Volkswagen Passat MOT pass rates & common failures

Every completed first-attempt MOT on a Volkswagen Passat in Great Britain in 2025 — 175,898 tests. Figures cover every Passat first-tested in 2025, all trims grouped. How the Passat ages, what it fails on, and what mileage is normal, computed directly from the official DVSA record of every test.

Pass rate 2025
71.5%
0.8 points below the class-4 average (72.3%); unadjusted for age — the age-matched comparison is below
Tests analysed
175,898
first tests, 2025
Arrived with a dangerous fault
9.0%
of Passat first tests; national 7.3%
Typical mileage at 10 years
116,250
middle half: 88,750–146,250 miles (2,500-mile-band midpoints)

How many Volkswagen Passat cars are still on the road?

At the end of 2025, DVLA's register held 222,239 Volkswagen Passat cars that were taxed or on SORN: 178,872 taxed and 43,367 on SORN (Statutory Off Road Notification — kept, but declared off the road by the keeper). The MOT figures above count tests; these count cars, across the whole United Kingdom, cars only. Volkswagen Passat vans, where they exist, are counted by DVLA as goods vehicles and are not in these figures.

Still taxed, end of 2025
178,872
80.5% of the 222,239 Passat cars taxed or on SORN; 328 model variants grouped
On SORN, end of 2025
43,367
declared off the road by their keepers — 19.5% of that total

How the numbers are moving

The number of taxed Passat cars peaked at 348,564 at the end of 2014 and has since fallen by 169,692 (48.7%) to 178,872 at the end of 2025. Cars on SORN went from 11,365 at the end of 2014 to 43,367 at the end of 2025, up 281.6%. A car leaves the taxed count when it is scrapped, exported or declared off the road; the year-end counts do not say which.

Taxed Passat cars, year by year

Cars of this model taxed and on the road at the end of each year, 2014–2025.

0100k200k300k400k2014201620182020202220242025Year (count at the end of the year)Taxed Passat cars, year 2014: 349kTaxed Passat cars, year 2015: 343kTaxed Passat cars, year 2016: 334kTaxed Passat cars, year 2017: 319kTaxed Passat cars, year 2018: 302kTaxed Passat cars, year 2019: 281kTaxed Passat cars, year 2020: 261kTaxed Passat cars, year 2021: 244kTaxed Passat cars, year 2022: 229kTaxed Passat cars, year 2023: 210kTaxed Passat cars, year 2024: 193kTaxed Passat cars, year 2025: 179k179k
View this chart as a table
YearTaxed Passat cars
2014348,564
2015342,807
2016333,994
2017319,449
2018301,777
2019280,965
2020261,449
2021244,326
2022228,743
2023210,055
2024192,821
2025178,872

Passat cars on SORN, year by year

Cars of this model declared off the road at the end of each year, 2014–2025. Its own scale — SORN counts are a fraction of the taxed count.

010k20k30k40k50k2014201620182020202220242025Year (count at the end of the year)Passat cars on SORN, year 2014: 11kPassat cars on SORN, year 2015: 16kPassat cars on SORN, year 2016: 20kPassat cars on SORN, year 2017: 25kPassat cars on SORN, year 2018: 28kPassat cars on SORN, year 2019: 32kPassat cars on SORN, year 2020: 36kPassat cars on SORN, year 2021: 37kPassat cars on SORN, year 2022: 38kPassat cars on SORN, year 2023: 40kPassat cars on SORN, year 2024: 42kPassat cars on SORN, year 2025: 43k43k
View this chart as a table
YearPassat cars on SORN
201411,365
201515,542
201620,268
201724,756
201828,307
201932,492
202036,044
202137,218
202238,237
202340,456
202441,697
202543,367

Which model years survive

Taxed Passat cars at the end of 2025 by year of manufacture, and each year's share of the 178,872 taxed in all. Every build year holding at least 1% has its own row; the rest share one. 5 taxed Passat cars have no recorded year of manufacture and are not in the table, so the rows add up to 178,867. A build year's count depends on how many were sold that year as well as how many have lasted.

Year of manufacture Taxed, end of 2025Share of taxed Passat cars
20252,6771.5%
20222,2991.3%
20213,3261.9%
20205,7223.2%
20197,2174.0%
201810,5195.9%
201713,9187.8%
201615,1088.4%
201515,4188.6%
201414,8388.3%
201312,0516.7%
201213,1587.4%
201115,5578.7%
20109,5575.3%
20099,0515.1%
20086,7633.8%
20075,3893.0%
20063,4641.9%
20052,8271.6%
20042,3411.3%
20032,0001.1%
All other build years (32 years, each under 1%)5,6673.2%

Population source: Department for Transport / DVLA vehicle licensing statistics, table VEH0124, updated 15 July 2026; counts of the cars on DVLA's register that were taxed or on SORN at the end of each year shown, United Kingdom, cars only, excluding cars recorded with no model name. SortedCars groups DVLA's model name PASSAT under this model. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. SortedCars is not affiliated with, or endorsed by, DVLA or the Department for Transport.

How the Passat ages

First-time pass rate by vehicle age, Passat vs all cars, 2025.

Volkswagen PassatAll cars
50%60%70%80%90%100%3579111315171920Vehicle age (years)Volkswagen Passat, vehicle age 3: 87.3%Volkswagen Passat, vehicle age 4: 87.9%Volkswagen Passat, vehicle age 5: 88.4%Volkswagen Passat, vehicle age 6: 86.1%Volkswagen Passat, vehicle age 7: 84.1%Volkswagen Passat, vehicle age 8: 81%Volkswagen Passat, vehicle age 9: 79.4%Volkswagen Passat, vehicle age 10: 76.9%Volkswagen Passat, vehicle age 11: 69.4%Volkswagen Passat, vehicle age 12: 67.1%Volkswagen Passat, vehicle age 13: 64.7%Volkswagen Passat, vehicle age 14: 64.4%Volkswagen Passat, vehicle age 15: 62.8%Volkswagen Passat, vehicle age 16: 62.6%Volkswagen Passat, vehicle age 17: 60.7%Volkswagen Passat, vehicle age 18: 59%Volkswagen Passat, vehicle age 19: 57.1%Volkswagen Passat, vehicle age 20: 60.8%All cars, vehicle age 3: 88.5%All cars, vehicle age 4: 87.2%All cars, vehicle age 5: 86%All cars, vehicle age 6: 83.5%All cars, vehicle age 7: 80.9%All cars, vehicle age 8: 78.2%All cars, vehicle age 9: 74.9%All cars, vehicle age 10: 71.9%All cars, vehicle age 11: 68.6%All cars, vehicle age 12: 65.8%All cars, vehicle age 13: 63.5%All cars, vehicle age 14: 61.2%All cars, vehicle age 15: 59.3%All cars, vehicle age 16: 58.3%All cars, vehicle age 17: 57.2%All cars, vehicle age 18: 57.4%All cars, vehicle age 19: 57%All cars, vehicle age 20: 57.6%Volkswagen Passat 60.8%All cars 57.6%
View this chart as a table
Age (years)Passat testsPassat pass rateAll cars
32,48287.3%88.5%
43,66787.9%87.2%
55,81788.4%86.0%
67,32386.1%83.5%
710,77884.1%80.9%
813,87681.0%78.2%
914,93979.4%74.9%
1015,20476.9%71.9%
1114,50169.4%68.6%
1211,64767.1%65.8%
1313,13664.7%63.5%
1415,03364.4%61.2%
159,88962.8%59.3%
169,52062.6%58.3%
177,41960.7%57.2%
185,97559.0%57.4%
193,89057.1%57.0%
202,91260.8%57.6%

Better or worse than the average car?

The Passat's pass rate minus the all-cars pass rate at each age, in percentage points. Bars above zero: the Passat beats the average car of that age. Below zero: it trails.

Passat aheadPassat behind
-6-3+0+3+6Age 3: -1.2 points vs the average car3Age 4: +0.7 points vs the average carAge 5: +2.4 points vs the average car5Age 6: +2.6 points vs the average carAge 7: +3.2 points vs the average car7Age 8: +2.8 points vs the average carAge 9: +4.5 points vs the average car9Age 10: +5.0 points vs the average carAge 11: +0.8 points vs the average car11Age 12: +1.3 points vs the average carAge 13: +1.2 points vs the average car13Age 14: +3.2 points vs the average carAge 15: +3.5 points vs the average car15Age 16: +4.3 points vs the average carAge 17: +3.5 points vs the average car17Age 18: +1.6 points vs the average carAge 19: +0.1 points vs the average car19Age 20: +3.2 points vs the average car20Vehicle age (years)
View this chart as a table
Age (years)Gap (points)
3-1.2
4+0.7
5+2.4
6+2.6
7+3.2
8+2.8
9+4.5
10+5.0
11+0.8
12+1.3
13+1.2
14+3.2
15+3.5
16+4.3
17+3.5
18+1.6
19+0.1
20+3.2

The Passat fleet on the road, by age

How many took a first MOT in 2025 at each age — the shape of the Passat fleet still in use.

05k10k15k20kAge 3: 2k3Age 4: 3kAge 5: 5k5Age 6: 7kAge 7: 10k7Age 8: 13kAge 9: 14k9Age 10: 15kAge 11: 14k11Age 12: 11kAge 13: 13k13Age 14: 15kAge 15: 9k15Age 16: 9kAge 17: 7k17Age 18: 5kAge 19: 3k19Age 20: 2k20Vehicle age (years)
View this chart as a table
Age (years)First tests
32,482
43,667
55,817
67,323
710,778
813,876
914,939
1015,204
1114,501
1211,647
1313,136
1415,033
159,889
169,520
177,419
185,975
193,890
202,912

What a Passat fails on

Where the failure items land when a Passat fails or needs a fix at test, 2025. Use it as a pre-purchase checklist: these are the areas to look at first.

Suspension29.2%
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment18.4%
Tyres18.2%
Brakes11.6%
Body, chassis, structure6.8%
Noise, emissions and leaks6.0%
Visibility4.5%
Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems2.4%

Share of all failure items, 2025 — the 8 biggest categories shown (97.0% of the items); smaller categories are not listed.

The advisories to watch

Where testers most often write "keep an eye on this" for a Passat, 2025 — the faults in the post.

Suspension: 36.5% of advisories36.5%Tyres: 28.9% of advisories28.9%Brakes: 21.1% of advisories21.1%Non-component advisories: 3.7% of advisoriesNoise, emissions and leaks: 3.1% of advisoriesIdentification of the vehicle: 2.6% of advisories
SuspensionTyresBrakesNon-component advisoriesNoise, emissions and leaksIdentification of the vehicle
View this chart as a table
CategoryShare of advisories
Suspension36.5%
Tyres28.9%
Brakes21.1%
Non-component advisories3.7%
Noise, emissions and leaks3.1%
Identification of the vehicle2.6%

Petrol, diesel or hybrid Passat?

First-time pass rate for the three most-tested Passat fuel types, 2025, against the all-cars average. Fleet ages differ by fuel — newer fleets help the electrified bars.

50%60%70%80%90%100%all cars 72.3%Diesel: 70.3% of 155,485 tests70.3%Diesel155,485 testsPetrol: 78.8% of 13,704 tests78.8%Petrol13,704 testsHybrid electric: 84.5% of 6,702 tests84.5%Hybrid6,702 tests
View this chart as a table
FuelTestsPass rate
Diesel155,48570.3%
Petrol13,70478.8%
Hybrid electric6,70284.5%

What mileage is normal for a Passat?

Mileage recorded at test by vehicle age, 2025. The line is the typical (median) Passat; the shaded band holds the middle half. A car far outside the band, in either direction, is worth questions the recorded history can answer.

Typical Passat (median)
0k25k50k75k100k125k150k175k200k3579111315171920Vehicle age (years)Age 3: typical 41,250 miles (middle half 28,750–61,250)Age 4: typical 56,250 miles (middle half 38,750–76,250)Age 5: typical 58,750 miles (middle half 41,250–81,250)Age 6: typical 66,250 miles (middle half 48,750–93,750)Age 7: typical 81,250 miles (middle half 61,250–111,250)Age 8: typical 93,750 miles (middle half 68,750–123,750)Age 9: typical 106,250 miles (middle half 78,750–138,750)Age 10: typical 116,250 miles (middle half 88,750–146,250)Age 11: typical 116,250 miles (middle half 88,750–151,250)Age 12: typical 126,250 miles (middle half 98,750–156,250)Age 13: typical 136,250 miles (middle half 108,750–168,750)Age 14: typical 143,750 miles (middle half 116,250–176,250)Age 15: typical 143,750 miles (middle half 116,250–173,750)Age 16: typical 141,250 miles (middle half 111,250–171,250)Age 17: typical 148,750 miles (middle half 118,750–178,750)Age 18: typical 151,250 miles (middle half 123,750–178,750)Age 19: typical 151,250 miles (middle half 121,250–181,250)Age 20: typical 156,250 miles (middle half 121,250–188,750)156k mi

Mileage values are midpoints of 2,500-mile bands.

View this chart as a table
Age (years)Lower quarterTypical (median)Upper quarter
328,75041,25061,250
438,75056,25076,250
541,25058,75081,250
648,75066,25093,750
761,25081,250111,250
868,75093,750123,750
978,750106,250138,750
1088,750116,250146,250
1188,750116,250151,250
1298,750126,250156,250
13108,750136,250168,750
14116,250143,750176,250
15116,250143,750173,750
16111,250141,250171,250
17118,750148,750178,750
18123,750151,250178,750
19121,250151,250181,250
20121,250156,250188,750

What fails at each age

The Passat's failure mix by age band, 2025 — each band's top categories at their true share of that band's failure items; the pale remainder is everything else. How the mix shifts with age is the point of the chart.

TyresSuspensionBrakesVisibilityLamps, reflectors and electrical equipmentNoise, emissions and leaksBody, chassis, structureEverything else
View this chart as a table
Age bandCategoryShare of the band's failure items
3-5 yrsTyres49.3%
3-5 yrsSuspension15.3%
3-5 yrsBrakes14.8%
3-5 yrsVisibility7.4%
3-5 yrsLamps, reflectors and electrical equipment4.8%
3-5 yrsEverything else8.4%
6-9 yrsTyres32.5%
6-9 yrsSuspension28.4%
6-9 yrsBrakes14.2%
6-9 yrsLamps, reflectors and electrical equipment9.6%
6-9 yrsNoise, emissions and leaks7.1%
6-9 yrsEverything else8.2%
10-13 yrsSuspension37.4%
10-13 yrsTyres21.1%
10-13 yrsLamps, reflectors and electrical equipment12.7%
10-13 yrsBrakes11.8%
10-13 yrsNoise, emissions and leaks4.0%
10-13 yrsEverything else13.0%
14+ yrsSuspension30.4%
14+ yrsLamps, reflectors and electrical equipment16.4%
14+ yrsTyres14.6%
14+ yrsBrakes12.5%
14+ yrsBody, chassis, structure10.7%
14+ yrsEverything else15.4%

More vehicles we've checked

How these figures are computed. Every number on this page is calculated by SortedCars from the DVSA anonymised MOT results dataset (every MOT test in Great Britain — 2025 for single-year figures; trend figures state their span, currently 2023–2025). Where a figure comes from a sample or uses banded values (mileage is banded to 2,500 miles), the page says so beside the figure. Test class 4 only, first tests only — retests are excluded. Class 4 is the car MOT class and also covers car-derived vans, pickups and motorhomes tested to the same standard; where this page says "cars" it means class 4. Pass rate = passes ÷ (passes + failures + pass-after-rectification): a vehicle that failed and was fixed during the visit counts as a fail. Pass rates describe fleets, not individual machines: they reflect how cars were driven, maintained and used as well as how they were built, and beyond recorded mileage none of that is in the data. A well-kept example of a model with a weak average can still pass; a neglected example of a strong one can still fail. No figure is shown for any group with fewer than 500 tests. Alias spellings of a make in the DVSA file are counted under one make name, and all trims and variants of a model are grouped under one model name, using SortedCars' grouping tables. The taxed and SORN counts on this page are the one exception: they are not computed from MOT records but taken from the Department for Transport's vehicle licensing statistics (DfT/DVLA table VEH0124, updated 15 July 2026, Open Government Licence v3.0), which count the cars on DVLA's register that were taxed or on SORN at the end of each year shown, UK-wide, cars only. They describe a model as a whole, grouped under SortedCars' model names, and say nothing about any one car. “Dangerous” is DVSA's statutory defect category (in force since May 2018): a defect posing an immediate risk to road safety — driving the vehicle before repair is an offence. What these figures are for. These statistics are general information about groups of vehicles. They are not advice, a valuation or a recommendation to buy, avoid or price any particular vehicle, and no decision about one car should rest on them alone — check the car itself and its own records. We take care over the calculations, but we cannot guarantee they are complete, current or free of error, and we accept no liability for loss arising from reliance on them. This does not limit any liability that cannot lawfully be limited — see our Terms & Conditions. If you believe any figure on this page is inaccurate, contact us. SortedCars is not affiliated with, or endorsed by, the DVSA or DVLA. DVSA publishes the raw test records; the statistics on this page are SortedCars' own calculations from them. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.