Volkswagen California 2012: MOT failure rate for its age

23.5% of 3,492 MOT tests of the Volkswagen California 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 108.7 (95% CI 101.3–116.2; 100 = normal for this model at that age): the 2012 Volkswagen California fails more often than other build years of the same model at the same age. This is a rough estimate from a smaller sample.

Volkswagen California built in 2012 at a glance
Measure	Value	Unit	Compared with	Years	Tests
Failed first time	23.5	%	all ages tested	2019–2024	3492
Index against this model at the same age (95% CI 101.3–116.2)	108.7	index	100 = normal for this model at that age	2019–2024	3492
Rank among this model's 11 build years	11	of 11	1 = fails least for its age	2019–2024	3492
Tested in 2024	589	tests	median 69,915 miles	2024	589

Built 2012 against Volkswagen California normal for the age: first-time MOT failure share at each age, age 7: 20% vs 19.5%; age 8: 21.2% vs 19.1%; age 9: 25.7% vs 21.3%; age 10: 23.1% vs 22%; age 11: 24.3% vs 21.9%; age 12: 26.7% vs 25.8%. Axis from 0% to 30%. DVSA MOT bulk data, 2019–2024.

Check a 2012 Volkswagen California by registration · All Volkswagen California 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 California 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 California 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	594	20	17–23.4	19.5	102.8
8	572	21.2	18–24.7	19.1	110.9
9	567	25.7	22.3–29.5	21.3	121.1
10	581	23.1	19.8–26.7	22	104.8
11	589	24.3	21–27.9	21.9	110.7
12	589	26.7	23.2–30.4	25.8	103.5

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 3,492 (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 California?

The most common failure group on cars built in 2012 is suspension: 10.2 items per 100 first tests, against 6.7 across all build years of the Volkswagen California. These counts are not age-adjusted: cars built in 2012 were tested at ages 7 to 12.

Failure items per 100 first tests, Volkswagen California built 2012 against the Volkswagen California in all build years (2019–2024, not age-adjusted)
Failure group	Built 2012, per 100	All build years, per 100	Items
Suspension	10.2	6.7	356
Visibility	8.5	5.1	297
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment	8.2	4.9	286
Tyres	6.4	6.5	222
Brakes	5.2	4.3	181

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 3,492 (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 11 published build years of the Volkswagen California, 2012 ranks 11 (1 = fails least for its age). 2011: index 101.6. 2013: index 92.7.

Volkswagen California build years: index against the model at the same age (2019–2024)
Build year	Index (100 = normal)	95% interval	Verdict	Tests
2010	105.4	94.0–116.9	no different (rough estimate)	1,306
2011	101.6	92.1–111.1	no different (rough estimate)	1,924
2012	108.7	101.3–116.2	worse (rough estimate)	3,492
2013	92.7	85.5–99.8	better (rough estimate)	3,545
2014	106.1	99.0–113.2	no different	4,412
2015	103.0	96.4–109.7	no different	5,402
2016	106.0	98.4–113.5	no different	5,008
2017	94.7	88.3–101.2	no different	6,745
2018	99.3	90.9–107.6	no different	4,620
2019	99.9	90.3–109.5	no different (rough estimate)	3,814
2020	91.5	74.8–108.1	no different (rough estimate)	1,328

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 41,596 (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 California 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-california/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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