Model Reports 5 min read Updated 18 Oct 2026

Volkswagen Transporter 2009: reliability & common MOT faults

In 2025, 59 in every 100 first MOTs on a 2009 Volkswagen Transporter were passes. Most common reason for a fail: Drive shaft joints and boots (front).

Summary

The 2009 Volkswagen Transporter follows the pattern of the model years either side.

At a glance

How 8,628 first tests went in 2025.

Passed first time
59 in every 100
Did not pass first time
41 in every 1003,537 failed first-attempt tests
The typical car
16 yearsabout 138,837 miles
First tests counted
8,628

What failed most often

  1. Drive shaft joints and boots (front)14 in every 100 failed tests
  2. Individual sidelight or tail light (front)9 in every 100 failed tests
  3. Suspension arm ball joint dust cover (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 2009 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.

Suspension

Two faults. The strongest is the anti-roll bar pins and bushes (front): 8.2 times as often as on similar cars.

Figures below are measured across the 3,536 of 3,537 failed first attempts 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.

Anti-roll bar pins and bushes (front)

Failed on 92 first tests8.2 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

What it means

An anti-roll bar pin or bush that is excessively worn is Major, and one likely to become detached is graded Dangerous. The wording is DVSA's general rule 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 127 first tests, 7.0 times as often as on similar cars.

Suspension arm ball joint dust cover (front)

Failed on 305 first tests3.3 times as often as similar carsLikely 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.

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 (compression-ignition rules for vehicles from 01/07/2008): 2.9 times as often as on similar cars.

Diesel emissions test (compression-ignition rules for vehicles from 01/07/2008)

Failed on 283 first tests2.9 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 21 first tests, 2.5 times as often as on similar cars.

Diesel engine warning light

Failed on 258 first tests2.1 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. Advisories count notes recorded on failed first tests only.

Body and structure

One fault: drive shaft joints and boots (front), 2.2 times as often as on similar cars.

Drive shaft joints and boots (front)

Failed on 486 first tests2.2 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.

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.

Power steering pipes and hoses (front)

Noted on 55 first tests5.7 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Suspension mounting area (front)

Noted on 54 first tests3.3 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Seat belt condition (front)

Noted on 129 first tests3.1 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
59in every 100
Passed on the first test.
Fixed at the station
7in every 100
Failed, then fixed at the test station the same day.
Failed
34in every 100
Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.

First-attempt pass 59.0% of 8,628 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 65.7%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 7 fixed and the 34 not fixed make the 41 in every 100 that did not pass first time.

Same model, other years

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

40608010019851990199520002005200920152020Older carsNewer cars
4060801001990200020092020Older 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, 60 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
200255 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
2009 This car59 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 2009 Transporter.

Of 2009 Transporter vehicles with under 96,000 miles, 72 in every 100 passed their 2025 MOT first time. With 186,000 miles or more, 56 in every 100 did.

Under 96,0001,723 tests
72
96,000–125,0001,697 tests
59
125,000–152,000 Typical car1,743 tests
55
152,000–186,0001,747 tests
53
186,000 and over1,712 tests
56

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 96,000125,000–152,000186,000 and over
Drive shaft joints and boots (front)1.65.98.0
Individual sidelight or tail light (front)0.84.25.9
Suspension arm ball joint dust cover (front)2.24.12.1
Headlight aim1.73.73.4
Suspension arm pins and bushes (front)1.53.83.6

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

When a car fails

26in every 100

of failed cars had one item to fix.

51in every 100

of failed cars had three or more items to fix.

7in 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 2009 Volkswagen Transporter follows the pattern of the model years either side. Its main cause of failure was Drive shaft joints and boots (front), about 14 in every 100 failed tests. In 2025, 59.0% of 8,628 first MOTs on the 2009 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 65.7%. Among 3,537 failed first-attempt MOT tests (test year 2025), Anti-roll bar pins and bushes (front) appears more often than on similar cars (2.6% of those tests; 92 observed failures; about 8.2× 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 2009 Volkswagen Transporter at the first attempt were Drive shaft joints and boots (front) (13.7%), Individual sidelight or tail light (front) (9.2%) and Suspension arm ball joint dust cover (front) (8.6%), 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: Anti-roll bar pins and bushes (front) (2.6% of those tests; 92 observed failures; about 8.2× more often than similar cars). These are statistical signals, not a diagnosis of any individual car.
Anti-roll bar pins and bushes (front) shows up more often than on similar cars (2.6% of those tests; 92 observed failures; about 8.2× 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 2009 Volkswagen Transporter include Anti-roll bar pins and bushes (front), Suspension arm ball joint dust cover (front), Drive shaft joints and boots (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 2009 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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