Photo: Vauxford, CC BY-SA 4.0
Volkswagen
4,547 MOT tests analysed. sits above the UK fleet average — here's where Tiguan Life Tsi S As pass, fail, and end up on the retest sheet.
That's 13.6 points above the UK fleet average across our 1,984 tracked models — a confident result.
Pass
91.1%
Pass-after-fix
1.2%
Fail
7.5%
Avg miles
27,475
Pass + Pass-after-fix + Fail = 100%
Petrol cars first registered from January 2006 meet Euro 4 — compliant in London ULEZ, Birmingham CAZ, Bristol CAZ, and Glasgow LEZ.
Performance by cohort
2 year bands · 4,547 tests
Pass rate climbs 1.9 points across the cohorts — newer Tiguan Life Tsi S A examples clear the test more reliably than the early cars.
Pass
89.4%
Fail
9.6%
PRS
0.8%
Avg mileage at test
30,704 mi
Pass
91.3%
Fail
7.3%
PRS
1.2%
Avg mileage at test
27,166 mi
Cohort = vehicle's first-registration year band. Same model, different generations of build.
The picture
Across 4,547 MOT tests, the Tiguan Life Tsi S-A returns 91.1% first-time pass — comfortably ahead of the UK fleet average. The single most-logged Major fail is tyre tread under the limit. Windscreen damage and a seriously damaged tyre round out the top three. Average tested mileage sits at 27,475, 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.
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Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements
109 occurrences · 2.4% of tests
Windscreen or window damaged or seriously discoloured but not adversely affecting driver's view
64 occurrences · 1.4% of tests
A tyre seriously damaged
58 occurrences · 1.3% of tests
a brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm
55 occurrences · 1.2% of tests
Wiper blade defective
40 occurrences · 0.9% of tests
Brake disc or drum significantly and obviously worn
17 occurrences · 0.4% of tests
An SRS malfunction indicator lamp (MIL) indicates a system malfunction
15 occurrences · 0.3% of tests
Wiper blade missing or obviously not clearing the windscreen
15 occurrences · 0.3% of tests
A shock absorber damaged to the extent that it does not function or showing signs of severe leakage
15 occurrences · 0.3% of tests
Number plate showing an incorrect registration
12 occurrences · 0.3% 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
£160–£300
If every one of this Tiguan Life Tsi 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 →
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Build your own retest budget.
Year-band analysis
First-time MOT pass rate split by registration band. A 1.9-point gap between bands is modest — the year you buy Volkswagen Tiguan Life Tsi S A makes a small but real difference to MOT outcomes.
Best band to buy
91.3%
2021+ registration
the 2021-on band climbs to 91.3% — a 1.9-point improvement. Failures here are mostly wear items: tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm, damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view — the structural issues that drag down older examples don't appear in the top-10 for this band. Post-2020 examples are early in their MOT life and generally show the cleanest records.
Band to be cautious about
89.4%
2018–2020 registration
On the 2018–2020 band, the data shows a 89.4% pass rate against a fleet average of 91.3% on the newer band. The main culprits logged at test: has a cut in excess of the…, does not clear the windscreen effectively, and tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm. Average mileage on test for this band is 30,704 miles — high-mileage wear items are a recurring theme.
Best band to buy: 2021+ (91.3% first-time pass). Worst band to avoid: 2018-2020 (89.4% pass). That's a 1.9-point spread across 397 older tests and 4,150 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.
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
Item 02 · Amazon UK
Brake pad measurement gauge
Testers fail pads under 1.5mm. A wear gauge tells you if you've got two months left or two weeks.
Search Amazon UK
Item 03 · Amazon UK
Bosch Aerotwin wiper blades
Cheap wipers fail the test on smear streaks. Bosch Aerotwins last a winter and clear a screen properly.
Search Amazon UK
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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.
What's good
The 2023 Volkswagen Tiguan is an upmarket alternative to SUVs like the Nissan Qashqai and Ford Kuga. It boasts a classy and spacious interior, and is comfortable and easy to drive.
Where it falls short
Looks expensive alongside the very similar SEAT Ateca or Skoda Karoq. Not the most exciting SUV to look at. Other than the R version, not particularly thrilling to drive.
Reader reported several software faults with their Volkswagen Tiguan Allspace. On start up the main dash display changes configuration from previous layout. The set speed of the cruise control jumps 2 or 3mph, up or down, without driver intervention. Sometimes the volume control will work but at other times volume cannot be changed. Although both hands are on the steering wheel a message a message appears reminding the driver to put both hands on the steering wheel.
Gearbox control unit failure reported on 2017 Tiguan. Owner quoted £1100 for repair.
Problems with 2021 Tiguan 1.5TSI 150 Elegance DSG7. Within a week the owner noticed that when driving along with the adaptive cruise control and associated driver assistance systems engaged (lane keeping assist, road sign recognition etc) the display and nav switched to a European speed limit of 110kph.
Infotainment system failure on 2016 Tiguan. Car was four months outside of its warranty and the dealer is willing to pay just 10% towards the £1950 repair cost.
Report of failure of touchscreen function of media infotainment system of contract hired 2016 VW Tiguan at 37,000 miles and three and a half years old. User couldn’t input a destination to the sat nav or change the radio station. Sometimes it would freeze entirely or randomly switch between functions.
Report of 2018 VW Tiguan TDI in for a service and dealer phoning owner to tell him they needed to "drop the gearbox" because he had detected an oil leak due to a loose bolt. Being fixed under warranty, but taking a week.
Report of hesitation and kangarooing from June 2019 VW Tiguan 1.5TSI with DQ381 7-speed wet clutch DSG, now at 1,800 miles.
Report of auto braking of 2017 Volkswagen Tiguan being spuriously triggered.
Report of 2018 VW Tiguan 2.0 TDi BMT 150 4Motion SEL 5dr DSG failing to start on a couple of occasions. Turns over, but does not start. Suspect glowplugs. Suggested owner turns key to first stop, counts to ten to give the glowplugs time tyo heat up, then turns the key to engage the starter.
Report that new VW Tiguan (awaiting details of engine, transmission, drivetrain) could not be registered on a 69 because VW UK has not received the derogation codes from the the VCA so cannot register any cars that are non RDE compliant for 69 plate. This car was built before 31-5-2019 but cannot be registered on a 19 plate either because apparently the period for registering on a 19 had passed already, one day early.
Regarding problems with 1.5TSI engines, owner of Tiguan 1.5TSI wrote, "if you turn off the auto hold and the stop start you will not get the kangarooing or the car switching on and off if you coast the last few yards to a stop with the clutch depressed."
Report of July 2019 VW Tiguan 1.5TSI pulling unevenly (kangarooing) from a cold start. Dealer applied a software update on 26th July but it does not seem to have resolved the issue. We recommended trying running it in superunleaded that the engine is optimised for. See 'Good' 27-7-2019.
Source: honestjohn.co.uk · 30 reports indexed, top 12 shown
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 Tiguan Life Tsi 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.