Volkswagen Tiguan MOT failure rate and common faults
254,659 Volkswagen Tiguan cars aged 3 to 20 took their MOT in 2025, and 18.6% failed at the first attempt. An average car of the same age failed 22.4% of the time, which makes the Volkswagen Tiguan 17% less likely to fail than the typical car on the road. Here is what fails, and which years to look for.
18.6%
failed first time
254,659 MOT tests in 2025
-17%
vs same age average
average car of this age mix: 22.4%
63 of 208
age adjusted rank
among cars; 1 fails least
89.0
dangerous defects per 1,000
same age average: 88.3
What fails on a Volkswagen Tiguan 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 Tiguan MOT failures
The individual failure items testers recorded most often, per 1,000 tests.
| Failure item | Area | Per 1,000 tests |
|---|---|---|
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm | Tyres | 35.6 |
| Suspension arms: pin or bush excessively worn | Suspension | 33.5 |
| Coil spring: fractured or broken | Suspension | 30.3 |
| Brake pads: less than 1.5 mm thick | Brakes | 21.1 |
| Malfunction indicator lamp: inoperative or indicates a malfunction | Engine, emissions and leaks | 17.7 |
| Tyres: has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords | Tyres | 17.5 |
| Wipers: does not clear the windscreen effectively | Windscreen, wipers and mirrors | 14.4 |
| Tyres: has ply or cords exposed | Tyres | 13.3 |
| Suspension arm: corroded and seriously weakened | Suspension | 8.3 |
| Headlamp aim: too low | Lights and electrics | 7.9 |
Volkswagen Tiguan 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 | 19,576 | 11.6% | 11.4% | 28,800 |
| 2021 | 23,227 | 9.8% | 12.8% | 36,800 |
| 2020 | 24,249 | 11.3% | 14.1% | 43,000 |
| 2019 | 35,583 | 12.8% | 16.5% | 51,200 |
| 2018 | 29,373 | 14.6% | 19.1% | 61,700 |
| 2017 | 26,157 | 14.2% | 21.8% | 71,300 |
| 2016 | 18,479 | 18.7% | 25.1% | 77,500 |
| 2015 | 19,811 | 25.2% | 28.1% | 83,900 |
| 2014 | 15,180 | 28.2% | 31.4% | 90,900 |
| 2013 | 12,120 | 29.0% | 34.3% | 99,300 |
| 2012 | 8,804 | 34.0% | 36.6% | 109,800 |
| 2011 | 6,518 | 35.5% | 38.8% | 118,600 |
| 2010 | 6,310 | 37.7% | 40.7% | 123,000 |
| 2009 | 5,594 | 39.6% | 41.8% | 126,200 |
| 2008 | 3,667 | 39.3% | 42.9% | 133,400 |
Advisories to look for in a Volkswagen Tiguan'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 Tiguan, 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 edge296.1
- Brake discs: worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened162.8
- Suspension arms: pin or bush worn but not resulting in excessive movement145.2
- Brake pads: wearing thin128.4
- Tyres: slightly damaged/cracking or perishing125.5
- Shock absorbers: has light misting of oil63.3
Checking a used Volkswagen Tiguan before you buy
Against cars of the same age, the Volkswagen Tiguan fails more often than average on suspension. Start there.
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.
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 Tiguan cars tested: Diesel 70%, Petrol 30%. Average age at test 8.0 years, average recorded mileage 68,100.
Volkswagen Tiguan MOT questions
What is the Volkswagen Tiguan MOT failure rate?
18.6% of Volkswagen Tiguan cars failed their first MOT test of 2025, from 254,659 tests on vehicles aged 3 to 20. An average car with the same age mix failed 22.4% of the time, so the Volkswagen Tiguan was 17% less likely to fail.
What fails most often on a Volkswagen Tiguan MOT?
Suspension caused the most failure items, at 114 per 1,000 tests. The single most common failure item was "Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm", recorded 35.6 times per 1,000 tests.
Which Volkswagen Tiguan year has the best MOT record?
Measured against cars of the same age, 2017 registrations did best: 14.2% failed against an average of 21.8% 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 Tiguan will pass?
No. These are averages across every Volkswagen Tiguan 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 Golf23.9% failed
- Volkswagen Polo31.7% failed
- Volkswagen Transporter29.2% failed
- Volkswagen Passat28.0% failed
- Volkswagen Caddy31.5% failed
- Volkswagen Up20.5% failed
Ranked close to the Volkswagen Tiguan
- Skoda Citigorank 61
- Audi A3rank 62
- Jaguar F-Pacerank 64
- Volvo XC60rank 65
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 Tiguan 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.