MOT fail rates

Volkswagen e-Golf MOT fail rate by age

How often the Volkswagen e-Golf fails its MOT at each age, compared with all cars of the same age, and what it fails on. From 23,394 DVSA MOT tests taken 2022 to 2025.

MOT data updated 22 September 2026

At 4 years, the most tested age

MOT fail rate at age 4 (n=6,581)13.0%

All cars at 4 years (n=8,699,937)13.4%

Median mileage at test27,576

All cars, median mileage29,800

197 of 348 model groups with enough tests fail less often at 4 years.

What stands out

At 3 years the Volkswagen e-Golf fails 13.0% of MOTs (6,313 tests), about the same as the 12.1% for all cars that age. At 6 years it fails 15.3% (3,984 tests), 2.5 points below the 17.8% average.
The gap is widest at 6 years: 2.5 points below all cars.
Its most common structural or mechanical fail item at 4 years: Shock absorber leaking, at 1.5 per 100 MOTs.

MOT fail rate by age

Solid line: this model. Dashed line: all cars at the same age.

Volkswagen e-Golf: share of MOT tests that failed, by age, against all cars. Ages with fewer than 1,000 tests are not shown.
Age	MOT fail rate	Tests (n)	All cars	Difference	Median mileage
3 years	13.0%	6,313	12.1%	+0.9 pts	20,631 miles
4 years	13.0%	6,581	13.4%	−0.3 pts	27,576 miles
5 years	13.5%	6,516	15.3%	−1.8 pts	34,640 miles
6 years	15.3%	3,984	17.8%	−2.5 pts	40,667 miles

Most common fail items at 4 years

Split into structural or mechanical items and wear items. Wear items (tyres, brake pads, wipers, bulbs) say more about upkeep than about the design.

Structural and mechanical

Fail item	Per 100 MOTs
Shock absorber leaking Major	1.5

Out of 6,581 MOTs. A test with two faults counts twice.

Wear and upkeep

Fail item	Per 100 MOTs
Tyre with cords exposed Dangerous	4.9
Tyre condition: has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords Major	3.6
Tyre tread below 1.6 mm Dangerous	1.7
Wipers not clearing screen Major	1.4
Tyre condition: has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Dangerous	0.8
Tyre condition: has a bulge, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Dangerous	0.5

Out of 6,581 MOTs. A test with two faults counts twice.

Other models at 4 years

Model	MOT fail rate	Tests (n)	All cars
Volkswagen Golf	10.4%	186,702	13.4%
Volkswagen Polo	12.7%	137,075	13.4%
Volkswagen Tiguan	10.7%	112,292	13.4%

MOT fail rate by first-use year

Each year has its own page: the fail rate for cars first used that year at each MOT from 2022 to 2025 with at least 1,000 tests, the most common faults at that age, and the car tax and ULEZ rules for that year.

First-use year data updated 28 September 2026.

Latest MOT age with at least 1,000 tests for each first-use year.
First used	Age at test	MOT fail rate	Tests (n)	All cars
2019	6 years in 2025	15.5%	3,659	17.8%
2020	5 years in 2025	12.4%	2,564	15.3%

More on the Volkswagen e-Golf

Read this with care. A fail rate is not a measure of build quality. How far cars are driven, how they are used and how well owners maintain them all change it, and wear items such as tyres and brake pads are common fails. Compare a model only with cars of the same age. Methodology and limits.

Looking at one Volkswagen e-Golf?

These are figures for the model, not for one car. The VetTheCar Buying Report looks at a single car: its MOT tests, defects, advisories and mileage readings.

See an example report Browse the car tools

Source

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data, class 4 normal MOT tests, 2022 to 2025. MOT data updated 22 September 2026.

Not affiliated with or endorsed by DVSA. How we calculate these figures · Data sources