2012 Volkswagen Passat: MOT pass rate and common faults
Share of initial MOT tests passed with no repairs. Repairs made at the test centre count as a fail. 95% range 63.9% to 65.6% (±0.9 points).
That is 1.2 points above the average for all vehicles first used in 2012 (63.5%). These cars were about 13 years old at the test.
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Failure areas compared with all 2012 vehicles
Compared with all vehicles first used in 2012, failures are more common in suspension (1.3×) and tyres (1.4×), and less common in lights and electrics (0.7×), brakes (0.6×), body, chassis, structure (0.8×), noise, emissions, leaks (0.8×), windscreen, wipers, mirrors (0.5×) and steering (0.5×). Other differences are within the margin of error.
- Suspension18.0 in 100 tests1.3× compared with 14.4 in 100 for all vehicles first used in 2012
- Lights and electrics10.7 in 100 tests0.7× compared with 15.8 in 100 for all vehicles first used in 2012
- Tyres10.2 in 100 tests1.4× compared with 7.0 in 100 for all vehicles first used in 2012
- Brakes5.1 in 100 tests0.6× compared with 8.1 in 100 for all vehicles first used in 2012
- Seat belts and airbags4.4 in 100 tests– no reliable figure for all vehicles first used in 2012
- Body, chassis, structure3.5 in 100 tests0.8× compared with 4.6 in 100 for all vehicles first used in 2012
- Noise, emissions, leaks2.9 in 100 tests0.8× compared with 3.8 in 100 for all vehicles first used in 2012
- Windscreen, wipers, mirrors2.5 in 100 tests0.5× compared with 4.9 in 100 for all vehicles first used in 2012
- Steering1.3 in 100 tests0.5× compared with 2.8 in 100 for all vehicles first used in 2012
- Wheels0.5 in 100 tests– no reliable figure for all vehicles first used in 2012
- Number plates and VIN0.4 in 100 tests– no reliable figure for all vehicles first used in 2012
All vehicles first used in 2012: the 197 models in our data, 1,653,623 tests (96.5% of all 1,714,195 tests on vehicles first used in 2012). Areas with fewer than 50 failures in a model aren't published, so an area is only compared when that leaves the all-vehicles figure at most 10% short; otherwise it shows –.
After an MOT advisory
Tyres
Of 2012 Volkswagen Passat cars that passed their 2024 MOT with a tyre advisory and came back for their next MOT 10–14 months later, 12.2% failed on tyres, against 7.0% of similar cars with nothing noted. Based on 1,856 and 4,725 cars.
Cars not tested again in that window are not included: 13.6% of those with a tyre advisory and 12.4% of the others.
Brakes
Of 2012 Volkswagen Passat cars that passed their 2024 MOT with a brake advisory and came back for their next MOT 10–14 months later, 5.2% failed on brakes, against 3.3% of similar cars with nothing noted. Based on 1,303 and 5,277 cars.
Cars not tested again in that window are not included: 12.7% of those with a brake advisory and 12.8% of the others.
Suspension
Of 2012 Volkswagen Passat cars that passed their 2024 MOT with a suspension advisory and came back for their next MOT 10–14 months later, 19.7% failed on suspension, against 14.0% of similar cars with nothing noted. Based on 2,147 and 4,365 cars.
Cars not tested again in that window are not included: 13.3% of those with a suspension advisory and 12.5% of the others.
Similar cars are the same model, first-use year and mileage band. Areas are the DVSA's top-level groups, so the later fail may not be the fault that was advised. These figures describe what happened to these cars. They don't show what a repair would have changed.
Volkswagen Passat, all first-use years togetherHow we worked this outAll models compared, with the dataWhat MOT data can't tell you about any 2012 Volkswagen Passat
Outstanding finance, write-offs, theft and plate changes aren't in MOT records. For a particular car, you need a history check.
Compare history checksWhat MOT history doesn't show