Volkswagen Beetle 2012: MOT failure rate for its age

31.6% of 13,497 MOT tests of the Volkswagen Beetle first registered in 2012 failed at the first attempt (2019–2024; retests excluded). Against this model's own normal rate at the same ages the index is 95.4 (95% CI 92.6–98.3; 100 = normal for this model at that age): close to other build years of the same model at the same age (within 5 points of normal).

Volkswagen Beetle built in 2012 at a glance
Measure	Value	Unit	Compared with	Years	Tests
Failed first time	31.6	%	all ages tested	2019–2024	13497
Index against this model at the same age (95% CI 92.6–98.3)	95.4	index	100 = normal for this model at that age	2019–2024	13497
Rank among this model's 20 build years	4	of 20	1 = fails least for its age	2019–2024	13497
Tested in 2024	2270	tests	median 73,646 miles	2024	2270

Built 2012 against Volkswagen Beetle normal for the age: first-time MOT failure share at each age, age 7: 27.6% vs 29.3%; age 8: 29.7% vs 29.4%; age 9: 33% vs 31.7%; age 10: 30.7% vs 33.1%; age 11: 33.8% vs 35.4%; age 12: 34.5% vs 39.3%. Axis from 0% to 40%. DVSA MOT bulk data, 2019–2024.

Check a 2012 Volkswagen Beetle by registration · All Volkswagen Beetle MOT statistics · Download the build-year table (CSV)

Data release dvsa-2024-v2 (24 Sep 2026) · page updated 30 Sep 2026 · full dataset (v5).

How does the 2012 Volkswagen Beetle fail at each age?

Cars built in 2012 were tested at ages 7 to 12 between 2019 and 2024. Each row compares their first-time failure share with what this model normally shows at that age, after allowing for the overall failure level of each test year.

Volkswagen Beetle built 2012: first-time MOT failure by age, against the model's normal rate at that age (2019–2024)
Age	Tests	Failed, %	95% interval	Normal for this model at that age, %	Index (100 = normal)
7	2,286	27.6	25.8–29.4	29.3	93.9
8	2,183	29.7	27.8–31.6	29.4	101.1
9	2,239	33	31–34.9	31.7	103.9
10	2,270	30.7	28.9–32.7	33.1	92.8
11	2,249	33.8	31.9–35.8	35.4	95.5
12	2,270	34.5	32.6–36.5	39.3	88

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 13,497 (initial tests) · Method: normal rate = this model's first-time failure share at that age across its build years (cells of 400+ tests), adjusted for each test year's overall level; cells of 30+ tests, under 500 marked rough · Updated: 30 Sep 2026 · Release: dvsa-2024-v2 · CSV

What fails most on the 2012 Volkswagen Beetle?

The most common failure group on cars built in 2012 is suspension: 16.4 items per 100 first tests, against 22.2 across all build years of the Volkswagen Beetle. These counts are not age-adjusted: cars built in 2012 were tested at ages 7 to 12.

Failure items per 100 first tests, Volkswagen Beetle built 2012 against the Volkswagen Beetle in all build years (2019–2024, not age-adjusted)
Failure group	Built 2012, per 100	All build years, per 100	Items
Suspension	16.4	22.2	2,220
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment	15.8	34.2	2,138
Body, chassis, structure	8.8	12.9	1,187
Visibility	7.6	13.4	1,020
Tyres	7.1	9.1	965

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 13,497 (initial tests of this build year) · Method: failure items grouped by DVSA's top-level defect groups, per 100 initial tests; groups with 30+ items · Updated: 30 Sep 2026 · Release: dvsa-2024-v2 · CSV

How does 2012 compare with the years around it?

Among the 20 published build years of the Volkswagen Beetle, 2012 ranks 4 (1 = fails least for its age). 2011: index 102.6. 2013: index 99.7.

Volkswagen Beetle build years: index against the model at the same age (2019–2024)
Build year	Index (100 = normal)	95% interval	Verdict	Tests
1999	86.7	71.0–102.4	no different (rough estimate)	246
2000	102.2	99.3–105.2	no different	8,246
2001	98.2	95.9–100.6	no different	12,321
2002	99.1	96.9–101.3	no different	14,574
2003	100.4	98.7–102.1	no different	25,135
2004	100.5	98.9–102.0	no different	31,156
2005	94.8	93.2–96.5	better	26,250
2006	97.8	96.0–99.6	better	23,044
2007	103.8	101.7–105.8	worse	20,114
2008	103.1	100.8–105.5	worse	15,850
2009	102.6	99.8–105.5	no different	11,285
2010	99.2	96.4–101.9	no different	13,050
2011	102.6	97.4–107.8	no different	4,102
2012	95.4	92.6–98.3	better	13,497
2013	99.7	97.5–101.9	no different	26,626
2014	99.8	97.3–102.3	no different	21,718
2015	99.7	96.9–102.5	no different	19,594
2016	103.0	99.3–106.7	no different	13,648
2017	95.8	90.8–100.8	no different	7,877
2018	91.9	84.5–99.4	better (rough estimate)	3,658

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 311,991 (initial tests) · Method: observed failures against those expected for the same model at the same ages, test-year level adjusted; verdict follows the printed one-decimal bound · Updated: 30 Sep 2026 · Release: dvsa-2024-v2 · CSV

How to cite this page

MOT Risk Index (2026). Volkswagen Beetle 2012 MOT statistics (data release dvsa-2024-v2; full dataset motriskindex-families-2024-v5, DOI 10.5281/zenodo.22975051), updated 30 September 2026. motriskindex.co.uk/cars/volkswagen-beetle/2012/

How every figure is calculated: methodology. Age, test year and build year are tied together (age = test year − build year), so the test-year level is taken as observed, not estimated.

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