Does the Volkswagen up! fail the MOT on noise, emissions and leaks more than it should?
The Volkswagen up! records 1.91 noise, emissions and leaks failure items per 100 initial MOT tests (2019–2024), against 1.73 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) (+0.18, 95% interval +0.15 to +0.22). It ranks 226 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 up! by registration
What exactly fails on noise, emissions and leaks?
The most frequent DVSA defect wording in this group on the Volkswagen up! is “Emissions levels exceed default limits”, recorded 4,225 times in 2019–2024.
| DVSA defect wording | Items | Per 100 tests |
|---|---|---|
| Emissions levels exceed default limits | 4,225 | 0.64 |
| Lambda coefficient outside the default limits or the range specified by the manufacturer | 3,257 | 0.50 |
| Emissions levels exceed the manufacturer's specified limits | 2,186 | 0.33 |
| Engine MIL illuminated indicating a malfunction | 1,431 | 0.22 |
| Emissions test unable to be completed | 818 | 0.12 |
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 noise, emissions and leaks advisory, how often does it fail next time?
2.9% of Volkswagen up! MOTs with a noise, emissions and leaks advisory were followed by a fail in the same group at the next MOT, typically 12 months and 6,430 miles later (2,343 advisories followed).
Source: DVSA MOT bulk data (OGL v3.0) · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 2,343 (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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