Does the Volkswagen Golf fail the MOT on vehicle identification more than it should?
The Volkswagen Golf records 0.44 vehicle identification failure items per 100 initial MOT tests (2019–2024), against 0.43 expected for a car of the same age mix: about as expected for its class and age (the difference is within its interval or under 0.5 items per 100 tests) (+0.01, 95% interval +0.00 to +0.02). It ranks 311 of 636 models on vehicle identification (1 = most failures above expected).
Data release dvsa-2024-v2 (24 Sep 2026) · page updated 30 Sep 2026 · all models on vehicle identification · check a Volkswagen Golf by registration
What exactly fails on vehicle identification?
The most frequent DVSA defect wording in this group on the Volkswagen Golf is “Number plate does not conform to the specified requirements”, recorded 10,747 times in 2019–2024.
| DVSA defect wording | Items | Per 100 tests |
|---|---|---|
| Number plate does not conform to the specified requirements | 10,747 | 0.20 |
| Number plate inscription missing or illegible | 9,441 | 0.18 |
| Number plate missing or so insecure that it is likely to fall off | 2,387 | 0.04 |
| Number plate showing an incorrect registration | 811 | 0.02 |
| VIN incomplete, illegible or obviously falsified | 32 | 0.00 |
Source: DVSA MOT bulk data (OGL v3.0) · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 5,326,892 (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 Golf gets a vehicle identification advisory, how often does it fail next time?
3.7% of Volkswagen Golf MOTs with a vehicle identification advisory were followed by a fail in the same group at the next MOT, typically 12.1 months and 5,991 miles later (101,747 advisories followed).
Source: DVSA MOT bulk data (OGL v3.0) · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 101,747 (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
Volkswagen Golf 1998 · Volkswagen Golf 1999 · Volkswagen Golf 2000 · Volkswagen Golf 2001 · Volkswagen Golf 2002 · Volkswagen Golf 2003 · Volkswagen Golf 2004 · Volkswagen Golf 2005 · Volkswagen Golf 2006 · Volkswagen Golf 2007 · Volkswagen Golf 2008 · Volkswagen Golf 2009 · Volkswagen Golf 2010 · Volkswagen Golf 2011 · Volkswagen Golf 2012 · Volkswagen Golf 2013 · Volkswagen Golf 2014 · Volkswagen Golf 2015 · Volkswagen Golf 2016 · Volkswagen Golf 2017 · Volkswagen Golf 2018 · Volkswagen Golf 2019 · Volkswagen Golf 2020 · Volkswagen Golf in Finland · Volkswagen Golf in the Netherlands · Volkswagen Golf in Norway · Volkswagen Golf by postcode area · Volkswagen Golf body, chassis and structure failures · Volkswagen Golf brakes failures · Volkswagen Golf lamps, reflectors and electrics failures · Volkswagen Golf noise, emissions and leaks failures · Volkswagen Golf road wheels failures · Volkswagen Golf seat belts and airbags failures · Volkswagen Golf steering failures · Volkswagen Golf suspension failures · Volkswagen Golf tyres failures · Volkswagen Golf visibility failures