75.7%
Volkswagen Sharan pass rate
Used Volkswagen Sharan buying guide
In 2025, Volkswagen Sharan cars passed 75.7% of 35,049 initial MOT tests, 3.4 points above the 72.3% UK average. Here is where it fails and what to check before you buy.
Looking at a specific Sharan? Check its finance, write-off, stolen, mileage and keeper history. £15, no account needed.
Volkswagen Sharan MOT record in brief
Initial MOT tests in 2025, retests excluded.
72.3%
UK average, all cars
+3.4
percentage points above average
Ranked on pass rate the Sharan sits 260th of 575 models in the data. Volkswagen as a brand averaged 73.1%, so this model runs 2.6 points ahead of its own brand. Volkswagen Sharan cars aged 3 to 5 years passed 85.5% of MOT tests in 2025; for examples aged 11 years and over that fell to 63.2%.
A pass rate is not a reliability score. The full Volkswagen Sharan MOT record has the pass rate by age, every common failure and how the Sharan compares with similar cars.
Sharan fuel types
Diesel made up 83% of Volkswagen Sharan MOT tests in 2025, against 39.3% across all models in this data. Almost every used example you look at will be a diesel.
Where the Sharan fails its MOT
Where Volkswagen Sharan cars that failed their 2025 MOT were marked down, as a share of all recorded failure items.
The specific items testers recorded most often were pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn (10.1%), condition has ply or cords exposed (5.9%) and tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm (5.7%). See every common Sharan MOT failure.
These are DVSA failure records across every Volkswagen Sharan that failed, not a claim that every Sharan has these problems.
What should you check when buying a used Sharan?
The areas above, most common first, and what an MOT tester looks at in each.
1
Suspension
Listen for knocks over bumps, check the car sits level, and look for leaking shock absorbers and split rubber gaiters. 26.7% of Sharan failure items.
2
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment
Walk round with every light on: headlights, brake lights, indicators, fog lights and the number plate lamp. Check no warning lights stay on after starting. 19% of Sharan failure items.
3
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. 17.8% of Sharan failure items.
4
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. 11.4% of Sharan failure items.
5
Body, chassis, structure
Look underneath and along the sills for corrosion, and check for damaged or poorly repaired panels. 7.5% of Sharan failure items.
None of this replaces the car's own record. Run a free MOT history check on the registration to see every test, advisory and recorded mileage for that car.
What the MOT record doesn't tell you
Knowing Volkswagen Sharan failures cluster around suspension and lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment tells you what to inspect. It tells you nothing about whether the car is safe to buy. An MOT does not show money still owed on the car, a write-off, a theft record or a clocked odometer.
Check the exact Sharan you are looking at. One £15 report, instant results, backed by a £30,000 data guarantee. More on the Volkswagen history check.
- Outstanding finance
- Write-off records
- Stolen markers
- Mileage history
- Previous keepers
Other used Volkswagen models
The most-tested Volkswagen models in 2025, with how their MOT pass rate compares with the Sharan.
- Used Volkswagen Golf 75.1% MOT pass rate
- Used Volkswagen Polo 67.4% MOT pass rate
- Used Volkswagen Transporter 68.3% MOT pass rate
- Used Volkswagen Tiguan 81.4% MOT pass rate
- Used Volkswagen Passat 71.5% MOT pass rate
- Used Volkswagen Caddy 68.4% MOT pass rate
See all 31 Volkswagen models ranked by MOT pass rate.
Used Volkswagen Sharan FAQs
Is the Volkswagen Sharan 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 a 75.7% first-time pass rate for the Volkswagen Sharan across 35,049 tests in 2025, above the 72.3% average for all cars.
Do older Volkswagen Sharan cars fail their MOT more often?
Volkswagen Sharan cars aged 3 to 5 years passed 85.5% of MOT tests in 2025; for examples aged 11 years and over that fell to 63.2%. On an older example, the car's own MOT history tells you more than the model average.
What should I check before buying a used Volkswagen Sharan?
On the car itself, start with the areas it most often fails on: suspension, lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment and tyres. Then check the individual car's history: outstanding finance, insurance write-off records, stolen markers, mileage and previous keepers. None of these appear in the MOT record or on the V5C.
How do I check a Volkswagen Sharan'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.
MOT figures are aggregated from the DVSA MOT Anonymised data set for 2025 (class 4 initial tests, retests excluded), licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. MOT results describe roadworthiness at test, not mechanical reliability.