Volkswagen
3,064 MOT tests analysed. sits above the UK fleet average — here's where Passat Sel Tdi S As pass, fail, and end up on the retest sheet.
That's 13.1 points above the UK fleet average across our 1,984 tracked models — a confident result.
Pass
90.6%
Pass-after-fix
1.3%
Fail
7.8%
Avg miles
61,187
Pass + Pass-after-fix + Fail = 100%
Diesel cars registered from September 2015 generally meet Euro 6 — compliant in London ULEZ, Birmingham CAZ, Bristol CAZ, and Glasgow LEZ.
Performance by cohort
2 year bands · 3,064 tests
Pass rate is broadly flat across the cohorts — new and old Passat Sel Tdi S A examples track each other at the test bay.
Pass
90.6%
Fail
7.7%
PRS
1.3%
Avg mileage at test
62,233 mi
Pass
90.3%
Fail
8.6%
PRS
1.1%
Avg mileage at test
53,376 mi
Cohort = vehicle's first-registration year band. Same model, different generations of build.
The picture
Across 1,848 MOT tests, the Passat Sel Tdi S-A returns 87.1% first-time pass — comfortably ahead of the UK fleet average. The single most-logged Major fail is windscreen damage. A tyre with the cords showing and tyre tread under the limit round out the top three. Average tested mileage sits at 47,216, which is the lens to read those failure rankings through. If you own one and the next test is close, the ranked list below is a sensible pre-test checklist.
ABI Insurance Group
Above average — worth comparing quotes before buying. Lower groups cost less to insure; UK fleet average is around Group 22.
Source: ABI Group Rating Panel · administered by Thatcham Research · groups cover standard variants; performance trims may sit higher. Browse all insurance groups →
22–35
out of 50
Filter failures:
Hide categories
Tick a category to hide it from rankings sitewide. Saved in this browser only.
Windscreen or window damaged or seriously discoloured but not adversely affecting driver's view
60 occurrences · 2.0% of tests
A tyre seriously damaged
50 occurrences · 1.6% of tests
Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements
48 occurrences · 1.6% of tests
A shock absorber damaged to the extent that it does not function or showing signs of severe leakage
47 occurrences · 1.5% of tests
A tyre cords visible or damaged
43 occurrences · 1.4% of tests
a brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm
24 occurrences · 0.8% of tests
Wiper blade missing or obviously not clearing the windscreen
15 occurrences · 0.5% of tests
A tyre seriously damaged
13 occurrences · 0.4% of tests
Wiper blade defective
11 occurrences · 0.4% of tests
Engine MIL illuminated indicating a malfunction
11 occurrences · 0.4% of tests
Counts cover Major and Dangerous defects logged at test. Advisory items excluded so this shows why a car was rejected, not just what the tester flagged in passing.
Worst-case fix budget · top 2 failures
£120–£190
If every one of this Passat Sel Tdi S A's most-logged Major fails hit at the same MOT, that's the real-world UK garage range. Reality is usually one or two items, not all of them. Open the estimator →
Try the calculator
Build your own retest budget.
Year-band analysis
First-time MOT pass rate split by registration band. Pass rates barely move across bands here, so the year you buy Volkswagen Passat Sel Tdi S A makes little measurable difference to MOT outcomes.
Best band to buy
90.6%
2018–2020 registration
the 2018–2020 band climbs to 90.6% — a 0.3-point improvement. Failures here are mostly wear items: damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view, tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm — the structural issues that drag down older examples don't appear in the top-10 for this band.
Band to be cautious about
90.3%
2021+ registration
On the 2021-on band, the data shows a 90.3% pass rate against a fleet average of 90.6% on the newer band. The main culprits logged at test: has a cut in excess of the…, has ply or cords exposed, and damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view. Average mileage on test for this band is 53,376 miles — high-mileage wear items are a recurring theme.
Best band to buy: 2018-2020 (90.6% first-time pass). Worst band to avoid: 2021+ (90.3% pass). That's a 0.3-point spread across 361 older tests and 2,703 newer ones — year of build makes a material difference on this model.
Picked against this car's top failure patterns. Affiliate links to Amazon UK — we earn a small cut at no cost to you. Disclosed up-front, doesn't shape the data.
My Motor World · affiliate
Affiliate links — small commission, no extra cost to you.
Hycote
Hycote Touch Up Colour Paint Brush Volkswagen Shadow Blue Metallic 12.5ml
£6.59
View at My Motor World →
Hycote
Hycote Touch Up Colour Paint Brush Volkswagen Reflex Silver Metallic 12.5ml
£6.59
View at My Motor World →
Hycote
Hycote Touch Up Colour Paint Brush Volkswagen Black 12.5ml
£6.59
View at My Motor World →
Hycote
Hycote Touch Up Colour Paint Brush Volkswagen Mars Red 12.5ml
£6.59
View at My Motor World →
Click Mechanic · affiliate
Affiliate links — small commission, no extra cost to you.
Mobile mechanic · UK-wide
Book a mechanic at your door.
Fixed-price quotes upfront. No garage needed. Click Mechanic sends a vetted local mechanic to you — home, work, or roadside.
Owner reports · Honest John
Verbatim faults logged by owners on honestjohn.co.uk over recent years. We didn't summarise — these are the words people typed in.
Report of both front and rear brake discs of December 2017 Passat becomine so corroded and the rears 95% worn in 19 months and 14,660 miles that dealer recommended replacement of all four at a cost of £800.
Report from owner of 2019MY Passat 1.5 TSI EVO that following concerns about its running when manoeuvring at low revs owner raised this with the Dealer and subsequently had a software update. Following the update the car is now less responsive, as if it is in eco mode, and owner is not convinced it has the same power as before. He requested it be returned to the original setting but was told this was not possible.
Report of failure of rear brake discs of 2016 Passat 2.0 TDI estate at 36,000 miles due to pads 90% worn and rear brake discs corroded. (This model Passat has an electromechanical parking brake with autohold brake hold function.) The on-board entertainment and nav system is always playing up too. They did a software update at the service too and this had made no difference. Half the time the volume won’t come off silent without turning it off and on again, the compass doesn’t work sometimes on the display in front of the steering wheel and also this same displays gets stuck on starting nav…. Even when the main screen is working.
Report of problems with Passat 1.4 TSI DQ200 7-speed dry clutch DSG at 6,500 miles. When changing from 2nd to 3rd gear a judder can be felt through accelerator. Also on 2 occasions the DSG has got stuck in 3rd gear. It would not go higher although the engine was screaming. Driver had to slow down sufficiently to allow the engine to go into 2nd gear and stop. Restarted engine after 5 mins and all seemed ok. Booked in with supplying dealer to be checked.
Report of DQ200 7-speed dry clutch DSG of 24k mile 2017 Passat 1.6 TDI Business Edition estate going into 'emergency mode'. It has had a fresh clutch pack, new Mechatronics and been reprogrammed but still fails, so the dealer is fitting a new transmission under warranty.
Obtrusive hum reporteed between 2100 and 2300rpm from engine of 2017 Passat 2.0T DI SE Business at 27k miles I gave a 2.0 litre diesel Passat SE business 2017 with 27k on the clock. Particularly noticeable in 3rd, 4th and 5th gears, the latter being the most irritating as it coincides with typical motorway speeds. Turned out to be a resonance problem of engine noise frequency at 2,200 rpm coinciding with the natural vibration frequency of an a/c pipe. Changing the pipe eliminated the noise.
Report by high mileage driver that his Passat 2.0 TDI 150, bought in March 2017, had its first service at 20,000 miles in October 2017 and that MPG has dropped from 58MPG to 55MPG, plus 'flas spots' in each gear whe accelerating, possibly as the result of a NOx reducing TSB.
Report of leaking roof on 2017 Passat Estate with panoramic roof. Dealer says it needs a new roof under warranty.
Cabin heater fault reported on 2016 Passat at 35,000 kilometres. Intermittently hot air comes into the cabin at window and footwell even though the heater has been set to OFF on both sides. Garage advised switching on the Recirculate button when it happens.
Fault reported with Autohold brake of November 2015 Volkswagen Passat 2.0 TDI Bluemotion estate bought as an ex-demo in May 2016. In last 2 weeks autohold has failed to release on over 25 occasions on one journey and on 8 occasions on another journey. The garage cannot identify the fault, despite it occurring twice in the dealership's car park with a mechanic in the car. We'd guess as a problem with the multifunction brake light switch that has separate switches for the brake lights, autohold and (if a DSG) to send a message to the ECU that the brakes are on.
Source: honestjohn.co.uk · 10 reports indexed
Use the failure ranking as a pre-test checklist or a haggling lever. Treat the headline pass rate as a fleet-wide trend, not a guarantee on any individual car.
If you own a Passat Sel Tdi S A and your last MOT looked nothing like the ranked failures above, that's normal — individual cars vary widely. The ranking shows the patterns testers flag most often across the country.
