Volkswagen Arteon, Buying guide, MOT record, UK numbers and recalls
11,832 Volkswagen Arteons are licensed in the UK. In 2025 they passed 86.6% of initial MOT tests, 14.3 points above the 72.3% UK average.
Looking at a specific Arteon? Check its finance, write-off, stolen, mileage and keeper history. £15, no account needed.
Volkswagen Arteon at the MOT
86.6% of 9,702 initial tests passed in 2025, ranking the Arteon 95th of 575 models. Volkswagen Arteons aged 3 to 5 years passed 86.8% of MOT tests in 2025; for examples aged 6 to 10 years that fell to 85.5%.
First-time pass rate, 2025
Share of initial tests passed, retests excluded.
Pass rate by age at test
Volkswagen Arteon tests in 2025.
Where Arteons fail
Share of all failure items recorded on Volkswagen Arteon tests in 2025.
The items testers recorded most often were condition has ply or cords exposed (13.7%), condition has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords (13.5%) and tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm (12.6%).
The MOT page lists every common Arteon MOT failure. For one car's own results and advisories, run a free MOT history check.
What to look at on a viewing
The Arteon's most common failure areas, and what a tester checks in each.
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Tyres
Check tread depth across the full width of every tyre (the legal minimum is 1.6mm), and look for cuts, bulges and uneven wear.51.1% of Arteon failure items
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Suspension
Listen for knocks over bumps, check the car sits level, and look for leaking shock absorbers and split rubber gaiters.13.9% of Arteon failure items
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Brakes
Make sure the pedal feels firm, the car stops in a straight line, the handbrake holds on a slope and no brake warning light is showing.12.3% of Arteon failure items
Volkswagen Arteons in the UK
11,832 were licensed at the end of June 2026. The number licensed has grown 326% since the end of 2018.
- Change since 2018
- +326%from 2,775 licensed
- Typical year of first use
- 2020half of those licensed at the end of 2025 were first used in 2020 or earlier
- First registered in 2025
- 108against 2,716 in 2019
- Declared off the road
- 2432% of those registered, under SORN
Licensed Volkswagen Arteons since 2017
Licensed at each year end and in the latest quarter.
Show the figures
| Date | Licensed |
|---|---|
| End of 2017 | 556 |
| End of 2018 | 2,775 |
| End of 2019 | 5,275 |
| End of 2020 | 6,747 |
| End of 2021 | 8,194 |
| End of 2022 | 10,122 |
| End of 2023 | 11,268 |
| End of 2024 | 11,961 |
| End of 2025 | 12,018 |
| End of June 2026 | 11,832 |
How old they are
Licensed Volkswagen Arteons by year of first use.
- Licensed at the end of 2025
- First registered that year
Show the figures
| First used | Licensed, end 2025 | First registered that year |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 83 | 108 |
| 2024 | 817 | 908 |
| 2023 | 1,463 | 1,557 |
| 2022 | 1,829 | 2,019 |
| 2021 | 1,458 | 1,624 |
| 2020 | 1,500 | 1,648 |
| 2019 | 2,308 | 2,716 |
| 2018 | 2,044 | 2,409 |
| 2017 | 513 | 605 |
Arteon engines and fuel
2.0 litre engines made up 83% of Volkswagen Arteon MOT tests in 2025, followed by 1.5 litre at 12%. Petrol accounts for 55% of licensed Arteons and diesel for 35%.
Engine size at MOT, 2025
Share of 9,702 initial MOT tests in 2025.
Fuel type, licensed Arteons
DfT licensing statistics, June 2026.
| Fuel | Licensed | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Petrol | 6,527 | 55% |
| Diesel | 4,172 | 35% |
| Plug-in hybrid | 1,130 | 10% |
| Hybrid electric | 1 | <0.1% |
| Gas | 2 | <0.1% |
Volkswagen Arteon recalls
10 DVSA safety recalls launched from 1992 to October 2026 name the Volkswagen Arteon. The 8 most recent are below. Each covers vehicles built in a set period, so a recall does not mean every Arteon is affected.
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Jan 2024 R/2024/014
On certain vehicles with electromechanical brake servo and DSG (Direct Shift Gearbox) of a limited production period there is a possibility that a heat protection mat was incorrectly fitted. In individual cases the brake fluid reservoir can melt and cause a brake fluid leak into the engine compartment
Defect and remedy
- Remedy
- A check of the installation of the heat protection mat on affected vehicles will be conducted. If necessary the correct heat shield condition will be restored and in a damage case the damaged components will be replaced.
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Apr 2022 R/2022/086
The fuse in the high-voltage system of plug-in hybrid vehicles was in some cases produced with too little so-called fire sand
Defect and remedy
- Remedy
- An additional protective insulating mat is to be fitted to the switching unit for high-voltage battery.
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Mar 2022 R/2022/074
Engine compartment covers could come loose from their attachment
Defect and remedy
- Defect
- On affected vehicles engine compartment covers were fitted that regardless of use (very sporty driving style or poor road condition) and operating period could come loose from their attachment.
- Remedy
- On all affected vehicles the engine compartment cover has to be removed.
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Sep 2021 R/2021/320
The bolted connection of the pull rod between the electromechanical brake servo and brake pedal could come loose
Defect and remedy
- Defect
- The bolted connection of the pull rod between the electromechanical brake servo and brake pedal may come loose resulting in a loss of all service braking ability.
- Remedy
- Vehicles are not to be driven and the bolted connection of the input rod between the electromechanical brake servo and brake pedal must be checked and if necessary retightened
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Apr 2021 R/2021/142
The positive battery cable and the control unit cable may have been mixed up
Defect and remedy
- Defect
- The positive battery cable and the cable to the control unit for battery monitoring on the main fuse box in the boot may have been mixed up.
- Remedy
- Inspect the two connected cables on the main fuse box and if necessary swap them into the correct positions.
-
Mar 2020 R/2020/088
The brake servo pull rod ball coupling may have been put into the mounting of the brake pedal incorrectly
Defect and remedy
- Defect
- The ball coupling of the push rod of the electromechanical brake servo may have been wrongly slotted into the mounting on the brake pedal.
- Remedy
- Check the ball coupling into the mounting of the brake pedal. If the ball coupling is incorrectly slotted in the brake servo and mounting in the brake pedal must be replaced.
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Aug 2019 R/2019/264
Too little torque may be provided by the engine at low engine speeds
Defect and remedy
- Remedy
- On the affected vehicles the software of the engine control unit must be updated.
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Mar 2019 R/2019/081
The joint between the sun roof trim and sun roof frame is incorrctly bonded
Defect and remedy
- Defect
- A possible faulty bonded joint between sun roof trim panel and sun roof frame.
- Remedy
- The sun roof trim panel is replaced on affected vehicles.
Other Volkswagen models
The most-tested Volkswagen models in 2025, against the Arteon's 86.6% MOT pass rate.
- Volkswagen Golf
- Volkswagen Polo
- Volkswagen Transporter
- Volkswagen Tiguan
- Volkswagen Passat
- Volkswagen Caddy
Volkswagen Arteon FAQs
How many Volkswagen Arteons are there in the UK?
11,832 Volkswagen Arteons were licensed in the UK at the end of June 2026, with a further 243 declared off the road (SORN), according to DfT vehicle licensing statistics.
Is the Volkswagen Arteon reliable?
MOT data does not measure reliability. It records whether a car met the roadworthiness standard on the day of its test. What it does show is an 86.6% first-time pass rate for the Volkswagen Arteon across 9,702 tests in 2025, above the 72.3% average for all cars.
Has the Volkswagen Arteon had any recalls?
10 DVSA safety recalls launched from 1992 to October 2026 name the Volkswagen Arteon. The most recent was published in January 2024. A recall applies to vehicles built in a set period, so check a specific car on the GOV.UK vehicle recall checker.
What should I check before buying a used Volkswagen Arteon?
On the car itself, start with the areas it most often fails on: tyres, suspension and brakes. Then check the individual car's own records. Outstanding finance, insurance write-offs and police stolen markers are not part of the MOT record, so they take a history check.
How do I check a Volkswagen Arteon's history?
Enter the registration of the specific car. A Carpeep car history check reports outstanding finance, write-off category, stolen markers, mileage history, previous keepers, MOT and tax status, import and export markers and scrapped status in one £15 report.
Already found an Arteon?
Check its finance, write-off, theft, mileage and keeper history with a £15 vehicle history report.
Across the 1,548 vehicles of every make Carpeep has checked since November 2025, 19% had outstanding finance recorded and 13% an insurance write-off. More on the Volkswagen history check. To confirm a car's identity, see the Volkswagen VIN check.
- Outstanding finance
- Write-off records
- Stolen markers
- Mileage history
- Previous keepers
MOT figures are aggregated from the DVSA MOT Anonymised data set for 2025 (class 4 initial tests, retests excluded), which also gives the engine sizes. Licensed, SORN, fuel and registration figures are from the Department for Transport vehicle licensing statistics (VEH0120, VEH0124, VEH0160). Recalls are from the DVSA vehicle recalls data, with recalls launched up to October 2026. Government data is used under the Open Government Licence v3.0. MOT results describe roadworthiness at test, not mechanical reliability. History-check findings are anonymous counts from reports bought on Carpeep, each vehicle counted once, and are published only where at least 100 vehicles returned an answer.