Does the Volkswagen Passat fail the MOT on vehicle identification more than it should?
The Volkswagen Passat records 0.44 vehicle identification failure items per 100 initial MOT tests (2019–2024), against 0.42 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) (+0.02, 95% interval +0.01 to +0.04). It ranks 293 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 Passat by registration
What exactly fails on vehicle identification?
The most frequent DVSA defect wording in this group on the Volkswagen Passat is “Number plate inscription missing or illegible”, recorded 2,941 times in 2019–2024.
| DVSA defect wording | Items | Per 100 tests |
|---|---|---|
| Number plate inscription missing or illegible | 2,941 | 0.22 |
| Number plate does not conform to the specified requirements | 2,145 | 0.16 |
| Number plate missing or so insecure that it is likely to fall off | 658 | 0.05 |
| Number plate showing an incorrect registration | 161 | 0.01 |
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 vehicle identification advisory, how often does it fail next time?
3.5% of Volkswagen Passat MOTs with a vehicle identification advisory were followed by a fail in the same group at the next MOT, typically 12.1 months and 7,303 miles later (33,267 advisories followed).
Source: DVSA MOT bulk data (OGL v3.0) · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 33,267 (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 Passat 1998 · Volkswagen Passat 1999 · Volkswagen Passat 2000 · Volkswagen Passat 2001 · Volkswagen Passat 2002 · Volkswagen Passat 2003 · Volkswagen Passat 2004 · Volkswagen Passat 2005 · Volkswagen Passat 2006 · Volkswagen Passat 2007 · Volkswagen Passat 2008 · Volkswagen Passat 2009 · Volkswagen Passat 2010 · Volkswagen Passat 2011 · Volkswagen Passat 2012 · Volkswagen Passat 2013 · Volkswagen Passat 2014 · Volkswagen Passat 2015 · Volkswagen Passat 2016 · Volkswagen Passat 2017 · Volkswagen Passat 2018 · Volkswagen Passat 2019 · Volkswagen Passat 2020 · Volkswagen Passat in Norway · Volkswagen Passat in Finland · Volkswagen Passat in the Netherlands · Volkswagen Passat by postcode area · Volkswagen Passat body, chassis and structure failures · Volkswagen Passat brakes failures · Volkswagen Passat lamps, reflectors and electrics failures · Volkswagen Passat noise, emissions and leaks failures · Volkswagen Passat road wheels failures · Volkswagen Passat seat belts and airbags failures · Volkswagen Passat steering failures · Volkswagen Passat suspension failures · Volkswagen Passat tyres failures · Volkswagen Passat visibility failures