Does the Volkswagen Passat fail the MOT on noise, emissions and leaks more than it should?
The Volkswagen Passat records 3.99 noise, emissions and leaks failure items per 100 initial MOT tests (2019–2024), against 4.19 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) (−0.20, 95% interval −0.23 to −0.17). It ranks 302 of 678 models on noise, emissions and leaks (1 = most failures above expected).
Data release dvsa-2024-v2 (24 Sep 2026) · page updated 30 Sep 2026 · all models on noise, emissions and leaks · check a Volkswagen Passat by registration
What exactly fails on noise, emissions and leaks?
The most frequent DVSA defect wording in this group on the Volkswagen Passat is “Engine MIL illuminated indicating a malfunction”, recorded 26,494 times in 2019–2024.
| DVSA defect wording | Items | Per 100 tests |
|---|---|---|
| Engine MIL illuminated indicating a malfunction | 26,494 | 1.99 |
| Smoke opacity levels exceed the manufacturer's specified limit | 10,231 | 0.77 |
| Emissions test unable to be completed | 3,448 | 0.26 |
| Smoke opacity levels exceed default limit | 2,583 | 0.19 |
| Fluid leaking excessively and likely to harm the environment or to pose a safety risk to other road users | 1,867 | 0.14 |
Source: DVSA MOT bulk data (OGL v3.0) · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 1,330,863 (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 Passat gets a noise, emissions and leaks advisory, how often does it fail next time?
8.2% of Volkswagen Passat MOTs with a noise, emissions and leaks advisory were followed by a fail in the same group at the next MOT, typically 12.1 months and 6,343 miles later (39,239 advisories followed).
Source: DVSA MOT bulk data (OGL v3.0) · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 39,239 (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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