Volkswagen Golf MOT failure rate and common faults
817,043 Volkswagen Golf cars aged 3 to 20 took their MOT in 2025, and 23.9% failed at the first attempt. An average car of the same age failed 29.3% of the time, which makes the Volkswagen Golf 18% less likely to fail than the typical car on the road. Here is what fails, and which years to look for.
23.9%
failed first time
817,043 MOT tests in 2025
-18%
vs same age average
average car of this age mix: 29.3%
60 of 208
age adjusted rank
among cars; 1 fails least
97.7
dangerous defects per 1,000
same age average: 107.6
What fails on a Volkswagen Golf MOT
Failure items recorded per 1,000 tests, by part of the car, set against an average car with exactly the same spread of ages. A figure well above average is a weak spot worth checking before you buy.
The most common Volkswagen Golf MOT failures
The individual failure items testers recorded most often, per 1,000 tests.
| Failure item | Area | Per 1,000 tests |
|---|---|---|
| Coil spring: fractured or broken | Suspension | 32.8 |
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm | Tyres | 29.0 |
| Shock absorbers: has a serious fluid leak | Suspension | 24.6 |
| Linkage ball joint dust cover: ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt | Suspension | 20.7 |
| Tyres: has ply or cords exposed | Tyres | 20.2 |
| Brake pads: less than 1.5 mm thick | Brakes | 19.1 |
| Drive shafts: constant velocity boot split or insecure, no longer prevents the ingress of dirt | Body, chassis, exhaust and drive shafts | 17.8 |
| Tyres: has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords | Tyres | 16.5 |
| Malfunction indicator lamp: inoperative or indicates a malfunction | Engine, emissions and leaks | 16.3 |
| Ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt | Suspension | 15.1 |
Volkswagen Golf MOT failure rate by year
Every car fails more often as it ages, so each registration year is compared with the average for all cars of the same age. Years with fewer than 500 tests are left out.
| First registered | Tests | Failed | Same age average | Average mileage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 25,733 | 8.1% | 11.4% | 29,000 |
| 2021 | 28,611 | 9.1% | 12.8% | 38,100 |
| 2020 | 39,492 | 9.8% | 14.1% | 40,800 |
| 2019 | 52,783 | 13.0% | 16.5% | 49,500 |
| 2018 | 61,389 | 13.9% | 19.1% | 58,200 |
| 2017 | 69,477 | 15.2% | 21.8% | 66,100 |
| 2016 | 64,562 | 16.0% | 25.1% | 74,300 |
| 2015 | 66,990 | 18.2% | 28.1% | 82,400 |
| 2014 | 63,730 | 20.9% | 31.4% | 92,400 |
| 2013 | 54,226 | 24.6% | 34.3% | 98,600 |
| 2012 | 50,726 | 33.1% | 36.6% | 106,200 |
| 2011 | 48,268 | 36.2% | 38.8% | 114,800 |
| 2010 | 41,911 | 37.5% | 40.7% | 118,900 |
| 2009 | 40,372 | 38.0% | 41.8% | 117,800 |
| 2008 | 35,119 | 41.0% | 42.9% | 127,800 |
| 2007 | 34,078 | 42.1% | 42.7% | 125,200 |
| 2006 | 24,080 | 43.8% | 43.0% | 125,000 |
| 2005 | 15,496 | 44.3% | 42.4% | 127,500 |
Advisories to look for in a Volkswagen Golf's MOT history
An advisory is a tester's warning that something is wearing but has not failed yet. These are the ones written most often on the Volkswagen Golf, per 1,000 tests. If the car you are looking at has one of these, ask whether it has been fixed since.
- Tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge280.6
- Shock absorbers: has light misting of oil174.2
- Tyres: slightly damaged/cracking or perishing140.5
- Brake discs: worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened125.8
- Suspension arms: pin or bush worn but not resulting in excessive movement107.5
- Brake pads: wearing thin94.8
Checking a used Volkswagen Golf before you buy
The Volkswagen Golf has no part of the car that fails well above average for its age, so check the areas that fail most often overall.
Suspension
Drive over speed bumps with the radio off and listen for knocks. Look at the car side on: a corner sitting lower than the others often means a broken coil spring.
Lights and electrics
Walk round the car with every light on: headlights on dip and main beam, indicators, brake lights, fog lights and the number plate lamp. A pattern of electrical faults costs more than a bulb.
Tyres
Check the tread across the full width of every tyre, inner edge included. Uneven wear points to worn suspension or out of line steering geometry.
Averages only take you so far. The specific car's MOT history shows whether it has already failed on any of these, how often advisories were ignored, and whether the mileage climbs steadily from test to test. Read our guide to reading a car's MOT history before you go to view it.
Fuel mix of the Volkswagen Golf cars tested: Petrol 50%, Diesel 47%, Hybrid 3%. Average age at test 10.9 years, average recorded mileage 85,900.
Volkswagen Golf MOT questions
What is the Volkswagen Golf MOT failure rate?
23.9% of Volkswagen Golf cars failed their first MOT test of 2025, from 817,043 tests on vehicles aged 3 to 20. An average car with the same age mix failed 29.3% of the time, so the Volkswagen Golf was 18% less likely to fail.
What fails most often on a Volkswagen Golf MOT?
Suspension caused the most failure items, at 139 per 1,000 tests. The single most common failure item was "Coil spring: fractured or broken", recorded 32.8 times per 1,000 tests.
Which Volkswagen Golf year has the best MOT record?
Measured against cars of the same age, 2016 registrations did best: 16.0% failed against an average of 25.1% for cars that age. Older cars always fail more often, so compare a year with its age group rather than with newer cars.
Does this tell me whether a particular Volkswagen Golf will pass?
No. These are averages across every Volkswagen Golf tested in 2025. The car in front of you has its own record: its full MOT history shows every pass, failure and advisory it has had, and it is free to view by registration.
Other Volkswagen models
- Volkswagen Polo31.7% failed
- Volkswagen Transporter29.2% failed
- Volkswagen Tiguan18.6% failed
- Volkswagen Passat28.0% failed
- Volkswagen Caddy31.5% failed
- Volkswagen Up20.5% failed
Ranked close to the Volkswagen Golf
- BMW 2 Seriesrank 57
- Jaguar XFrank 58
- Mini Cooperrank 59
- Skoda Citigorank 61
How these figures are calculated
Source: DVSA Anonymised MOT tests and results, 2025 release. We count first tests of cars and small vans (class 4) aged 3 to 20, so a car that fails and is retested is counted once. A failure includes faults fixed and passed within the same visit. The same age average weights the national failure rate for each age by how many Volkswagen Golf cars of that age were tested, so a model is never penalised for having an older fleet. Make and model are as recorded at the test; trim levels are combined. Full method and rankings.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.