166,324 tests in 2025
Volkswagen Passat reliability and MOT pass rate
76% passed first time. The 24% fail rate is 1.4 points worse than the all-car average, on a median example 11 years old with 120,751 miles.
Pass rate
76%
22.6% of all cars failed; 24% of these did.
Fixed on the day
4.6%
Passed after a defect was put right during the visit.
Median at test
120,751 mi
11 years old.
Fail rate by age
| Age at test | Tests | Fail rate |
|---|---|---|
| 3-5 years | 11,004 | 10.2% |
| 6-9 years | 43,976 | 15.1% |
| 10-13 years | 51,627 | 25.6% |
| 14+ years | 59,549 | 31.9% |
What the Passat 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.
- Suspension967 dangerous50.3%
- Tyres15,438 dangerous33%
- Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment77 dangerous23.6%
- Brakes4,547 dangerous19.9%
- Body, chassis, structure195 dangerous14.8%
- Noise, emissions and leaks48 dangerous13%
- Visibility28 dangerous7.6%
- Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems1 dangerous5.9%
Is the Passat getting worse?
The fail rate fell 0.2 points to 24.4% from 2022 to 2025, against a rising rate across all cars.
| Year | Tests | Median age | Fail rate | All cars | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 216,385 | 10 | 24.6% | 22.5% | |
| 2023 | 202,060 | — | 24.8% | 22.8% | |
| 2024 | 167,988 | — | 24.9% | 23.2% | |
| 2025 | 161,112 | — | 24.4% | 22.6% |
Fail rate is first attempts at class 4 tests. Median age is the age of a typical Passat 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 Passat in 2025, counted by how many tests each one appeared on.
- 1Coil spring: fractured or broken6,293 tests
- 2Tread depth: tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm4,995 tests
- 3Pins and bushes: pin or bush excessively worn4,696 tests
- 4Condition: has ply or cords exposed4,537 tests
- 5Malfunction indicator lamp: inoperative or indicates a malfunction3,677 tests
- 6Shock absorbers: has a serious fluid leak3,631 tests
- 7Joints: constant velocity boot split or insecure, no longer prevents the ingress of dirt3,262 tests
- 8Brake pads: less than 1.5 mm thick3,142 tests
What wears out first
Advisories are the tester flagging wear that is still legal. A typical Passat collects 2.9 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 1.6mm36,117 tests
- 2Pins and bushes: pin or bush excessively worn22,678 tests
- 3Brake discs: in such a condition that it is seriously weakened20,624 tests
- 4Brake pads: less than 1.5 mm thick14,536 tests
- 5Shock absorbers: has a serious fluid leak12,382 tests
- 6Condition: has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure10,300 tests
- 7Sub-frame: corroded and seriously weakened8,718 tests
- 8Suspension arm: corroded and seriously weakened8,422 tests
Questions
What is the Volkswagen Passat MOT pass rate?
76% of the 166,324 Volkswagen Passat first-attempt MOTs in 2025 passed. The fail rate of 24% compares with 22.6% across all cars. A further 4.6% passed after a defect was fixed during the test visit.
What does a Volkswagen Passat usually fail on?
The single most common failure is "Coil spring: fractured or broken", recorded on 6,293 failed tests, followed by "Tread depth: tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm" and "Pins and bushes: pin or bush excessively worn". By section, suspension appears in 50.3% of failures, tyres appears in 33% of failures, lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment appears in 23.6% of failures.
Does age change the odds?
Sharply. At 3 to 5 years old the fail rate was 10.2%; at 14+ years it was 31.9%. The median Volkswagen Passat tested in 2025 was 11 years old with 120,751 miles.
Is the Volkswagen Passat getting less reliable?
The fail rate fell 0.2 points to 24.4% from 2022 to 2025, against a rising rate across all cars.
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 Passat trim together. Year-on-year figures come from the same DVSA extracts for 2026 and earlier years. Full method on the pass rates hub.
DVSA has published 38 safety recalls naming the Volkswagen Passat: Volkswagen Passat recalls.
Other Volkswagen models
Checking a particular Passat?
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.