Model Reports 4 min read Updated 18 Oct 2026

Volkswagen Transporter 2013: reliability & common MOT faults

In 2025, 70 in every 100 first MOTs on a 2013 Volkswagen Transporter were passes. Most common reason for a fail: Coil spring (rear).

Summary

A 2013 Volkswagen Transporter passed first time about 2 in every 100 more often than the average of the 2012 and 2014 model years.

At a glance

How 14,083 first tests went in 2025.

Passed first time
70 in every 100
Did not pass first time
30 in every 1004,258 failed first-attempt tests
The typical car
12 yearsabout 114,734 miles
First tests counted
14,083

What failed most often

  1. Coil spring (rear)10 in every 100 failed tests
  2. Windscreen washers8 in every 100 failed tests
  3. Tyre condition (rear)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 2013 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): 10 times as often as on similar cars.

Figures below are measured across the 4,257 of 4,258 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 102 first tests10 times as often as similar carsStrong 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 118 first tests, 8.2 times as often as on similar cars.

Coil spring (rear)

Failed on 445 first tests2.2 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

A missing bump stop rubber is not a reason to fail a coil spring. When the vehicle is jacked and lowered, a spring that does not correctly locate as the suspension returns to its normal running position is rejected as insecurely attached. A missing spring is Major, and graded Dangerous where directional control is affected.

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

Brakes

Three faults. The strongest is the anti-lock braking system (ABS): 3.0 times as often as on similar cars.

Anti-lock braking system (ABS)

Failed on 185 first tests3.0 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

What it means

ABS is failed as removed only where it has obviously been removed, because not every vehicle in the age range where removal is not permitted has ABS. A warning lamp that does not light or shows an ABS fault is Major, as is a missing or excessively damaged wheel speed sensor. Every failure row for this component is Major.

Electronic stability control

Failed on 88 first tests2.2 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

An ESC warning lamp is failed only when the tester is certain it indicates an ESC malfunction, because the lamp takes various forms and the owner's handbook may need checking. The system is also called ESP, VDC or DSC, among many other names. Every failure row is Major, covering the lamp, wheel speed sensors, wiring, other components and the switch.

Brake performance (roller test, front)

Failed on 134 first tests2.1 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

A wheel with no recorded braking effort on the roller test is graded Dangerous. Inadequate effort, a brake grabbing severely, abnormal lag and excessive fluctuation in effort are each Major. So is significant brake effort recorded with no brake applied, which indicates a binding brake.

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.

Seat belt condition (front)

Noted on 146 first tests3.7 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

Power steering pipes and hoses

Noted on 23 first tests3.5 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Seat belt condition (rear)

Noted on 51 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
70in 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
25in every 100
Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.

First-attempt pass 69.8% of 14,083 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 75.0%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 5 fixed and the 25 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.

40608010019851990199520002005201020132020Older carsNewer cars
40608010019902000201020132020Older 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, 71 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
200959 in every 1008,628
201063 in every 10010,394
201165 in every 10011,699
201267 in every 10012,064
2013 This car70 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 2013 Transporter.

Of 2013 Transporter vehicles with under 78,000 miles, 78 in every 100 passed their 2025 MOT first time. With 157,000 miles or more, 65 in every 100 did.

Under 78,0002,764 tests
78
78,000–103,0002,858 tests
71
103,000–126,000 Typical car2,800 tests
69
126,000–157,0002,842 tests
66
157,000 and over2,816 tests
65

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 78,000103,000–126,000157,000 and over
Coil spring (rear)3.03.32.8
Windscreen washers2.02.62.9
Tyre condition (rear)2.02.62.2
Brake pads (rear)0.92.32.4
Headlight aim1.31.62.3

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.

34in 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.

A 2013 Volkswagen Transporter passed first time about 2 in every 100 more often than the average of the 2012 and 2014 model years. In 2025, 69.8% of 14,083 first MOTs on the 2013 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 75.0%. Among 4,258 failed first-attempt MOT tests (test year 2025), Anti-roll bar pins and bushes (front) appears more often than on similar cars (2.4% of those tests; 102 observed failures; about 10× 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 2013 Volkswagen Transporter at the first attempt were Coil spring (rear) (10.5%), Windscreen washers (7.8%) and Tyre condition (rear) (7.6%), 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) (2.4% of those tests; 102 observed failures; about 10× 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 (2.4% of those tests; 102 observed failures; about 10× 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 2013 Volkswagen Transporter include Anti-roll bar pins and bushes (front), Anti-lock braking system (ABS), Electronic stability control. 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 2013 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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