Volkswagen Golf MOT pass rate and common faults
MOT tests in 2025, published 22 Jun 2026. DVSA publishes a new year each summer.
882,477 Volkswagen Golf cars had an MOT in 2025 and 75.1% passed first time. That is above what cars of the same ages scored (70.3%).
Find the year your car was first registered below, then check the faults it is most likely to fail on.
Pass rate by year
Each year's first-time pass rate, with a tick for all cars first used that year. Years with fewer than 300 tests, and cars over 20 years old, are left out. Years with 1,000 or more tests link to a page of their own, with that year's common faults.
| Item | Volkswagen Golf | All cars that year |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 91.9% | 88.5% |
| 2021 | 90.9% | 87.2% |
| 2020 | 90.0% | 86.0% |
| 2019 | 86.9% | 83.5% |
| 2018 | 86.1% | 80.9% |
| 2017 | 84.8% | 78.2% |
| 2016 | 84.0% | 74.9% |
| 2015 | 81.8% | 71.9% |
| 2014 | 79.0% | 68.6% |
| 2013 | 75.4% | 65.8% |
| 2012 | 66.9% | 63.5% |
| 2011 | 63.8% | 61.2% |
| 2010 | 62.4% | 59.3% |
| 2009 | 62.0% | 58.3% |
| 2008 | 59.0% | 57.2% |
| 2007 | 57.9% | 57.4% |
| 2006 | 56.2% | 57.0% |
| 2005 | 55.7% | 57.6% |
Source: DVSA, tests in 2025, published 22 June 2026.
Common failures
The share of all Volkswagen Golf cars tested that failed on, or had fixed at the station, each item. Worth checking before the MOT or before you buy.
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Coil spring: fractured or broken | 2.9% |
| Tread depth: tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm | 2.2% |
| Shock absorbers: has a serious fluid leak | 1.9% |
| Joints: constant velocity boot split or insecure, no longer prevents the ingress of dirt | 1.7% |
| Malfunction indicator lamp: inoperative or indicates a malfunction | 1.7% |
| Brake pads: less than 1.5 mm thick | 1.7% |
| Condition: has ply or cords exposed | 1.6% |
| Linkage ball joint dust cover: ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt | 1.5% |
Source: DVSA, tests in 2025, published 22 June 2026.
Common advisories
Advisories are things the tester noticed that were not bad enough to fail. They often turn into failures later. What advisories mean for the next MOT.
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge | 18.7% |
| Shock absorbers: has light misting of oil | 12.3% |
| Brake discs: worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened | 9.5% |
| Condition: slightly damaged/cracking or perishing | 9.4% |
| Brake pads: wearing thin | 7.8% |
| Pins and bushes: pin or bush worn but not resulting in excessive movement | 7.4% |
| Engine oil leaks: leak, but not excessive | 5.0% |
| Sub-frame: corroded but not seriously weakened | 4.5% |
Source: DVSA, tests in 2025, published 22 June 2026.
Typical mileage
Recorded mileage at the MOT. A car well above the range for its age has done more work than most; one far below is worth a closer look at its MOT history.
| Age | Low | Typical | High | All cars, typical |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3-5 years | 23,600 | 33,600 miles | 46,300 | 30,900 |
| 6-8 years | 40,000 | 55,100 miles | 72,700 | 51,800 |
| 9-11 years | 59,200 | 79,600 miles | 102,600 | 73,500 |
| 12-14 years | 78,200 | 103,600 miles | 130,800 | 91,400 |
| 15-17 years | 92,700 | 119,800 miles | 147,700 | 101,600 |
| 18-20 years | 97,200 | 124,200 miles | 152,000 | 106,700 |
| 21+ years | 96,200 | 128,200 miles | 163,300 | 99,200 |
The middle half of cars fall between the low and high figures. Source: DVSA, tests in 2025, published 22 June 2026.
Reliability and recalls
- Volkswagen Golf reliability score, adjusted for age and ranked against other models.
- 44 recalls for the Volkswagen Golf, from the DVSA recalls list.
- Check if a Volkswagen has been recalled on GOV.UK, using its registration.
- All Volkswagen models and the Volkswagen vehicle history check.
Checking one car?
These figures describe groups of cars. A vehicle history report shows the full MOT history, mileage, outstanding finance, write-offs and stolen records for one registration.
Figures from the DVSA anonymised MOT testing data for MOT tests in 2025, published by the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency. Analysis by Motoring Insider. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. How we work out these figures.
Every dataset we use is listed on our data sources page, with the credit lines on our attribution page.