Performance by cohort

3 year bands · 139,855 tests

Pass rate drops 1.8 points across the cohorts — recent Transit Custom examples are doing worse than the early cars at the same tested age.

Pre-2018 cohort 10,016

Pass

78.3%

Fail

16.0%

PRS

4.9%

Avg mileage at test

88,464 mi

2018–2020 cohort 128,810

Pass

81.3%

Fail

12.5%

PRS

5.3%

Avg mileage at test

75,842 mi

2021+ cohort 1,029

Pass

76.5%

Fail

17.0%

PRS

5.0%

Avg mileage at test

44,445 mi

Cohort = vehicle's first-registration year band. Same model, different generations of build.

Generations on file · 2

Ford Transit Custom · UK market

Ford Transit Custom 2012-2023 — 2012–2023

Photos: Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA / CC BY / public domain.

The picture

Ford Transit Custom: solid MOT record across 86,593 tests

The Ford Transit Custom is a mid-sized, front wheel drive van produced by Ford Europe since 2012. It marked a split in the Transit range, with the Custom being the smaller version and the Ford Transit being the larger.

MOT data from 86,593 tests puts this van on a 80.4% first-time pass rate, above the UK fleet average. Average mileage at test is 64,946 miles. The most common fail item is cracked or discoloured windscreen, followed by inoperative wiper blade.

Buyers weighing up a used Transit Custom should treat the failure breakdown as a pre-purchase checklist. The pass rate is reasonable, but the gap between first attempt and a clean sheet narrows with age and mileage.

ABI Insurance Group

Group 22–32

Above average — worth comparing quotes before buying. Lower groups cost less to insure; UK fleet average is around Group 22.

Source: ABI Group Rating Panel · administered by Thatcham Research · groups cover standard variants; performance trims may sit higher. Browse all insurance groups →

22–32

out of 50

Compare quotes →

Top ten reasons for rejection.

Filter failures:

Hide wear items to see the model's real defects.

01

Windscreen or window damaged or seriously discoloured but not adversely affecting driver's view

6,884 occurrences · 4.9% of tests
02

A rear registration plate lamp or light source missing or inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources

3,798 occurrences · 2.7% of tests
03

a brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm

2,726 occurrences · 1.9% of tests
04

Wiper blade missing or obviously not clearing the windscreen

2,200 occurrences · 1.6% of tests
05

A transmission shaft constant velocity joint boot severely deteriorated

2,098 occurrences · 1.5% of tests
06

Wiper blade defective

1,705 occurrences · 1.2% of tests
07

A tyre seriously damaged

1,529 occurrences · 1.1% of tests
08

A headlamp or light source missing, inoperative or more than ½ not functioning in the case of LED

1,400 occurrences · 1.0% of tests
09

Brake pipe damaged or excessively corroded

1,392 occurrences · 1.0% of tests
10

Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements

1,389 occurrences · 1.0% of tests

Counts cover Major and Dangerous defects logged at test. Advisory items excluded so this shows why a car was rejected, not just what the tester flagged in passing.

Worst-case fix budget · top 3 failures

£108–£240

If every one of this Transit Custom's most-logged Major fails hit at the same MOT, that's the real-world UK garage range. Reality is usually one or two items, not all of them. Open the estimator →

Try the calculator

Build your own retest budget.

Year-band analysis

Best year to buy. Worst to avoid.

First-time MOT pass rate split by registration band. A 4.8-point gap between bands means the year you buy Ford Transit Custom has a real effect on what turns up at the garage.

Best band to buy

81.3%

2018–2020 registration

the 2018–2020 band climbs to 81.3% — a 4.8-point improvement. Failures here are mostly wear items: damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view, inoperative in the case of multiple lamps… — the structural issues that drag down older examples don't appear in the top-10 for this band.

Band to be cautious about

76.5%

2021+ registration

On the 2021-on band, the data shows a 76.5% pass rate against a fleet average of 81.3% on the newer band. The main culprits logged at test: does not clear the windscreen effectively, damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view, and less than 1.5 mm thick. Average mileage on test for this band is 44,445 miles — high-mileage wear items are a recurring theme.

Best band to buy: 2018-2020 (81.3% first-time pass). Worst band to avoid: 2021+ (76.5% pass). That's a 4.8-point spread across 1,029 older tests and 128,810 newer ones — year of build makes a material difference on this model.

Year-spread leaderboard →

Tools that pre-empt a retest.

Picked against this car's top failure patterns. Affiliate links to Amazon UK — we earn a small cut at no cost to you. Disclosed up-front, doesn't shape the data.

Item 01 · Amazon UK

H7 / W21W bulb pack

A spare-bulb kit lives in the boot. Test morning is not the time to find your stop-lamp's gone.

Search Amazon UK

Item 02 · Amazon UK

Brake pad measurement gauge

Testers fail pads under 1.5mm. A wear gauge tells you if you've got two months left or two weeks.

Search Amazon UK

Item 03 · Amazon UK

Bosch Aerotwin wiper blades

Cheap wipers fail the test on smear streaks. Bosch Aerotwins last a winter and clear a screen properly.

Search Amazon UK

My Motor World · affiliate

Parts & supplies for this fix

Affiliate links — small commission, no extra cost to you.

Summit

Summit ADRG-18 Ford Replacement Stick-On Tinted Mirror Glass LHS

£8.79

View at My Motor World →

Summit

Summit ADRG-10 Ford Replacement Stick-On Tinted Mirror Glass RHS

£9.89

View at My Motor World →

Summit

Summit ADRG-47 Ford Replacement Stick-On Tinted Mirror Glass LHS

£9.89

View at My Motor World →

Summit

Summit ADRG-85 Ford Replacement Stick-On Tinted Mirror Glass RHS

£9.89

View at My Motor World →

Click Mechanic · affiliate

Book a mobile mechanic

Affiliate links — small commission, no extra cost to you.

Mobile mechanic · UK-wide

Book a mechanic at your door.

Fixed-price quotes upfront. No garage needed. Click Mechanic sends a vetted local mechanic to you — home, work, or roadside.

Get a quote →

Recall history

69 UK recalls on record.

The Transit Custom has 69 official UK vehicle recalls covering defect details, remedies, and affected build dates.

See all recalls

Buying or keeping a Transit Custom?

Use the failure ranking as a pre-test checklist or a haggling lever. Treat the headline pass rate as a fleet-wide trend, not a guarantee on any individual car.

If you own a Transit Custom and your last MOT looked nothing like the ranked failures above, that's normal — individual cars vary widely. The ranking shows the patterns testers flag most often across the country.