Volkswagen California 2018: MOT failure rate for its age

11.8% of 4,620 MOT tests of the Volkswagen California first registered in 2018 failed at the first attempt (2019–2024; retests excluded). Against this model's own normal rate at the same ages the index is 99.3 (95% CI 90.9–107.6; 100 = normal for this model at that age): the 2018 build year is no different from other years of the same model at the same age.

Volkswagen California built in 2018 at a glance
Measure	Value	Unit	Compared with	Years	Tests
Failed first time	11.8	%	all ages tested	2019–2024	4620
Index against this model at the same age (95% CI 90.9–107.6)	99.3	index	100 = normal for this model at that age	2019–2024	4620
Rank among this model's 11 build years	4	of 11	1 = fails least for its age	2019–2024	4620
Tested in 2024	1161	tests	median 36,390 miles	2024	1161

Built 2018 against Volkswagen California normal for the age: first-time MOT failure share at each age, age 3: 9.1% vs 8.2%; age 4: 11.3% vs 11.1%; age 5: 13.2% vs 13.7%; age 6: 13.8% vs 14.7%. Axis from 0% to 20%. DVSA MOT bulk data, 2019–2024.

Check a 2018 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 2018 Volkswagen California fail at each age?

Cars built in 2018 were tested at ages 3 to 6 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 2018: 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)
3	1,147	9.1	7.5–10.9	8.2	110.6
4	1,159	11.3	9.6–13.3	11.1	102.1
5	1,153	13.2	11.4–15.3	13.7	96
6	1,161	13.8	11.9–15.9	14.7	93.8

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 4,620 (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 2018 Volkswagen California?

The most common failure group on cars built in 2018 is tyres: 6.2 items per 100 first tests, against 6.5 across all build years of the Volkswagen California. These counts are not age-adjusted: cars built in 2018 were tested at ages 3 to 6.

Failure items per 100 first tests, Volkswagen California built 2018 against the Volkswagen California in all build years (2019–2024, not age-adjusted)
Failure group	Built 2018, per 100	All build years, per 100	Items
Tyres	6.2	6.5	286
Visibility	3.2	5.1	148
Brakes	3.2	4.3	147
Suspension	2.4	6.7	113
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment	1.4	4.9	67

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 4,629 (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 2018 compare with the years around it?

Among the 11 published build years of the Volkswagen California, 2018 ranks 4 (1 = fails least for its age). 2017: index 94.7. 2019: index 99.9.

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 2018 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/2018/

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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