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Volkswagen T-Cross, Buying guide, MOT record, UK numbers and recalls

58,579 Volkswagen T-Crosses are licensed in the UK. In 2025 they passed 88.7% of initial MOT tests, 16.4 points above the 72.3% UK average.

Looking at a specific T-Cross? Check its finance, write-off, stolen, mileage and keeper history. £15, no account needed.

Volkswagen T-Cross at the MOT

88.7% of 31,210 initial tests passed in 2025, ranking the T-Cross 58th of 575 models. Volkswagen T-Crosses aged 3 to 5 years passed 88% of MOT tests in 2025; for examples aged 6 to 10 years that fell to 80.8%.

First-time pass rate, 2025

Share of initial tests passed, retests excluded.

  • Volkswagen T-Cross88.7%
  • All Volkswagen modelsThe T-Cross is 15.6 pts ahead73.1%
  • All cars72.3%

Pass rate by age at test

Volkswagen T-Cross tests in 2025.

  • 3 to 5 years23,856 tests88%
  • 6 to 10 years1,226 tests80.8%

Where T-Crosses fail

Share of all failure items recorded on Volkswagen T-Cross tests in 2025.

  • Tyres30.7%
  • Brakes28.7%
  • Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment11.4%
  • Visibility9.2%
  • Steering8.9%

The items testers recorded most often were brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick (16.3%), condition has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords (10.8%) and track rod end ball joint dust cover excessively damaged or deteriorated so that it no longer prevents the ingress of dirt (7.4%).

The MOT page lists every common T-Cross MOT failure. For one car's own results and advisories, run a free MOT history check.

Full Volkswagen T-Cross MOT record

What to look at on a viewing

The T-Cross's most common failure areas, and what a tester checks in each.

  1. 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.30.7% of T-Cross failure items

  2. 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.28.7% of T-Cross failure items

  3. 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.11.4% of T-Cross failure items

Volkswagen T-Crosses in the UK

58,579 were licensed at the end of June 2026. The number licensed has grown 310% since the end of 2020.

Change since 2020
+310%from 14,279 licensed
Typical year of first use
2022half of those licensed at the end of 2025 were first used in 2022 or earlier
First registered in 2025
7,320against 10,362 in 2023
Declared off the road
2040.3% of those registered, under SORN

Licensed Volkswagen T-Crosses since 2019

Licensed at each year end and in the latest quarter.

Show the figures
DateLicensed
End of 20196,770
End of 202014,279
End of 202123,327
End of 202230,513
End of 202340,246
End of 202447,877
End of 202554,558
End of June 202658,579

How old they are

Licensed Volkswagen T-Crosses by year of first use.

  • Licensed at the end of 2025
  • First registered that year
Show the figures
First usedLicensed, end 2025First registered that year
20257,0077,320
20247,4017,700
202310,07110,362
20227,0817,497
20218,8329,191
20207,4577,718
20196,6996,944

T-Cross engine sizes

1.0 litre engines made up 94% of Volkswagen T-Cross MOT tests in 2025, followed by 1.5 litre at 4.4%. Petrol accounts for 99% of licensed T-Crosses.

Engine size at MOT, 2025

Share of 31,210 initial MOT tests in 2025.

  • 1.0 litre93.9%
  • 1.5 litre4.4%
  • 1.6 litre1.7%

Volkswagen T-Cross recalls

2 DVSA safety recalls launched from 1992 to October 2026 name the Volkswagen T-Cross. Each covers vehicles built in a set period, so a recall does not mean every T-Cross is affected.

  1. Oct 2021 R/2021/392

    A software fault in the instrument cluster control unit

    T-Crosses built Jan 2021 to Jun 2021 · 1,104 vehicles across the whole recall

    Defect and remedy
    Defect
    A software fault in the instrument cluster control unit can lead to the driver not being shown any optical or acoustic warnings if a person on the rear seat bench is not fastened in.
    Remedy
    On the affected vehicles the software for the instrument cluster must be updated.

  2. Feb 2020 R/2020/055

    Curtain airbag units may have been fitted with the gas generator welded to the outlet pipe which is not fail proof

    T-Crosses built May 2019 to Jun 2019 · 35 vehicles across the whole recall

    Defect and remedy
    Defect
    The curtain airbag unit gas generators may not be fail-proof leading to the airbags not opening completely in the event of an accident.
    Remedy
    Replace affected airbag units.
How to check a specific T-Cross for recalls

Other Volkswagen models

The most-tested Volkswagen models in 2025, against the T-Cross's 88.7% MOT pass rate.

All 31 Volkswagen models

Volkswagen T-Cross FAQs

How many Volkswagen T-Crosses are there in the UK?

58,579 Volkswagen T-Crosses were licensed in the UK at the end of June 2026, with a further 204 declared off the road (SORN), according to DfT vehicle licensing statistics.

Is the Volkswagen T-Cross 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 88.7% first-time pass rate for the Volkswagen T-Cross across 31,210 tests in 2025, above the 72.3% average for all cars.

Has the Volkswagen T-Cross had any recalls?

2 DVSA safety recalls launched from 1992 to October 2026 name the Volkswagen T-Cross. The most recent was published in October 2021. 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 T-Cross?

On the car itself, start with the areas it most often fails on: tyres, brakes and lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment. 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 T-Cross'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 a T-Cross?

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.