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Volkswagen Fox MOT pass rate and common problems

The Volkswagen Fox passed 50.7% of its initial MOT tests in 2025, 21.6 percentage points below the 72.3% UK average. The item testers recorded most often was wipers does not clear the windscreen effectively.

Checking a specific car? Its own results, advisories and recorded mileages are in a free MOT history check.

How the Fox compares

Initial MOT tests in 2025, retests excluded. A car that failed and was repaired at the test station counts as a fail.

50.7%

Volkswagen Fox

73.1%

Volkswagen average

72.3%

UK average, all cars

The Fox runs 22.4 points behind the Volkswagen average. It is 31st of the 31 Volkswagen models in the data. The average Fox arrived at its test 16.3 years old with 80,449 miles recorded.

A pass rate records whether cars met the roadworthiness standard on test day. It is not a reliability score, and part of any gap reflects how old the tested cars were.

Fox MOT pass rate by age

The same 2025 tests split by the car's age at test.

Age at testTestsPass ratevs UK average
6 to 10 years (small sample) 1 100% 27.7 pts above
11 years and over 23,315 50.7% 21.6 pts below

Too few tests fall into some age groups to compare them reliably. The UK average of 72.3% covers cars of every age, so compare like with like.

Where Fox failures cluster

Every failure item recorded on Volkswagen Fox cars in 2025, grouped into the DVSA's test areas.

  • Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment26.6%
  • Suspension21.9%
  • Visibility10.8%
  • Brakes10.8%
  • Noise, emissions and leaks10.3%
  • Body, chassis, structure9.3%

Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment and suspension together account for 48.6% of recorded failure items. These are recorded failures across the model, not faults every car has.

The 10 most common Fox MOT failures

Specific items recorded on Volkswagen Fox cars that failed their 2025 MOT, as a share of all recorded failure items.

  1. 1Wipers does not clear the windscreen effectivelyVisibility 4.3%
  2. 2Linkage ball joint dust cover ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirtSuspension 4.2%
  3. 3Ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirtSuspension 4.1%
  4. 4Position lamp not workingLamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 4.1%
  5. 5Joints constant velocity boot split or insecure, no longer prevents the ingress of dirtBody, chassis, structure 3.9%
  6. 6Coil spring fractured or brokenSuspension 3.8%
  7. 7Washers provides insufficient washer liquidVisibility 3.8%
  8. 8Stop lamp not workingLamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 3.6%
  9. 9Exhaust system has a major leak of exhaust gasesBody, chassis, structure 3.6%
  10. 10Catalyst emissions lambda reading after 2nd fast idle outside specified limitsNoise, emissions and leaks 3.5%

Together these 10 items make up 38.7% of everything testers recorded against failed Volkswagen Fox cars. The rest is spread across many smaller items, and one failed test often records several at once.

What to look at on a Fox

The recorded failures above, grouped by area, biggest first.

1

Suspension

Recorded most often: linkage ball joint dust cover ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt, ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt and coil spring fractured or broken. 12% of failure items.

2

Visibility

Recorded most often: wipers does not clear the windscreen effectively and washers provides insufficient washer liquid. 8.1% of failure items.

3

Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment

Recorded most often: position lamp not working and stop lamp not working. 7.7% of failure items.

4

Body, chassis, structure

Recorded most often: joints constant velocity boot split or insecure, no longer prevents the ingress of dirt and exhaust system has a major leak of exhaust gases. 7.5% of failure items.

The car's own MOT history matters more than any model average. A free MOT history check shows whether a specific Fox has failed on these items before, or had them noted as advisories. Buying one? See the used Volkswagen Fox buying guide.

Already found one?

Check its finance, write-off, theft, mileage and keeper history with a £15 vehicle history report.

Volkswagen Fox MOT FAQs

What is the Volkswagen Fox MOT pass rate?

50.7% of Volkswagen Fox cars passed their initial MOT first time in 2025, from 23,316 tests. That is 21.6 percentage points below the 72.3% average for all cars, and ranks 566th of 575 models.

What does a Volkswagen Fox most commonly fail its MOT on?

The item testers recorded most often on Volkswagen Fox cars failing their 2025 MOT was wipers does not clear the windscreen effectively, on 4.3% of failure items. Next were linkage ball joint dust cover ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt (4.2%) and ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt (4.1%).

Which area causes the most Volkswagen Fox MOT failures?

Across every recorded failure item, the largest area was lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment at 26.6%, followed by suspension at 21.9%.

Does this mean every Volkswagen Fox has these problems?

No. These are the items testers recorded across every Volkswagen Fox that failed in 2025. They show where the model most often needs attention, not the condition of any individual car.

How do I see a specific Volkswagen Fox's MOT history?

Enter its registration on the free Carpeep MOT history check to see that car's own test results, failures, advisories and recorded mileages.

MOT figures are aggregated from the DVSA MOT Anonymised data set for 2025: class 4 initial tests, retests excluded, with failure items from failed tests (advisories and minor defects excluded), licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. MOT results describe roadworthiness at test, not mechanical reliability.