Failed on 419 first tests2.2 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

Only a clearly damaged or worn windscreen wiper needs to be rejected. A wiper that is missing or not working is graded Major, and so is a blade that is missing or obviously not clearing the windscreen. A defective blade is graded Minor.

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.

Individual direction indicators (rear)

Noted on 39 first tests8.5 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

Brake performance (roller test, rear)

Noted on 48 first tests2.1 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
72in every 100
Passed on the first test.
Fixed at the station
10in every 100
Failed, then fixed at the test station the same day.
Failed
18in every 100
Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.

First-attempt pass 71.9% of 10,020 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 81.6%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 10 fixed and the 18 not fixed make the 28 in every 100 that did not pass first time.

Same model, other years

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

4060801002005201020152021Older cars
40608010020102021Older cars

Newer cars are younger, so look for a jump rather than the climb.

YearPassed first timeFirst tests
200248 in every 100427
200348 in every 100814
200450 in every 100953
200551 in every 1001,180
200654 in every 1001,639
200751 in every 1001,849
200850 in every 1002,297
200950 in every 1003,280
201051 in every 1004,432
201152 in every 1005,938
201259 in every 10010,027
201353 in every 1008,587
201458 in every 10012,849
201561 in every 10012,262
201659 in every 10012,508
201760 in every 10013,059
201861 in every 10013,167
201973 in every 10011,981
202078 in every 1009,489
2021 This car72 in every 10010,020
202274 in every 1006,506

If you are buying one

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

Mileage matters most on a 2021 Partner.

Of 2021 Partner vehicles with under 38,000 miles, 77 in every 100 passed their 2025 MOT first time. With 82,000 miles or more, 68 in every 100 did.

Under 38,0002,043 tests
77
38,000–51,0002,055 tests
72
51,000–64,000 Typical car1,864 tests
70
64,000–82,0002,007 tests
72
82,000 and over2,051 tests
68

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 38,00051,000–64,00082,000 and over
Windscreen wipers4.94.33.1
Headlight aim2.44.03.6
Headlight (front)1.52.42.7
Windscreen washers2.22.62.1
Brake pads (rear)0.62.62.5

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

When a car fails

39in every 100

of failed cars had one item to fix.

33in every 100

of failed cars had three or more items to fix.

6in 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.

A 2021 Peugeot Partner passed first time about 4 in every 100 less often than the average of the 2020 and 2022 model years. In 2025, 71.9% of 10,020 first MOTs on the 2021 Peugeot Partner passed first time (PRS: items fixed at the station the same day, counted as a fail). The official-style rate including PRS is 81.6%. Among 2,816 failed first-attempt MOT tests (test year 2025), Horn appears more often than on similar cars (5.5% of those tests; 154 observed failures; about 12× 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.
Ranked by how often they were actually recorded, the items that most often failed a 2021 Peugeot Partner at the first attempt were Windscreen wipers (14.9%), Headlight aim (11.8%) and Headlight (front) (8.5%), 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.
Among failed first-attempt tests we highlight patterns that appear more often than on similar cars. Top example: Horn (5.5% of those tests; 154 observed failures; about 12× more often than similar cars). These are statistical signals, not a diagnosis of any individual car.
Horn shows up more often than on similar cars (5.5% of those tests; 154 observed failures; about 12× 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 2021 Peugeot Partner include Horn, Headlight (front), Track rod end (front). These are the faults that stand out compared with similar cars, not a complete list of what can go wrong on any individual car.
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.
This page highlights MOT failure patterns for the 2021 Peugeot Partner (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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