Common problems

Volkswagen Amarok common problems

What MOT testers find on the Volkswagen Amarok: the parts that fail or get advisories most often at each age, against all cars of the same age. From 82,102 DVSA MOT tests taken 2022 to 2025.

MOT data updated 28 September 2026

At 6 years, the most tested age

Brakes fails per 100 MOTs (n=10,584)7.8

All cars at 6 years (n=10,382,720)3.5

Tyres advisories and minor defects per 100 MOTs (n=10,584)15.2

All cars, same age (n=10,382,720)24.3

What stands out

Brakes fails show up on 7.8 of every 100 MOTs of a Volkswagen Amarok at 6 years old (n=10,584), against 3.5 for all cars of that age (n=10,382,720).
Tyres fails are less common: 2.9 per 100 MOTs against 5.6 for all cars at the same age.
The fail item testers record most often at 6 years: malfunction indicator lamp: inoperative or indicates a malfunction, on 3.1 per 100 MOTs (all cars 0.5).
The most common advisory or minor defect: tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge, on 11.4 per 100 MOTs.

Problems by part at 6 years

How many of every 100 MOTs found a fail, or an advisory or minor defect, in each area. A test with faults in two areas counts in both.

Volkswagen Amarok at 6 years (n=10,584) against all cars at 6 years (n=10,382,720). Per 100 MOTs.
Area	Fails	All cars	Advisories	All cars
Brakes	7.8	3.5	13.0	16.9
Lights and electrics	5.0	4.7	3.0	1.9
Exhaust, emissions and leaks	4.3	1.3	5.3	1.2
Tyres	2.9	5.6	15.2	24.3
Suspension	2.3	2.9	7.5	6.1
Windscreen, wipers and mirrors	1.7	3.3	4.7	3.1
Steering	1.6	0.5	0.9	0.8
Number plates and VIN	0.5	0.2	0.7	1.0
Seat belts and airbags	0.4	0.4	0.2	0.2
Body and structure	0.3	0.8	0.4	1.2
Road wheels	0.2	0.2	0.1	0.6

What testers fail most on the Amarok at 6 years

Fail items on the Volkswagen Amarok at 6 years (n=10,584), per 100 MOTs, with all cars at the same age (n=10,382,720).
Item	Area	Per 100 MOTs	All cars	Typical repair (estimate)
Malfunction indicator lamp: inoperative or indicates a malfunction	Exhaust, emissions and leaks	3.1	0.5	diagnosis from £39 (rough guide)
Brake pads under 1.5 mm	Brakes	2.5	1.9	£72 to £174 per axle (rough guide)
Handbrake too weak	Brakes	1.7	0.2
Parking brake performance: inoperative on one side	Brakes	1.3	0.1
Service brake performance: excessively binding	Brakes	1.1	0.1	£55 to £267 per wheel (rough guide)
Tyre condition: has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords	Tyres	1.0	1.4	£88 to £145 per tyre
Tyre tread below 1.6 mm	Tyres	1.0	2.0	£88 to £145 per tyre
Malfunction indicator lamp: inoperative or indicates a malfunction	Exhaust, emissions and leaks	1.0	0.4	diagnosis from £39 (rough guide)
Rbt (sp): efficiency less than 50% of the required value	Brakes	1.0	0.1
Brake light not working	Lights and electrics	0.9	0.7	£10 to £47 per lamp

Early warnings: advisories and minor defects at 6 years

Advisories and minor defects are recorded, but the car still passes. Across all cars, a part with an advisory or minor defect failed at the next MOT 5.5 times in 100 (n=88,666,940 pairs of consecutive MOTs), against 0.3 times in 100 when the same part had none (n=12,936,860,350).

Advisories and minor defects on the Volkswagen Amarok at 6 years (n=10,584), per 100 MOTs, with all cars at the same age (n=10,382,720).
Item	Area	Per 100 MOTs	All cars	If it needs replacing (estimate)
Tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge	Tyres	11.4	14.3	£88 to £145 per tyre
Brake pads: wearing thin	Brakes	8.1	9.3	£72 to £174 per axle (rough guide)
Engine oil leaks: leak, but not excessive	Exhaust, emissions and leaks	4.7	0.9
Windscreen: damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view	Windscreen, wipers and mirrors	3.9	1.8
Brake discs: worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened	Brakes	2.9	7.3	£148 to £376 per axle (rough guide)
Shock absorbers: has light misting of oil	Suspension	2.8	1.9	£122 to £484 per axle (pair) (rough guide)
Anti-roll bar pins and bushes: pin or bush worn but not resulting in excessive movement	Suspension	2.6	0.1	£92 to £237 per arm (rough guide)
Tyre condition: slightly damaged/cracking or perishing	Tyres	1.9	9.2	£88 to £145 per tyre
Brake discs: worn, but not excessively	Brakes	1.9	2.5	£148 to £376 per axle (rough guide)
Registration plate lamp(s): inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources	Lights and electrics	1.7	1.0

Repair estimates are a guide for an independent garage: labour at the national median local garage rate (median £78 an hour from 65 garages, ONS price quotes) times estimated labour hours, plus a parts band. Labour hours and most parts bands are estimates, not quotes, and prices vary by model, engine and region. A warning light fault shows the cost of the diagnosis only.

How problems change with age

Fails per 100 MOTs in the three most common areas at 6 years. Ages with fewer than 1,000 tests are not shown.
Age	Tests (n)	Brakes	Lights and electrics	Exhaust, emissions and leaks
3 years	5,134	2.8	3.3	1.9
4 years	7,975	4.2	3.6	3.5
5 years	9,821	6.3	3.9	4.4
6 years	10,584	7.8	5.0	4.3
7 years	10,206	8.4	6.9	3.5
8 years	9,767	9.2	8.0	2.1
9 years	9,363	10.5	9.9	1.7
10 years	8,079	12.1	11.7	2.6
11 years	5,844	11.3	12.8	2.8
12 years	3,576	12.8	17.1	3.3
13 years	1,753	13.9	20.5	2.5

Mileage

At 6 years, Volkswagen Amarok cars showing 30,000 to 60,000 miles failed 14.2% of MOTs (n=3,351); the band that failed most, 90,000 to 120,000 miles, failed 22.1% (n=1,848). For pass and fail rates by age, see Volkswagen Amarok MOT fail rates.

What to check on a viewing

On the Volkswagen Amarok, testers most often record malfunction indicator lamp: inoperative or indicates a malfunction; brake pads under 1.5 mm; handbrake too weak. Look at these first, then the areas below.

Brakes

On the test drive the car should stop in a straight line without pulling, juddering or grinding.
Look at the discs through the wheels for a deep lip, heavy rust or scoring.
Check that the handbrake or electronic parking brake holds the car on a slope.
Ask when the pads, discs and brake fluid were last changed, and for the receipts.

Lights and electrics

With someone outside, try every light: dipped and main beam, indicators, brake lights, fog lights and number plate lamps.
Check that the warning lights come on with the ignition and go out once the engine runs.
Look for misted, cracked or yellowed headlamp lenses.

Exhaust, emissions and leaks

Start the engine from cold if you can and watch the exhaust for blue or black smoke.
Check that the engine warning light goes out after starting and stays out on the test drive.
Look under the car and around the engine for oil or fluid leaks, and listen for a blowing exhaust.

Ask for the car's MOT history and service record: advisories that repeat from one year to the next show what has been left. GOV.UK MOT history.

Questions

What are the most common problems on the Volkswagen Amarok?

At 6 years, the age with the most MOT tests (10,584), the fail items testers record most often on the Volkswagen Amarok are malfunction indicator lamp: inoperative or indicates a malfunction (3.1 per 100 MOTs), brake pads under 1.5 mm (2.5 per 100 MOTs), handbrake too weak (1.7 per 100 MOTs). The most common advisories or minor defects are tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge (11.4) and brake pads: wearing thin (8.1).

Which parts of the Volkswagen Amarok fail more often than on other cars?

At 6 years: brakes (7.8 per 100 MOTs against 3.5 for all cars); exhaust, emissions and leaks (4.3 per 100 MOTs against 1.3 for all cars); steering (1.6 per 100 MOTs against 0.5 for all cars). Compared with 10,382,720 MOTs of all cars the same age.

Volkswagen Amarok problems by area

Other Volkswagen models

All Volkswagen models · Common problems by make

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.

The all cars figures cover all class 4 vehicles (cars and light vans) tested at the same age.

Looking at a Volkswagen Amarok?

These figures describe the model, not the car in front of you. Found one you might buy? See what the VetTheCar Buying Report covers, or use the tools that work without a registration.

See a sample report Car tools · MOT fail rates by model · Compare models by MOT record

Repair estimates: ONS consumer price quotes for local garage labour (09/2025 to 08/2026), the MOT inspection manual for defect wording, and estimated labour hours and parts bands. Not affiliated with or endorsed by ONS.

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 28 September 2026.

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