MOT fail rates

Volkswagen Jetta MOT fail rate by age

How often the Volkswagen Jetta fails its MOT at each age, compared with all cars of the same age, and what it fails on. From 56,076 DVSA MOT tests taken 2022 to 2025.

MOT data updated 22 September 2026

At 16 years, the most tested age

MOT fail rate at age 16 (n=7,374)40.4%

All cars at 16 years (n=4,858,625)42.6%

Median mileage at test128,267

All cars, median mileage102,757

110 of 264 model groups with enough tests fail less often at 16 years.

What stands out

At 6 years the Volkswagen Jetta fails 23.1% of MOTs (1,204 tests), 5.3 points above the 17.8% for all cars that age. At 19 years it fails 41.5% (1,059 tests), 1.7 points below the 43.2% average.
The gap is widest at 6 years: 5.3 points above all cars.
Its most common structural or mechanical fail item at 16 years: Coil spring broken, at 6.5 per 100 MOTs.

MOT fail rate by age, first used undefined or later

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

Volkswagen Jetta (first used undefined or later): 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
6 years	23.1%	1,204	17.8%	+5.3 pts	48,178 miles
7 years	24.8%	2,415	20.6%	+4.2 pts	57,192 miles
8 years	26.1%	3,427	23.8%	+2.3 pts	66,154 miles
9 years	29.7%	4,113	27.1%	+2.6 pts	75,451 miles
10 years	31.4%	4,512	30.3%	+1.1 pts	85,548 miles
11 years	33.9%	4,356	33.3%	+0.7 pts	95,494 miles
12 years	33.5%	3,944	36.0%	−2.5 pts	101,757 miles
13 years	35.9%	4,133	38.3%	−2.3 pts	107,084 miles
14 years	36.0%	4,820	40.3%	−4.2 pts	115,000 miles
15 years	37.7%	6,495	41.6%	−3.9 pts	123,367 miles
16 years	40.4%	7,374	42.6%	−2.1 pts	128,267 miles
17 years	40.2%	5,227	43.1%	−2.8 pts	131,014 miles
18 years	40.6%	2,997	43.3%	−2.7 pts	131,737 miles
19 years	41.5%	1,059	43.2%	−1.7 pts	130,842 miles

Most common fail items at 16 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
Coil spring broken Major	6.5
Driveshaft CV boot split Major	6.2
Linkage ball joint dust cover: ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt Major	4.4
Seat belt prescribed areas: prescribed area strength or continuity significantly reduced Major	3.7
Component mounting prescribed areas: prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength Major	3.6
Handbrake too weak Major	3.3
Suspension arm bush worn Major	3.1

Out of 7,374 MOTs. A test with two faults counts twice.

Wear and upkeep

Fail item	Per 100 MOTs
Headlamp aim: projected beam image is obviously incorrect Major	5.4
Tyre tread below 1.6 mm Dangerous	4.4
Side/position light not working Major	3

Out of 7,374 MOTs. A test with two faults counts twice.

Other models at 16 years

Model	MOT fail rate	Tests (n)	All cars
Volkswagen Golf	41.2%	168,445	42.6%
Volkswagen Polo	47.8%	98,520	42.6%
Volkswagen Passat	39.7%	39,260	42.6%

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
2006	19 years in 2025	41.5%	1,059	43.2%
2007	18 years in 2025	40.2%	1,576	43.3%
2008	17 years in 2025	39.4%	1,256	43.1%
2009	15 years in 2024	35.7%	1,060	41.6%
2011	12 years in 2023	34.6%	1,005	36.0%
2012	13 years in 2025	35.1%	1,075	38.3%
2013	11 years in 2024	33.1%	1,056	33.3%
2014	9 years in 2023	30.8%	1,066	27.1%
2015	10 years in 2025	28.0%	1,063	30.3%

More on the Volkswagen Jetta

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 Jetta?

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