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MOT fail rates

Volkswagen Tiguan MOT fail rate by age

How often the Volkswagen Tiguan fails its MOT at each age, compared with all cars of the same age, and what it fails on. From 901,561 DVSA MOT tests taken 2022 to 2025.

MOT data updated

At 5 years, the most tested age

MOT fail rate at age 5 (n=115,034)11.7%
All cars at 5 years (n=9,425,360)15.3%
Median mileage at test40,900
All cars, median mileage37,103

73 of 338 model groups with enough tests fail less often at 5 years.

What stands out

  • At 3 years the Volkswagen Tiguan fails 10.8% of MOTs (100,852 tests), 1.2 points below the 12.1% for all cars that age. At 17 years it fails 38.9% (3,715 tests), 4.2 points below the 43.1% average.
  • The gap is widest at 8 years: 7.1 points below all cars.
  • Its most common structural or mechanical fail item at 5 years: Malfunction indicator lamp: inoperative or indicates a malfunction, at 1 per 100 MOTs.

MOT fail rate by age

3 years 17 years 47.4%

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

Volkswagen Tiguan: 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 years10.8%100,85212.1%−1.2 pts24,708 miles
4 years10.7%112,29213.4%−2.6 pts32,468 miles
5 years11.7%115,03415.3%−3.6 pts40,900 miles
6 years13.0%109,26317.8%−4.8 pts49,897 miles
7 years14.5%95,04620.6%−6.1 pts59,033 miles
8 years16.6%80,76823.8%−7.1 pts67,220 miles
9 years21.3%66,68427.1%−5.8 pts74,471 miles
10 years25.5%57,19030.3%−4.8 pts82,493 miles
11 years28.5%44,05133.3%−4.7 pts91,184 miles
12 years31.3%35,40036.0%−4.7 pts100,246 miles
13 years34.8%29,44138.3%−3.5 pts108,722 miles
14 years36.1%24,85540.3%−4.2 pts116,036 miles
15 years37.2%17,08241.6%−4.4 pts121,379 miles
16 years38.6%9,88842.6%−3.9 pts126,649 miles
17 years38.9%3,71543.1%−4.2 pts132,509 miles

Most common fail items at 5 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
Malfunction indicator lamp: inoperative or indicates a malfunction Major1
Suspension arm bush worn Major0.9
Brake discs: significantly and obviously worn Major0.6
Malfunction indicator lamp: inoperative or indicates a malfunction Major0.4

Out of 115,034 MOTs. A test with two faults counts twice.

Wear and upkeep

Fail itemPer 100 MOTs
Tyre tread below 1.6 mm Dangerous3
Tyre condition: has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords Major1.8
Brake pads under 1.5 mm Dangerous1.7
Wipers not clearing screen Major1
Tyre with cords exposed Dangerous0.7
Headlamp aim: too low Major0.6

Out of 115,034 MOTs. A test with two faults counts twice.

Other models at 5 years

ModelMOT fail rateTests (n)All cars
Volkswagen Golf11.2%227,05415.3%
Volkswagen Polo17.1%153,33815.3%
Volkswagen T-Roc9.7%53,73015.3%

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
200817 years in 202538.9%3,69843.1%
200916 years in 202539.3%5,63742.6%
201015 years in 202537.5%6,35241.6%
201114 years in 202535.3%6,55540.3%
201213 years in 202533.9%8,83238.3%
201312 years in 202528.9%12,16436.0%
201411 years in 202528.0%15,25433.3%
201510 years in 202525.1%19,88730.3%
20169 years in 202518.6%18,55627.1%
20178 years in 202514.2%26,23823.8%
20187 years in 202514.5%29,35920.6%
20196 years in 202512.7%34,11417.8%
20205 years in 202511.2%23,78515.3%
20214 years in 20259.6%22,57413.4%
20223 years in 202510.1%16,52012.1%

More on the Volkswagen Tiguan

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 Tiguan?

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