Know Your MOT
36.5%fail rate

Volkswagen Motor Carava common MOT failures and failure rate

What a Volkswagen Motor Carava fails its MOT on, from real DVSA test data, and the part that resolves each item.

Based on 189 MOT tests in DVSA data.

About 36.5% of MOT tests recorded on the Volkswagen Motor Carava in DVSA data end in a failure. The same handful of items account for most of them.

Its most common failure is lamps & electrical, which makes up 56.5% of the Volkswagen Motor Carava's failures, followed by lamps & electrical, brakes, visibility/wipers, suspension. Each item below links to the part that resolves it. Confirm the exact fitment against your registration or VIN before buying, and have safety-critical work done by a competent mechanic.

What it fails on, and why

Lamps & electrical56.5% of failures

Lighting is the single most common MOT failure and the cheapest to put right. A blown headlight, brake-light or number-plate bulb, a cracked lens, or a headlamp beam that points too high or low will all fail. Most are a two-minute bulb swap.

Brakes50.7% of failures

Brake failures cover worn pads and discs, an imbalance between wheels, corroded or scored discs, or a binding caliper. Braking efficiency is measured on a rolling road, so a spongy or pulling brake shows up as a low reading.

Visibility/wipers43.5% of failures

Visibility failures include torn or smearing wiper blades, a washer jet that does not reach the screen, and chips or cracks in the driver's swept area. Blades and washer fluid are quick, cheap fixes.

Suspension40.6% of failures

Suspension failures usually mean a worn or snapped coil spring, a leaking shock absorber, or play in a lower arm ball joint or bush. The tester checks for corrosion, fractures and excessive movement. A broken front spring is one of the most common failures on higher-mileage cars and is a straightforward replacement.

Steering30.4% of failures

Steering faults are typically worn track-rod ends or ball joints, play in the rack, or a split gaiter letting grease out and dirt in. Excessive free play at the wheel fails.

Body & structure29.0% of failures

Structural failures are corrosion in load-bearing areas, sharp edges, or insecure panels. These are inspection-and-welding jobs rather than a simple bolt-on part, so weigh them against the value of the car.

The parts that fix each

If your car has just failed, you have 10 working days to fix the items and get a free partial retest. These are the usual parts; confirm the exact fitment against your registration or VIN before buying.

For the lamps & electrical failure: Volkswagen Motor Carava headlight and indicator bulbsSearch Amazon for Volkswagen Motor Carava headlight and indicator bulbsaffiliate searchFind Volkswagen Motor Carava headlight and indicator bulbs on eBayaffiliate
For the brakes failure: Volkswagen Motor Carava brake pads and discsSearch Amazon for Volkswagen Motor Carava brake pads and discsaffiliate searchFind Volkswagen Motor Carava brake pads and discs on eBayaffiliate
For the visibility/wipers failure: Volkswagen Motor Carava wiper bladesSearch Amazon for Volkswagen Motor Carava wiper bladesaffiliate searchFind Volkswagen Motor Carava wiper blades on eBayaffiliate
For the suspension failure: Volkswagen Motor Carava suspension springs and shock absorbersSearch Amazon for Volkswagen Motor Carava suspension springs and shock absorbersaffiliate searchFind Volkswagen Motor Carava suspension springs and shock absorbers on eBayaffiliate
For the steering failure: Volkswagen Motor Carava steering track rod endsSearch Amazon for Volkswagen Motor Carava steering track rod endsaffiliate searchFind Volkswagen Motor Carava steering track rod ends on eBayaffiliate

Other models

Volkswagen Golf MOT failures24.9% failure rateVolkswagen Polo MOT failures27.1% failure rateVolkswagen Passat MOT failures26.3% failure rateFord Fiesta MOT failures27.1% failure rate

Sources: DVSA MOT History API: MOT test results and defect data ยท DVSA MOT testing data for Great Britain