Does the Volkswagen up! fail the MOT on brakes more than it should?
The Volkswagen up! records 5.85 brakes failure items per 100 initial MOT tests (2019–2024), against 6.73 expected for a car of the same age mix: less than expected for its class and age (−0.88, 95% interval −0.94 to −0.82). It ranks 387 of 712 models on brakes (1 = most failures above expected).
Data release dvsa-2024-v2 (24 Sep 2026) · page updated 30 Sep 2026 · all models on brakes · check a Volkswagen up! by registration
What exactly fails on brakes?
The most frequent DVSA defect wording in this group on the Volkswagen up! is “Significant brake effort recorded with no brake applied indicating a binding brake”, recorded 11,487 times in 2019–2024.
| DVSA defect wording | Items | Per 100 tests |
|---|---|---|
| Significant brake effort recorded with no brake applied indicating a binding brake | 11,487 | 1.75 |
| a brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm | 5,307 | 0.81 |
| Brakes imbalance across an axle such that the braking effort from any wheel is less than 70% of the maximum effort recorded from the other wheel on the same axle. | 3,347 | 0.51 |
| Parking brake efficiency below minimum requirement | 2,643 | 0.40 |
| Parking brake lever has excessive movement indicating incorrect adjustment | 2,462 | 0.38 |
Source: DVSA MOT bulk data (OGL v3.0) · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 656,392 (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 up! gets a brakes advisory, how often does it fail next time?
10.3% of Volkswagen up! MOTs with a brakes advisory were followed by a fail in the same group at the next MOT, typically 12 months and 6,130 miles later (54,386 advisories followed).
Source: DVSA MOT bulk data (OGL v3.0) · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 54,386 (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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