Volkswagen High MOT reliability

Volkswagen Highs passed their MOT first time 77% of the time across 369 tests in 2025.

First-time pass rate

77%

MOTs analysed

369

Still licensed (GB)

–

Body type

–

Pass rate by year of first registration

Older cars fail more often, so compare a car with others of the same age. Years with very few MOTs can show extreme pass rates, even 0% or 100%, so give more weight to years with more tests.

In detail:

First registered

2013 petrol

152 MOTs

Passed first time 78%. Typical mileage 57,212 (most between 39,065 and 85,004).

2015: 87% → 2016: 90% → 2017: 94% → 2018: 88% → 2019: 90% → 2020: 85% → 2021: 85% → 2022: 86% → 2023: 84% → 2024: 77% → 2025: 78%

Most common failures

Fuel cap/sealing device: ineffective (3.9%)
Service brake performance: excessively binding (2.6%)
Catalyst emissions: Lambda reading after 2nd fast idle outside specified limits (2.6%)
Malfunction indicator lamp: inoperative or indicates a malfunction (2.0%)
Headlamp aim: too low (2.0%)

Where 2013 Highs fail

Body, structure & corrosion

6.6%

Brakes

5.9%

Lights & electrics

5.9%

Exhaust, emissions & leaks

4.6%

Wheels & tyres

3.3%

Suspension & axles

2.0%

Visibility & wipers

1.3%

Seat belts & other equipment

0.7%

Looking at a particular car?

See its own MOT history, mileage and red flags, compared with these figures. Free.

Based on 2025 initial MOT tests in DVSA's anonymised MOT dataset (cars and light vans). Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Model details: Vehicle data by VehiclesDB.