21,649 tests in 2025
Volkswagen Fox reliability and MOT pass rate
60% passed first time. The 40% fail rate is 17.4 points worse than the all-car average, on a median example 16 years old with 79,403 miles.
Pass rate
60%
22.6% of all cars failed; 40% of these did.
Fixed on the day
9.3%
Passed after a defect was put right during the visit.
Median at test
79,403 mi
16 years old.
Fail rate by age
| Age at test | Tests | Fail rate |
|---|---|---|
| 3-5 years | 0 | — |
| 6-9 years | 1 | — |
| 10-13 years | 75 | — |
| 14+ years | 21,573 | 40% |
What the Fox fails on
Share of failed tests with at least one fail item in each DVSA inspection section. A test can fail in several sections at once.
- Suspension145 dangerous53.2%
- Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment56 dangerous41.6%
- Body, chassis, structure51 dangerous28.6%
- Noise, emissions and leaks4 dangerous27.3%
- Visibility24.6%
- Brakes511 dangerous24.1%
- Tyres1,408 dangerous15.1%
- Steering27 dangerous10%
Is the Fox getting worse?
The fail rate rose 3 points to 40% from 2022 to 2025 while the median one tested aged 3 years, which is about what ageing alone predicts (4.2 points). Read it as the fleet getting older rather than the model changing.
| Year | Tests | Median age | Fail rate | All cars | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 30,152 | 13 | 37% | 22.5% | |
| 2023 | 28,376 | 14 | 38.5% | 22.8% | |
| 2024 | 22,766 | 15 | 39.8% | 23.2% | |
| 2025 | 21,649 | 16 | 40% | 22.6% |
Fail rate is first attempts at class 4 tests. Median age is the age of a typical Fox at its test that year, and it is the number to watch: across the whole fleet each extra year of age adds roughly 1.9 points to the fail rate, so a model whose age and fail rate rise together is simply getting older.
The exact defects that fail it
Every failure item DVSA recorded against a Fox in 2025, counted by how many tests each one appeared on.
- 1Joints: constant velocity boot split or insecure, no longer prevents the ingress of dirt1,151 tests
- 2Linkage ball joint dust cover: ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt1,137 tests
- 3Coil spring: fractured or broken1,133 tests
- 4Catalyst emissions: Lambda reading after 2nd fast idle outside specified limits1,125 tests
- 5Exhaust system: has a major leak of exhaust gases1,095 tests
- 6Ball joint dust cover: ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt1,051 tests
- 7Wipers: does not clear the windscreen effectively829 tests
- 8Position lamp: not working826 tests
What wears out first
Advisories are the tester flagging wear that is still legal. A typical Fox collects 2.94 of them per test, and these are the ones that come up most. Treat it as the running-repairs list for the next year or two.
- 1Tread depth: tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm3,583 tests
- 2Condition: has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure3,307 tests
- 3Exhaust system: has a major leak of exhaust gases2,583 tests
- 4Pins and bushes: pin or bush excessively worn2,139 tests
- 5Coil spring: corroded so that its cross sectional area is reduced and seriously weakened1,975 tests
- 6Shock absorbers: has a serious fluid leak1,258 tests
- 7Registration plates: inscription illegible1,134 tests
- 8Flexible brake hoses: ferrule excessively corroded1,120 tests
Questions
What is the Volkswagen Fox MOT pass rate?
60% of the 21,649 Volkswagen Fox first-attempt MOTs in 2025 passed. The fail rate of 40% compares with 22.6% across all cars. A further 9.3% passed after a defect was fixed during the test visit.
What does a Volkswagen Fox usually fail on?
The single most common failure is "Joints: constant velocity boot split or insecure, no longer prevents the ingress of dirt", recorded on 1,151 failed tests, followed by "Linkage ball joint dust cover: ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt" and "Coil spring: fractured or broken". By section, suspension appears in 53.2% of failures, lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment appears in 41.6% of failures, body, chassis, structure appears in 28.6% of failures.
Does age change the odds?
Sharply. At 3 to 5 years old the fail rate was n/a%; at 14+ years it was 40%. The median Volkswagen Fox tested in 2025 was 16 years old with 79,403 miles.
Is the Volkswagen Fox getting less reliable?
The fail rate rose 3 points to 40% from 2022 to 2025 while the median one tested aged 3 years, which is about what ageing alone predicts (4.2 points). Read it as the fleet getting older rather than the model changing.
First-attempt class 4 tests, 2025, from DVSA’s anonymised MOT data (OGL v3, retrieved 2026-09-12). DVSA records newer cars trim by trim; this page adds every Fox trim together. Year-on-year figures come from the same DVSA extracts for 2026 and earlier years. Full method on the pass rates hub.
Other Volkswagen models
Checking a particular Fox?
The odds above are the model. The car in front of you has its own record: every test, every advisory, the mileage at each one.
Due a test? Find an approved MOT station near you.