Performance by cohort

3 year bands · 328,913 tests

Pass rate climbs 11.6 points across the cohorts — newer Passat examples clear the test more reliably than the early cars.

Pre-2018 cohort 302,177

Pass

75.2%

Fail

20.1%

PRS

4.1%

Avg mileage at test

130,374 mi

2018–2020 cohort 23,615

Pass

88.0%

Fail

9.8%

PRS

1.7%

Avg mileage at test

67,816 mi

2021+ cohort 3,121

Pass

86.8%

Fail

10.3%

PRS

1.9%

Avg mileage at test

47,282 mi

Cohort = vehicle's first-registration year band. Same model, different generations of build.

Generations on file · 7

Volkswagen Passat · UK market

Photos: Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA / CC BY / public domain.

The picture

High miles, high expectations, patchy brake record

75.25% first-time pass across 248,006 tests is a solid mid-table result, especially given the Passat's average test mileage of 121,314 — the highest in this batch by some distance. Windscreen damage leads the failure list, followed by CV joint boot deterioration and tyre tread. What the statistics don't capture is the brake disc attrition some owners have found: a 2017 Passat with both front and rear discs heavily corroded and rear pads 95% worn in under 20,000 miles, and a 2016 2.0 TDI estate with rear disc and pad failure at 36,000 miles — a known consequence of the electromechanical parking brake holding the rears on during long motorway runs. If you're buying a used Passat estate, check the rear brakes regardless of MOT history. The disc corrosion can hide until the test catches it.

ABI Insurance Group

Group 22–35

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

Compare quotes →

Top ten reasons for rejection.

Filter failures:

Hide wear items to see the model's real defects.

01

Windscreen or window damaged or seriously discoloured but not adversely affecting driver's view

10,493 occurrences · 3.2% of tests
02

A transmission shaft constant velocity joint boot severely deteriorated

10,281 occurrences · 3.1% of tests
03

Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements

9,483 occurrences · 2.9% of tests
04

A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn

9,235 occurrences · 2.8% of tests
05

A spring or spring component fractured or seriously weakened

7,682 occurrences · 2.3% of tests
06

A tyre cords visible or damaged

7,510 occurrences · 2.3% of tests
07

A rear registration plate lamp or light source missing or inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources

6,018 occurrences · 1.8% of tests
08

A transmission shaft constant velocity joint boot missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt etc

5,277 occurrences · 1.6% of tests
09

Headlamp reflector or lens slightly defective

4,919 occurrences · 1.5% of tests
10

A shock absorber damaged to the extent that it does not function or showing signs of severe leakage

4,898 occurrences · 1.5% 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 3 failures

£220–£575

If every one of this Passat'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

Best year to buy. Worst to avoid.

First-time MOT pass rate split by registration band. A 12.8-point gap between bands means the year you buy Volkswagen Passat has a real effect on what turns up at the garage.

Best band to buy

88.0%

2018–2020 registration

the 2018–2020 band climbs to 88.0% — a 12.8-point improvement. Tests in this band average 67,816 miles — roughly 63K miles fewer on the clock than the older band. 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. The stricter post-2018 MOT test rules meant manufacturers had to tighten up emissions and electrical checks, but this band still shows far fewer major failures on suspension and bodywork than the older fleet.

Band to be cautious about

75.2%

Pre-2018 registration

On the older band (pre-2018), the data shows a 75.2% pass rate against a fleet average of 88.0% on the newer band. The main culprits logged at test: constant velocity boot severely deteriorated, damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view, and pin or bush excessively worn. Average mileage on test for this band is 130,374 miles — high-mileage wear items are a recurring theme. Honest John records: "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…"

Best band to buy: 2018-2020 (88.0% first-time pass). Worst band to avoid: pre-2018 (75.2% pass). That's a 12.8-point spread across 302,177 older tests and 23,615 newer ones — year of build makes a material difference on this model.

Year-spread leaderboard →

Tools that pre-empt a retest.

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.

Item 01 · Amazon UK

Digital tyre-tread depth gauge

Five quid for a gauge beats £150 for a retest. UK MOT minimum is 1.6mm — most testers fail anything below 2mm to be safe.

Search Amazon UK

My Motor World · affiliate

Parts & supplies for this fix

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Book a mobile mechanic

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Owner reports · Honest John

What owners actually report.

Verbatim faults logged by owners on honestjohn.co.uk over recent years. We didn't summarise — these are the words people typed in.

Recent owner-reported faults

11 Sep 2019
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.
12 Aug 2019
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.
17 Dec 2018
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.
3 Sep 2018
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.
14 Aug 2018
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.
21 Jul 2018
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.
25 Oct 2017
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.
1 Oct 2017
Report of leaking roof on 2017 Passat Estate with panoramic roof. Dealer says it needs a new roof under warranty.
17 Mar 2017
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.
11 Aug 2016
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

Buying or keeping a Passat?

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 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.