Volkswagen Beetle MOT failures and reliability

In 2023 the Volkswagen Beetle took 48,472 MOT tests in Britain and passed 59% of them first time, below the national average of 71% for all cars. The figures below come from the DVSA's record of every test, so they show what testers actually found on these cars rather than what owners report.

MOT tests in 2023: 48,472
First-time pass rate: 59%
All cars: 71%

What the Beetle fails on

Share of tests with at least one failure in each area, against the figure for all cars.

Lights and electrics19.5% (all cars 11.3%)
Suspension15.1% (all cars 9.0%)
Brakes8.7% (all cars 6.8%)
Exhaust and emissions8.3% (all cars 3.1%)
Visibility7.3% (all cars 4.8%)
Body and structure6.9% (all cars 3.5%)
Tyres6.4% (all cars 6.4%)
Steering5.0% (all cars 1.8%)

Most common failure items

Share of tests on which each item was recorded.

Coil spring: fractured or broken 4.9%
Malfunction indicator lamp: inoperative or indicates a malfunction 4.6%
Suspension arms, pins and bushes: pin or bush excessively worn 4.2%
Wipers: does not clear the windscreen effectively 3.9%
Rear fog lamp: not working 3.4%
Stop lamp: not working 3.4%
Component mounting prescribed areas: prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength 3.3%
Position lamp: not working 3.2%

Most common advisories

Tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge 17.1%
Tyres, condition: slightly damaged/cracking or perishing 12.9%
Brake discs: worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened 12.4%
Suspension arms, pins and bushes: pin or bush worn but not resulting in excessive movement 8.7%
Coil spring: corroded 7.7%
Engine oil leaks: leak, but not excessive 6.3%
Brake pads: wearing thin 6.0%
Rigid brake pipes: corroded, covered in grease or other material 4.7%

Pass rate by year of registration

Older cars fail more often whatever the model, so compare a car with others of the same age.

First registered	Tests	Pass rate
2000	918	49%
2001	1,344	49%
2002	1,576	47%
2003	3,187	49%
2004	4,202	48%
2005	3,677	52%
2006	3,497	50%
2007	3,163	50%
2008	2,576	49%
2009	1,846	53%
2010	2,175	58%
2011	672	63%
2012	2,249	66%
2013	4,425	66%
2014	3,615	69%
2015	3,258	72%
2016	2,285	73%
2017	1,504	78%
2018	909	81%

Typical mileage by age

Average odometer reading at the MOT, by the car's age in years at the test.

Age at test	Average mileage
5 years	28,741 miles
6 years	36,054 miles
7 years	44,657 miles
8 years	51,653 miles
9 years	59,248 miles
10 years	67,052 miles
11 years	70,345 miles
12 years	72,078 miles
13 years	77,012 miles
14 years	82,567 miles
15 years	89,956 miles
16 years	91,701 miles
17 years	97,381 miles
18 years	99,574 miles
19 years	104,162 miles
20 years	106,492 miles

Check a particular Beetle

Model figures tell you what to look out for. To see one car's own MOT history, mileage and tax, enter its registration.

Other Volkswagen models

Source: Department for Transport, Anonymised MOT tests and results, 2023, cars and light vans, normal tests only. Pass rates are first-time passes; a pass after repair at the test station counts as a fail. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.