Repair costs · Volkswagen Passat

Volkswagen Passat airbag warning light repair: MOT fails on these items more often than other cars of the same age

At MOT, the Volkswagen Passat fails on items fixed by airbag warning light repair at least 2.1 times as often as cars of the same ages and fuel. From 792,205 MOT tests at 23 ages (3 to 25 years), DVSA data 2022 to 2025.

MOT data updated 28 September 2026

Volkswagen Passat, at least, per 100 MOTs (n=792,205)1.39

Cars of the same ages and fuel, per 100 MOTs0.64

Times as often≥ 2.1

Ages compared23

What this shows

These are MOT fail items that airbag warning light repair fixes, as testers found them on the day of the test. Repairs done between MOTs never show up in MOT data, and mileage is not taken into account, so this is not how often owners pay for the repair.

By age

Fail items fixed by airbag warning light repair, per 100 MOT tests, against cars of the same age and the same fuel mix. The model figure is a floor: DVSA data lists each model’s 25 most recorded items per age, and an item outside that list is counted as zero. The comparison figure is a ceiling: an item too rare to be listed for a fuel is counted at its highest possible value.

Volkswagen Passat: ages with at least 1,000 tests.
Age	Volkswagen Passat per 100	Same age and fuel per 100	Tests (n)
3 years	0.26	0.13	20,292
4 years	0.16	0.14	29,296
5 years	0.12	0.14	39,071
6 years	0	0.18	48,620
7 years	0.21	0.23	57,482
8 years	0.32	0.30	61,657
9 years	0.85	0.39	59,789
10 years	1.99	0.49	59,093
11 years	2.53	0.59	61,025
12 years	2.38	0.66	57,348
13 years	1.93	0.72	57,013
14 years	1.16	0.83	53,175
15 years	1.03	0.96	46,183
16 years	1.98	1.18	39,260
17 years	2.69	1.41	29,623
18 years	3.47	1.61	21,985
19 years	3.58	1.67	16,556
20 years	2.81	1.61	12,614
21 years	2.38	1.41	9,052
22 years	1.95	1.21	5,947
23 years	1.91	1.05	3,618
24 years	1.60	0.88	2,243
25 years	2.85	0.77	1,263

How we decide: a page exists only when the main generation’s rate, weighted to its own mix of ages and fuels, is at least 1.5 times the rate of cars of the same ages and fuel, from at least 50,000 tests at 3 or more ages, with at least 100 expected items.

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.

What garages charge

Prices are national. They are not specific to the Volkswagen Passat.

No public source records the price of this whole job, and the time it takes varies from car to car, so we do not publish a single figure. Garages charge by the hour, so ask for a quote that lists labour time and parts. The rates below are what UK garages charge per hour.

The warning light or emissions reading is only the symptom. What the repair costs depends on what the diagnosis finds, so treat any figure as the starting point, not the full fix.

Local garage labour, per hour (65 shops)£78

Local garage, middle half£70 to £96

Main dealer labour, per hour (62 shops)£156

Main dealer, middle half£144 to £174

Median hourly rate charged for car repairs, from 1,058 local garage and 953 main dealer price quotes collected by the ONS, September 2025 to August 2026. The same shops are priced each month, so the number of shops is the real sample.

Airbag warning light repair: garage rates and all models

MOT defects this repair fixes

Airbag (SRS) warning lamp indicates a fault0.47 per 100, all cars
Airbag (SRS) warning lamp does not illuminate0.039 per 100, all cars

Other models that fail on these items more often

Model	Times as often	Tests (n)
MG 3	at least 11.2	81,125
SEAT Mii	at least 6.3	72,945
Nissan NV200	at least 5.4	122,396
Mercedes-Benz A-Class	at least 4.5	1,360,594
Mercedes-Benz CLA	at least 4.4	243,385
Nissan Qashqai	at least 3.3	2,264,112
Hyundai i20	at least 3.2	511,594
Renault Twingo	at least 3.1	101,465
SEAT Altea	at least 2.9	62,006
Renault Kangoo	at least 2.8	229,058

Looking at a Volkswagen Passat?

These figures describe all cars, not any one car. Found one you might buy? See what the VetTheCar Buying Report would tell you.

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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, and the MOT inspection manual published on GOV.UK. Prices: ONS consumer price inflation price quotes, September 2025 to August 2026, UK.

MOT data updated 28 September 2026. Prices updated 22 September 2026.

Not affiliated with or endorsed by DVSA or the Office for National Statistics. How we calculate these figures · Data sources