Model Reports 4 min read Updated 18 Oct 2026

Volkswagen Transporter 2002: reliability & common MOT faults

In 2025, 55 in every 100 first MOTs on a 2002 Volkswagen Transporter were passes. Most common reason for a fail: Suspension mounting area (rear).

Summary

The 2002 Volkswagen Transporter follows the pattern of the model years either side.

At a glance

How 5,811 first tests went in 2025.

Passed first time
55 in every 100
Did not pass first time
45 in every 1002,643 failed first-attempt tests
The typical car
23 yearsabout 176,152 miles
First tests counted
5,811

What failed most often

  1. Suspension mounting area (rear)13 in every 100 failed tests
  2. Horn11 in every 100 failed tests
  3. Headlight aim10 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 2002 Volkswagen Transporter 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

Two faults. The strongest is the horn: 5.6 times as often as on similar cars.

Figures below are measured across the 2,641 of 2,643 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.

Horn

Failed on 280 first tests5.6 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.

Rear fog light

Failed on 190 first tests2.4 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

A missing obligatory rear fog lamp, one that is not working, or one that does not emit a steady red light is graded Major. A rear fog lamp adversely affected by the operation of any other lamp is Major too. The manual allows it to go out when main beam is switched on or when dipped beam headlamps are switched off.

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

Steering

One fault: steering rack (front), 3.9 times as often as on similar cars.

Steering rack (front)

Failed on 159 first tests3.9 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

What it means

Steering gear casing retaining devices dangerously loose, or visible relative movement to the chassis or bodywork, is graded Dangerous. A casing not properly attached, or fractured, is Major, but a fracture that affects the stability or attachment of the casing is Dangerous. A gaiter damaged but still keeping dirt out is Minor, and Major once missing or no longer doing so.

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

Brakes

Three faults. The strongest is the brake efficiency below minimum (roller test): 2.9 times as often as on similar cars.

Brake efficiency below minimum (roller test)

Failed on 159 first tests2.9 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

Service brake efficiency below the minimum requirement is Major, and efficiency less than half of the required value is graded Dangerous. On a roller brake tester, if more than half of the wheels of a brake system lock, the efficiency requirement for that system counts as met.

Flexible brake hoses (front)

Failed on 109 first tests2.3 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

Testers reject a flexible brake hose for being excessively damaged or chafed only if it is severe enough to expose the reinforcement. Slight damage, chafing or twisting is graded Minor. A leak is graded Dangerous on a hydraulic braking system and Major on an air system, and a hose damaged and likely to fail is also Dangerous.

Also noted as an advisory

Testers also noted it as an advisory, worn but not yet failing, on 231 first tests, 2.4 times as often as on similar cars.

Flexible brake hoses (rear)

Failed on 73 first tests2.1 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

Testers reject a flexible brake hose for being excessively damaged or chafed only if it is severe enough to expose the reinforcement. Slight damage, chafing or twisting is graded Minor. A leak is graded Dangerous on a hydraulic braking system and Major on an air system, and a hose damaged and likely to fail is also Dangerous.

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage. Advisories count notes recorded on failed first tests only.

Suspension

Two faults. The strongest is the suspension arm ball joint dust cover (front): 2.7 times as often as on similar cars.

Suspension arm ball joint dust cover (front)

Failed on 176 first tests2.7 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

Whether a suspension arm ball joint dust cover still keeps dirt out decides its grade. Severely deteriorated is Minor, while missing, or no longer preventing the ingress of dirt, is Major.

Anti-roll bar linkage pins and bushes (front)

Failed on 83 first tests2.5 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

Excessive wear in an anti-roll bar linkage pin or bush is Major. If the pin or bush is likely to become detached, it is graded Dangerous. The wording is DVSA's general one for a suspension pin, bush or joint.

Also noted as an advisory

Testers also noted it as an advisory, worn but not yet failing, on 140 first tests, 2.9 times as often as on similar cars.

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage. Advisories count notes recorded on failed first tests only.

Noise, emissions and leaks

Two faults. The strongest is the diesel emissions test (pre-reg turbo rules before 01/07/2008): 2.2 times as often as on similar cars.

Diesel emissions test (pre-reg turbo rules before 01/07/2008)

Failed on 152 first tests2.2 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

Also noted as an advisory

Testers also noted it as an advisory, worn but not yet failing, on 77 first tests, 6.5 times as often as on similar cars.

Diesel emissions not tested

Failed on 69 first tests2.2 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

An emissions test on a diesel that is unable to be completed is graded Major. The failure wording 'not tested' carries the same Major grade.

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage. Advisories count notes recorded on failed first tests only.

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. Advisories for the faults above are shown with those faults.

Brake cable

Noted on 25 first tests14 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

Brake load-sensing valve

Noted on 25 first tests7.0 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

Other towbar components

Noted on 28 first tests6.7 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Steering column

Noted on 23 first tests6.2 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Other suspension component ball joint (front)

Noted on 24 first tests2.5 times as often as similar carsPossible 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
55in every 100
Passed on the first test.
Fixed at the station
5in every 100
Failed, then fixed at the test station the same day.
Failed
40in every 100
Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.

First-attempt pass 54.5% of 5,811 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 60.4%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 5 fixed and the 40 not fixed make the 45 in every 100 that did not pass first time.

Same model, other years

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

40608010019851990199520022005201020152020Older carsNewer cars
4060801001990200220102020Older carsNewer 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, 53 in every 100 passed first time.

YearPassed first timeFirst tests
198559 in every 100414
198663 in every 100668
198761 in every 100586
198864 in every 100751
198962 in every 1001,014
199063 in every 1001,024
199162 in every 100696
199253 in every 100915
199354 in every 100880
199455 in every 1001,547
199553 in every 1001,828
199653 in every 1002,153
199755 in every 1002,564
199854 in every 1003,263
199954 in every 1003,621
200054 in every 1004,114
200154 in every 1005,678
2002 This car55 in every 1005,811
200354 in every 1006,356
200454 in every 1008,432
200555 in every 1009,265
200655 in every 10010,567
200757 in every 10012,554
200858 in every 10011,988
200959 in every 1008,628
201063 in every 10010,394
201165 in every 10011,699
201267 in every 10012,064
201370 in every 10014,083
201469 in every 10015,453
201571 in every 10017,534
201674 in every 10019,427
201775 in every 10019,561
201877 in every 10019,427
201979 in every 10018,198
202080 in every 10014,018
202181 in every 10017,468
202284 in every 10012,292

If you are buying one

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

Mileage matters most on a 2002 Transporter.

Of 2002 Transporter vehicles with under 124,000 miles, 67 in every 100 passed their 2025 MOT first time. With 226,000 miles or more, 50 in every 100 did.

Under 124,0001,154 tests
67
124,000–161,0001,167 tests
51
161,000–191,000 Typical car1,152 tests
53
191,000–226,0001,164 tests
51
226,000 and over1,171 tests
50

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 124,000161,000–191,000226,000 and over
Suspension mounting area (rear)1.76.09.7
Horn2.85.46.3
Headlight aim3.44.85.6
Drive shaft joints and boots (front)1.94.36.1
Individual sidelight or tail light (front)2.83.45.1

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

When a car fails

17in every 100

of failed cars had one item to fix.

63in every 100

of failed cars had three or more items to fix.

10in 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.

The 2002 Volkswagen Transporter follows the pattern of the model years either side. Its main cause of failure was Suspension mounting area (rear), about 13 in every 100 failed tests. In 2025, 54.5% of 5,811 first MOTs on the 2002 Volkswagen Transporter passed first time (PRS: items fixed at the station the same day, counted as a fail). The official-style rate including PRS is 60.4%. Among 2,643 failed first-attempt MOT tests (test year 2025), Horn appears more often than on similar cars (10.6% of those tests; 280 observed failures; about 5.6× 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 2002 Volkswagen Transporter at the first attempt were Suspension mounting area (rear) (13.4%), Horn (10.6%) and Headlight aim (10.3%), 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 (10.6% of those tests; 280 observed failures; about 5.6× 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 (10.6% of those tests; 280 observed failures; about 5.6× 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 2002 Volkswagen Transporter include Horn, Steering rack (front), Brake efficiency below minimum (roller test). 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 2002 Volkswagen Transporter (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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