Does the Volkswagen Beetle fail the MOT on steering more than it should?
The Volkswagen Beetle records 10.81 steering failure items per 100 initial MOT tests (2019–2024), against 4.44 expected for a car of the same age mix: more than expected for its class and age (+6.37, 95% interval +6.25 to +6.48). It ranks 34 of 640 models on steering (1 = most failures above expected).
Data release dvsa-2024-v2 (24 Sep 2026) · page updated 30 Sep 2026 · all models on steering · check a Volkswagen Beetle by registration
What exactly fails on steering?
The most frequent DVSA defect wording in this group on the Volkswagen Beetle is “Steering rack gaiter or ball joint dust cover damaged or deteriorated”, recorded 14,222 times in 2019–2024.
| DVSA defect wording | Items | Per 100 tests |
|---|---|---|
| Steering rack gaiter or ball joint dust cover damaged or deteriorated | 14,222 | 4.37 |
| Steering rack gaiter or ball joint dust cover missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt etc | 13,833 | 4.25 |
| A steering ball joint with excessive wear or free play | 4,969 | 1.53 |
| Power steering fluid leaking or system malfunctioning | 532 | 0.16 |
| Free play in the steering, measured at the rim of the steering wheel is excessive | 411 | 0.13 |
Source: DVSA MOT bulk data (OGL v3.0) · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 325,356 (initial tests) · Method: failure items (major and minor) grouped by DVSA's defect tree; wordings with 30+ items · Updated: 30 Sep 2026 · Release: dvsa-2024-v2 · CSV
If a Volkswagen Beetle gets a steering advisory, how often does it fail next time?
19.8% of Volkswagen Beetle MOTs with a steering advisory were followed by a fail in the same group at the next MOT, typically 12.1 months and 4,217 miles later (4,557 advisories followed).
Source: DVSA MOT bulk data (OGL v3.0) · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 4,557 (advisories followed) · Method: the same vehicles followed to their next ordinary MOT · Updated: 30 Sep 2026 · Release: dvsa-2024-v2 · CSV
Other pages for this model
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