Volkswagen Passat: MOT pass rate and reliability data

The Volkswagen Passat fails its first MOT more often than the average UK car, by 2 percentage points. These figures come from the DVSA's full year of anonymised MOT results, covering 183,921 individual Volkswagen Passat tests. Nothing here is an estimate or a survey.

The numbers

What this means if you are buying one

A 74.7% first-time pass rate means roughly 25 in every 100 Volkswagen Passats presented for MOT fail on the first attempt. That is worse than average, so budget for remedial work and treat a fresh 12-month MOT as a genuine selling point rather than a given. The average Volkswagen Passat tested had covered 123,096 miles and was built around 2012.

What this means at salvage auction

Pass rate is a proxy for what a car costs to keep on the road. On a Volkswagen Passat bought as a repairable salvage, assume the mechanical side needs more than the visible accident damage, and pad your repair estimate accordingly.

Before you bid: run the lot through the analyzer, check the car's own record, check the mileage, decode the VIN, and if it carries a marker use the write-off value calculator. See how it stacks up against the Ford Fiesta.

Looking at a specific Volkswagen Passat rather than the model in general? The free check covers its MOT and mileage history, and the full HPI report confirms the insurance write-off category, outstanding finance and whether it is recorded stolen, from licensed data for 5 credits. Already own one that has been damaged? Work out whether fixing it beats selling it with the repair or scrap calculator, and see what damaged Volkswagen Passats actually sold for at UK salvage auction, from 8 real settled sales.

Most common MOT failures on a Volkswagen Passat

1. A suspension component excessively damaged or corroded, 0.8% of tests (2.98x the national rate for this defect)
2. An SRS malfunction indicator lamp (MIL) indicates a system malfunction, 0.9% of tests (2.85x the national rate for this defect)
3. A shock absorber damaged to the extent that it does not function or showing signs of severe leakage, 1.8% of tests (2.63x the national rate for this defect)
4. A tyre cords visible or damaged, 2.9% of tests (2.39x the national rate for this defect)
5. A direction indicator lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning, 1.1% of tests (2.32x the national rate for this defect)
6. Engine MIL illuminated indicating a malfunction, 1.7% of tests (1.83x the national rate for this defect)
7. A transmission shaft constant velocity joint boot missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt etc, 2% of tests (1.81x the national rate for this defect)
8. A spring or spring component fractured or seriously weakened, 2.9% of tests (1.76x the national rate for this defect)
9. Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements, 3.7% of tests (1.61x the national rate for this defect)
10. A suspension joint dust cover missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt etc, 2.1% of tests (1.56x the national rate for this defect)

From 267,737 DVSA-tracked Volkswagen Passat tests, 2024. DVSA testers marked 5.54% of these flagged Volkswagen Passat defects as "dangerous", meaning the tester judged the car unsafe to drive away, against 4.97% nationally.

Volkswagen Passat pass rate by model year

Pass rates fall steadily as cars age, so the model year matters as much as the model. First-time pass rate for each Volkswagen Passat year:

• 1998 Volkswagen Passat - 63% first-time pass, 270 tests
• 1999 Volkswagen Passat - 63.1% first-time pass, 369 tests
• 2000 Volkswagen Passat - 61.5% first-time pass, 467 tests
• 2001 Volkswagen Passat - 64.7% first-time pass, 1,007 tests
• 2002 Volkswagen Passat - 65.7% first-time pass, 1,685 tests
• 2003 Volkswagen Passat - 64.6% first-time pass, 2,684 tests
• 2004 Volkswagen Passat - 66.4% first-time pass, 3,200 tests
• 2005 Volkswagen Passat - 66.2% first-time pass, 3,897 tests
• 2006 Volkswagen Passat - 64% first-time pass, 5,371 tests
• 2007 Volkswagen Passat - 66.1% first-time pass, 8,005 tests
• 2008 Volkswagen Passat - 67.5% first-time pass, 9,326 tests
• 2009 Volkswagen Passat - 69.8% first-time pass, 11,245 tests
• 2010 Volkswagen Passat - 68.4% first-time pass, 11,284 tests
• 2011 Volkswagen Passat - 70.1% first-time pass, 16,408 tests
• 2012 Volkswagen Passat - 71% first-time pass, 14,003 tests
• 2013 Volkswagen Passat - 72.7% first-time pass, 12,351 tests
• 2014 Volkswagen Passat - 75.7% first-time pass, 15,025 tests
• 2015 Volkswagen Passat - 82.1% first-time pass, 15,736 tests
• 2016 Volkswagen Passat - 83.4% first-time pass, 15,326 tests
• 2017 Volkswagen Passat - 84.8% first-time pass, 14,141 tests
• 2018 Volkswagen Passat - 87.8% first-time pass, 10,958 tests
• 2019 Volkswagen Passat - 88.3% first-time pass, 6,267 tests
• 2020 Volkswagen Passat - 90.5% first-time pass, 1,814 tests
• 2021 Volkswagen Passat - 87.2% first-time pass, 1,450 tests

Volkswagen Passat by fuel type

Diesel and petrol versions of the same car fail on different things, so the fuel type moves the number:

• Diesel Volkswagen Passat - 74.5% first-time pass, 165,249 tests
• Petrol Volkswagen Passat - 78.8% first-time pass, 11,752 tests
• Hybrid Volkswagen Passat - 87.4% first-time pass, 5,767 tests

Other Volkswagen models

• Volkswagen Golf - 77.1%
• Volkswagen Polo - 71.4%
• Volkswagen Transporter - 70.8%
• Volkswagen Tiguan - 82.4%
• Volkswagen Caddy - 73.5%
• Volkswagen Up - 84.4%
• Volkswagen Touran - 72.7%
• Volkswagen T-Roc - 92.3%

Models with a similar pass rate

• BMW 630 - 74.8%
• Land Rover 88 - 74.8%
• Smart (Mcc) Roadster - 74.8%
• Peugeot 3008 - 74.7%
• Mercedes-Benz B-Class - 74.7%
• Porsche 924 - 74.7%

If this car is a salvage or write-off

• What does Cat N mean? Category N explained
• What does Cat S mean? Category S explained
• Cat S vs Cat N: the real differences

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All 2,005 models ranked by MOT pass rate