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MOT fail rates

Volkswagen Golf MOT fail rate by age

How often the Volkswagen Golf fails its MOT at each age, compared with all cars of the same age, and what it fails on. From 3,588,854 DVSA MOT tests taken 2022 to 2025.

MOT data updated

At 8 years, the most tested age

MOT fail rate at age 8 (n=269,751)16.2%
All cars at 8 years (n=10,440,457)23.8%
Median mileage at test64,962
All cars, median mileage60,745

55 of 315 model groups with enough tests fail less often at 8 years.

What stands out

  • At 3 years the Volkswagen Golf fails 9.1% of MOTs (151,306 tests), 2.9 points below the 12.1% for all cars that age. At 25 years it fails 41.6% (9,130 tests), 5.3 points above the 36.3% average.
  • The gap is widest at 9 years: 8.7 points below all cars.
  • Its most common structural or mechanical fail item at 8 years: Shock absorber leaking, at 2.6 per 100 MOTs.

MOT fail rate by age

3 years 25 years 49.6%

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

Volkswagen Golf: share of MOT tests that failed, by age, against all cars. Ages with fewer than 1,000 tests are not shown.
AgeMOT fail rateTests (n)All carsDifferenceMedian mileage
3 years9.1%151,30612.1%−2.9 pts23,918 miles
4 years10.4%186,70213.4%−3.0 pts31,397 miles
5 years11.2%227,05415.3%−4.1 pts39,122 miles
6 years13.1%252,33317.8%−4.7 pts47,522 miles
7 years14.3%267,14420.6%−6.3 pts56,029 miles
8 years16.2%269,75123.8%−7.6 pts64,962 miles
9 years18.4%254,94727.1%−8.7 pts73,833 miles
10 years22.0%241,71330.3%−8.3 pts82,441 miles
11 years26.2%226,70433.3%−7.1 pts91,432 miles
12 years31.0%209,28136.0%−5.0 pts99,247 miles
13 years34.8%199,84138.3%−3.5 pts105,483 miles
14 years37.2%190,65840.3%−3.1 pts112,637 miles
15 years39.0%183,76441.6%−2.6 pts116,956 miles
16 years41.2%168,44542.6%−1.4 pts120,102 miles
17 years43.4%141,75843.1%+0.3 pts123,517 miles
18 years44.9%109,89243.3%+1.7 pts123,770 miles
19 years45.1%84,19343.2%+1.9 pts125,555 miles
20 years44.6%68,83842.8%+1.8 pts129,628 miles
21 years44.4%55,06442.1%+2.3 pts130,518 miles
22 years43.2%44,59841.0%+2.2 pts131,686 miles
23 years42.6%29,61539.6%+3.0 pts129,481 miles
24 years42.4%16,12337.8%+4.6 pts122,310 miles
25 years41.6%9,13036.3%+5.3 pts117,276 miles

Most common fail items at 8 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 itemPer 100 MOTs
Shock absorber leaking Major2.6
Coil spring broken Major1.3

Out of 269,751 MOTs. A test with two faults counts twice.

Wear and upkeep

Fail itemPer 100 MOTs
Tyre tread below 1.6 mm Dangerous2.6
Tyre with cords exposed Dangerous1.7
Tyre condition: has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords Major1.6
Brake pads under 1.5 mm Dangerous1.5
Wipers not clearing screen Major1.4
Headlamp aim: too low Major0.8
Headlight aimed too high Major0.8
Tyre condition: has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Dangerous0.7

Out of 269,751 MOTs. A test with two faults counts twice.

Other models at 8 years

ModelMOT fail rateTests (n)All cars
Volkswagen Polo25.1%194,37023.8%
Volkswagen Tiguan16.6%80,76823.8%
Volkswagen up!19.5%63,87223.8%

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 .

Latest MOT age with at least 1,000 tests for each first-use year.
First usedAge at testMOT fail rateTests (n)All cars
199825 years in 202342.0%1,52836.3%
199925 years in 202443.5%2,69736.3%
200025 years in 202541.5%3,61636.3%
200124 years in 202540.9%6,51337.8%
200223 years in 202541.0%11,80339.6%
200322 years in 202542.6%13,84241.0%
200421 years in 202547.6%9,71042.1%
200520 years in 202543.7%15,70542.8%
200619 years in 202543.3%24,35843.2%
200718 years in 202541.7%34,44143.3%
200817 years in 202540.7%35,43843.1%
200916 years in 202537.7%40,69942.6%
201015 years in 202537.3%42,22541.6%
201114 years in 202536.0%48,57740.3%
201213 years in 202532.9%51,02538.3%
201312 years in 202524.5%54,53336.0%
201411 years in 202520.9%64,03033.3%
201510 years in 202518.1%67,27430.3%
20169 years in 202515.9%64,83727.1%
20178 years in 202515.1%69,76523.8%
20187 years in 202513.8%61,62620.6%
20196 years in 202512.9%52,99017.8%
20205 years in 20259.8%39,64215.3%
20214 years in 20259.1%28,69513.4%
20223 years in 20258.1%25,82012.1%

More on the Volkswagen 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 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