10,443 cars · 20,539 MOT tests · 2024 and 2025
Mazda Bongo Friendee MOT statistics
What every MOT test on a Mazda Bongo Friendee in Great Britain in 2024 and 2025 found: how often they fail, what testers flag, which faults owners leave, and how many never came back after failing.
45%
failed their first MOT test
23% higher than the UK average for their age
19.9 yrs
median age at the MOT
All cars: 9.7 years
61%
of tests had at least one advisory
All cars: 52%
36%
of tests mention corrosion
All cars: 12%
Failure rate by age
Share of initial tests that failed, by the car’s age at the test, against all UK cars of the same age.
- 0–4 years336 tests32%vs 13%
- 5–9 years2,225 tests41%vs 22%
- 10–14 years3,040 tests47%vs 35%
- 15–19 years4,730 tests47%vs 43%
- 20–24 years5,372 tests41%vs 42%
- 25–29 years4,795 tests49%vs 35%
- 30+ years41 tests59%vs 26%
Most common advisories on a Mazda Bongo Friendee
Things the tester noticed that weren’t bad enough to fail. Share of initial tests, against all UK cars.
- Engine oil leaks: leak, but not excessive16%vs 4.9%
- Brake discs: worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened11%vs 8.9%
- Condition: slightly damaged or cracking or perishing9.4%vs 8.8%
- Tread depth: worn close to legal limit or worn on edge8.4%vs 16%
- Brake pads (brake linings and pads): wearing thin7.8%vs 7.6%
- Rigid brake pipes: corroded, covered in grease or other material6.4%vs 3.8%
- Integral vehicle structure condition: is corroded but structural rigidity is not significantly reduced5.7%
- Coil spring: corroded5.6%vs 3.3%
- Component mounting prescribed areas: prescribed area is corroded but not considered excessive5.5%
- Linkage ball joints: ball joint has slight play4.5%
Most common MOT failures on a Mazda Bongo Friendee
Share of initial tests that failed on each item, including faults fixed during the test.
- Component mounting prescribed areas: prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength10%
- Rear fog lamp: not working6.7%
- Wipers: does not clear the windscreen effectively5.7%vs 2.0%
- Position lamp: not working4.5%vs 2.5%
- Headlamp aim: projected beam image is obviously incorrect3.6%vs 1.3%
- Integral vehicle structure condition: corroded to the extent that the rigidity of the assembly is significantly reduced3.6%
- Linkage ball joint dust cover: ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt3.4%
- Exhaust system: has a major leak of exhaust gases3.3%
- Stop lamp: not working3.3%vs 1.9%
- Ball joint dust cover (suspension arms): ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt2.3%
By part of the car
- Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment24%vs 11%
- Suspension21%vs 8.8%
- Body, chassis, structure13%vs 3.4%
- Brakes11%vs 6.5%
- Visibility8.8%vs 4.5%
- Noise, emissions and leaks8.0%vs 3.1%
- Steering4.5%vs 2.0%
- Tyres3.6%vs 6.3%
Advisories left unfixed
Of 10,894 advisories on a Mazda Bongo Friendee that we could follow to the next annual MOT, 31% were flagged again and 6.6% had turned into a failure (all cars: 29% and 5.1%). The items most often still there:
- Component mounting prescribed areas418 advisories52%
- Engine oil leaks1,195 advisories52%
- Condition (seat belts)73 advisories51%
- Rigid brake pipes436 advisories48%
- Registration plates149 advisories48%
- Coil spring379 advisories46%
- Flexible brake hoses104 advisories46%
- Integral vehicle structure condition402 advisories45%
Cars that disappeared from the MOT record
Of the 8,692 cars tested before October 2024, 11.6% had no MOT for over a year after their last one (imports overall: 10.4%; all cars: 7.2%). 129 of them (1.5%) had failed that last test. MOT records don’t say why: most of these cars were scrapped, but some were exported, laid up or declared off the road.
What they failed on last
- Component mounting prescribed areas: prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength47%
- Integral vehicle structure condition: corroded to the extent that the rigidity of the assembly is significantly reduced19%
- Rear fog lamp: not working19%
- Prescribed areas (seat belts): prescribed area strength or continuity significantly reduced19%
- Position lamp: not working17%
- Chassis condition: corroded to the extent that the rigidity of the assembly is significantly reduced16%
- Chassis condition: or chassis has excessive corrosion, seriously affecting its strength within 30cm of a body mounting15%
- Linkage ball joint dust cover: ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt14%
Most popular colours
Share of cars, against all UK cars.
- Silver32%vs 14%
- White29%vs 19%
- Grey11%vs 17%
- Green10%vs 1.7%
- Black9.3%vs 19%
- Blue5.5%vs 16%
Checking a Mazda Bongo Friendee?
Our free check reads its full MOT history and flags mileage that doesn’t add up, advisories that keep coming back, and recalls filed in Japan.
Buying guide: Mazda Bongo Friendee SG (SGLR)
Questions
- How often does a Mazda Bongo Friendee fail its MOT?
- 45% of first MOT tests on a Mazda Bongo Friendee failed in 2024 and 2025, from 20,539 tests. That’s 23% higher than the UK average for cars of the same age.
- What is the most common MOT advisory on a Mazda Bongo Friendee?
- Engine oil leaks: leak, but not excessive, on 16% of tests.
- What does a Mazda Bongo Friendee most often fail its MOT on?
- Component mounting prescribed areas: prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength, on 10% of tests.
More MOT statistics
How we worked these out
- Every car MOT in Great Britain in 2024 and 2025, from DVSA’s anonymised MOT tests and results. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. The analysis and any errors are ours, not DVSA’s.
- MOT records give the make, model name and engine size, not the chassis code, so models are grouped by name. A model page says when that grouping is looser than its title.
- Failure rates count initial tests only, and include faults fixed during the test (DVSA’s definition). Advisories are counted once per test.
- Ages run from the first-use date on the MOT record. For many imports that’s the date the car was first registered in the UK, not in Japan, so imports can look younger than they are, and the age comparison flatters them less than it should.
- An advisory counts as unfixed if the same part of the car is flagged again, or fails, at the next annual MOT (300 to 500 days later).
- A car “disappeared” if it had no MOT between 31 October 2024 and 30 December 2025, over a year after its last test. It’s an estimate of cars scrapped or taken off the road: some were exported, laid up, or made exempt at 40 years old.
- The figures for all cars and all Japanese-brand cars come from a random one-in-20 sample of vehicles; the model figures use every car.