Volkswagen Golf 2012: MOT failure rate for its age

26.7% of 321,291 MOT tests of the Volkswagen Golf 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 105.5 (95% CI 104.8–106.2; 100 = normal for this model at that age): the 2012 Volkswagen Golf fails more often than other build years of the same model at the same age.

Volkswagen Golf built in 2012 at a glance
Measure	Value	Unit	Compared with	Years	Tests
Failed first time	26.7	%	all ages tested	2019–2024	321291
Index against this model at the same age (95% CI 104.8–106.2)	105.5	index	100 = normal for this model at that age	2019–2024	321291
Rank among this model's 23 build years	20	of 23	1 = fails least for its age	2019–2024	321291
Tested in 2024	52032	tests	median 97,987 miles	2024	52032

Built 2012 against Volkswagen Golf normal for the age: first-time MOT failure share at each age, age 7: 21.8% vs 18.4%; age 8: 23.8% vs 20%; age 9: 26% vs 23.5%; age 10: 27.9% vs 26.3%; age 11: 29.8% vs 30.3%; age 12: 31.6% vs 34.1%. Axis from 0% to 40%. DVSA MOT bulk data, 2019–2024.

Check a 2012 Volkswagen Golf by registration · All Volkswagen Golf 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 Golf 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 Golf 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	55,653	21.8	21.4–22.1	18.4	118.5
8	53,167	23.8	23.4–24.1	20	118.6
9	53,719	26	25.6–26.4	23.5	110.7
10	53,561	27.9	27.5–28.3	26.3	106.3
11	53,159	29.8	29.4–30.1	30.3	98.1
12	52,032	31.6	31.2–32	34.1	92.7

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 321,291 (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 Golf?

The most common failure group on cars built in 2012 is suspension: 14.2 items per 100 first tests, against 17.3 across all build years of the Volkswagen Golf. These counts are not age-adjusted: cars built in 2012 were tested at ages 7 to 12.

Failure items per 100 first tests, Volkswagen Golf built 2012 against the Volkswagen Golf in all build years (2019–2024, not age-adjusted)
Failure group	Built 2012, per 100	All build years, per 100	Items
Suspension	14.2	17.3	45,738
Brakes	9.8	11.6	31,450
Tyres	9.3	9.4	29,945
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment	8.6	16.6	27,684
Visibility	6.7	8.3	21,497

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 321,291 (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 23 published build years of the Volkswagen Golf, 2012 ranks 20 (1 = fails least for its age). 2011: index 107.6. 2013: index 96.0.

Volkswagen Golf build years: index against the model at the same age (2019–2024)
Build year	Index (100 = normal)	95% interval	Verdict	Tests
1998	100.4	97.0–103.8	no different	6,857
1999	101.4	99.4–103.4	no different	20,503
2000	100.7	99.3–102.2	no different	39,713
2001	100.4	99.3–101.4	no different	76,647
2002	98.4	97.7–99.2	better	141,077
2003	97.5	96.8–98.3	better	157,560
2004	108.9	108.1–109.7	worse	144,911
2005	104.3	103.6–105.0	worse	198,389
2006	104.6	104.0–105.2	worse	249,580
2007	99.6	99.0–100.1	no different	311,043
2008	99.6	99.0–100.1	no different	293,088
2009	95.6	95.0–96.2	better	294,997
2010	105.9	105.2–106.5	worse	293,491
2011	107.6	106.9–108.2	worse	319,049
2012	105.5	104.8–106.2	worse	321,291
2013	96.0	95.3–96.7	better	338,866
2014	94.9	94.2–95.6	better	394,938
2015	90.8	90.1–91.6	better	413,521
2016	93.9	93.1–94.7	better	400,418
2017	93.6	92.7–94.4	better	372,479
2018	100.4	99.3–101.5	no different	251,734
2019	86.2	84.9–87.6	better	147,669
2020	70.5	66.6–74.5	better	13,995

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 5,201,816 (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 Golf 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-golf/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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