Volkswagen Sharan: MOT pass rate and reliability data

The Volkswagen Sharan passes its MOT first time more often than the average UK car, by 2.8 percentage points. These figures come from the DVSA's full year of anonymised MOT results, covering 36,702 individual Volkswagen Sharan tests. Nothing here is an estimate or a survey.

The numbers

What this means if you are buying one

A 79.5% first-time pass rate means roughly 21 in every 100 Volkswagen Sharans presented for MOT fail on the first attempt. That is better than average, so a well-kept example is a reasonably safe used buy. The average Volkswagen Sharan tested had covered 105,415 miles and was built around 2015.

What this means at salvage auction

Pass rate is a proxy for what a car costs to keep on the road. On a Volkswagen Sharan bought as a repairable salvage, the mechanical side is less likely to spring surprises, so your repair estimate should hold up reasonably well.

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. Or compare it against another model.

Looking at a specific Volkswagen Sharan 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 Sharans actually sold for at UK salvage auction.

Most common MOT failures on a Volkswagen Sharan

1. Vehicle structure corroded to the extent that the rigidity of the assembly is seriously reduced, 0.9% of tests (2.51x the national rate for this defect)
2. A tyre cords visible or damaged, 2.8% of tests (2.33x the national rate for this defect)
3. A direction indicator lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning, 1% of tests (2.02x the national rate for this defect)
4. The strength or continuity of the load bearing structure within 30cm of any sub-frame, spring or suspension component mounting (a 'prescribed area') is significantly reduced or inadequately repaired, 1.6% of tests (1.91x the national rate for this defect)
5. A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn, 6% of tests (1.64x the national rate for this defect)
6. A suspension joint dust cover missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt etc, 2% of tests (1.51x the national rate for this defect)
7. Engine MIL illuminated indicating a malfunction, 1.3% of tests (1.36x the national rate for this defect)
8. Steering rack gaiter or ball joint dust cover missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt etc, 0.7% of tests (1.33x the national rate for this defect)
9. Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements, 2.7% of tests
10. A tyre seriously damaged, 1.9% of tests

From 54,045 DVSA-tracked Volkswagen Sharan tests, 2024. DVSA testers marked 5.95% of these flagged Volkswagen Sharan defects as "dangerous", meaning the tester judged the car unsafe to drive away, against 4.97% nationally.

Volkswagen Sharan 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 Sharan year:

• 2003 Volkswagen Sharan - 54.5% first-time pass, 253 tests
• 2004 Volkswagen Sharan - 58% first-time pass, 424 tests
• 2005 Volkswagen Sharan - 57.1% first-time pass, 652 tests
• 2006 Volkswagen Sharan - 54.2% first-time pass, 627 tests
• 2007 Volkswagen Sharan - 56.1% first-time pass, 695 tests
• 2008 Volkswagen Sharan - 57.9% first-time pass, 558 tests
• 2009 Volkswagen Sharan - 58.4% first-time pass, 485 tests
• 2010 Volkswagen Sharan - 67% first-time pass, 658 tests
• 2011 Volkswagen Sharan - 73.7% first-time pass, 2,149 tests
• 2012 Volkswagen Sharan - 74.6% first-time pass, 2,032 tests
• 2013 Volkswagen Sharan - 75% first-time pass, 2,230 tests
• 2014 Volkswagen Sharan - 79% first-time pass, 2,824 tests
• 2015 Volkswagen Sharan - 79.4% first-time pass, 3,160 tests
• 2016 Volkswagen Sharan - 84.1% first-time pass, 3,342 tests
• 2017 Volkswagen Sharan - 86.1% first-time pass, 3,549 tests
• 2018 Volkswagen Sharan - 87.6% first-time pass, 3,326 tests
• 2019 Volkswagen Sharan - 90.8% first-time pass, 6,416 tests
• 2020 Volkswagen Sharan - 86.4% first-time pass, 1,372 tests
• 2021 Volkswagen Sharan - 87.5% first-time pass, 1,229 tests

Volkswagen Sharan by fuel type

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

• Diesel Volkswagen Sharan - 79.3% first-time pass, 30,573 tests
• Petrol Volkswagen Sharan - 84.8% first-time pass, 5,832 tests

Other Volkswagen models

• Volkswagen Golf - 77.1%
• Volkswagen Polo - 71.4%
• Volkswagen Transporter - 70.8%
• Volkswagen Tiguan - 82.4%
• Volkswagen Passat - 74.7%
• Volkswagen Caddy - 73.5%
• Volkswagen Up - 84.4%
• Volkswagen Touran - 72.7%

Models with a similar pass rate

• Mercedes-Benz Cl 500 - 79.6%
• Audi A1 - 79.5%
• SEAT Leon - 79.5%
• Vauxhall Vivaro 2900 Sportive S/S - 79.5%
• MG Gs - 79.5%
• Land Rover Unclassified - 79.5%

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