Model Reports 3 min read Updated 18 Oct 2026

Volkswagen Amarok 2011: reliability & common MOT faults

In 2025, 61 in every 100 first MOTs on a 2011 Volkswagen Amarok were passes.

Summary

With 508 first tests, there are too few to say whether the 2011 Volkswagen Amarok differs from the model years either side. Treat the faults below as a checklist.

At a glance

How 508 first tests went in 2025.

Passed first time
61 in every 100
Did not pass first time
39 in every 100198 failed first-attempt tests
The typical car
14 yearsabout 134,355 miles
First tests counted
508

How we count this. Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Only Class 4 cars on their first MOT of the year are counted. A car that fails and is fixed at the test station still counts as a fail in the first-attempt rate. These are raw results, not adjusted for age, mileage, or peer mix. The MOT does not test engine or gearbox internals.

Note:

These are patterns across 2011 Volkswagen Amarok vehicles in 2025, not a prediction that any one car will have them. Faults are grouped by part of the car. They come from MOT defect codes, not manufacturer bulletins, recalls or a diagnosis of any one car.

Lamps and electrical

One fault: rear fog light, 10 times as often as on similar cars.

Figures below are measured across the 197 of 198 failed first attempts (99.5%) that recorded an odometer reading in 2025. Mileage is needed to compare like with like.

We only list faults with at least 20 failures and a rate of about 2.0 times that of similar cars, which keeps one-off results out of the list.

Rear fog light

Failed on 29 first tests10 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

A missing obligatory rear fog lamp, one that is not working, or one that does not emit a steady red light is graded Major. A rear fog lamp adversely affected by the operation of any other lamp is Major too. The manual allows it to go out when main beam is switched on or when dipped beam headlamps are switched off.

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage.

Brakes

One fault: handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test), 2.3 times as often as on similar cars.

Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test)

Failed on 32 first tests2.3 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

A parking brake with efficiency below the minimum requirement is Major, and graded Dangerous where efficiency is less than half of the required value. On a roller brake tester, the requirement counts as met if more than half of the wheels of a brake system lock. The check applies only to vehicles whose parking brake was not already tested as the secondary brake.

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage.

MOT pass rates

How first tests ended, and how the pass rates are counted.

Passed first time
61in every 100
Passed on the first test.
Fixed at the station
9in every 100
Failed, then fixed at the test station the same day.
Failed
30in every 100
Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.

First-attempt pass 61.0% of 508 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 70.1%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 9 fixed and the 30 not fixed make the 39 in every 100 that did not pass first time.

Same model, other years

Passed first time in every 100, all tested in 2025.

406080100201120152020Newer cars
40608010020112020Newer cars

Newer cars are younger, so look for a jump rather than the climb. A year earlier (2024), when these cars were a year younger, 59 in every 100 passed first time.

YearPassed first timeFirst tests
2011 This car61 in every 100508
201267 in every 1001,125
201369 in every 1001,678
201471 in every 1002,064
201570 in every 1002,543
201673 in every 1002,280
201778 in every 1002,010
201880 in every 1002,457
201982 in every 1002,820
202085 in every 1001,526

FAQs

Short answers about how to read this model-year guide.

With 508 first tests, there are too few to say whether the 2011 Volkswagen Amarok differs from the model years either side. Treat the faults below as a checklist. In 2025, 61.0% of 508 first MOTs on the 2011 Volkswagen Amarok passed first time (PRS: items fixed at the station the same day, counted as a fail). The official-style rate including PRS is 70.1%. Among 198 failed first-attempt MOT tests (test year 2025), Rear fog light appears more often than on similar cars (14.7% of those tests; 29 observed failures; about 10× more often than similar cars). There is no single reliability score here; this is a pre-purchase checklist built from DVSA open data, not a guarantee for any individual car.
Among failed first-attempt tests we highlight patterns that appear more often than on similar cars. Top example: Rear fog light (14.7% of those tests; 29 observed failures; about 10× more often than similar cars). These are statistical signals, not a diagnosis of any individual car.
Rear fog light shows up more often than on similar cars (14.7% of those tests; 29 observed failures; about 10× more often than similar cars). That does not prove a design fault. Age, mileage, and how the car was used still matter. Treat it as a pre-purchase checkpoint, not a manufacturer service bulletin.
Common MOT problem areas for the 2011 Volkswagen Amarok include Rear fog light, Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test). These are the faults that stand out compared with similar cars, not a complete list of what can go wrong on any individual car.
This page highlights MOT failure patterns for the 2011 Volkswagen Amarok (registration year) using UK DVSA open data for the selected test year. Patterns are compared with cars of a similar age and mileage. It is a buyer checklist from MOT defect statistics, not a full service history or manufacturer service-bulletin list.
No. MOT tests do not cover engine internals, gearboxes, or many electronic modules. Patterns here come from MOT defect statistics only and should not be read as engine or gearbox reliability scores.

About this data

How this page is built and what it can (and can't) say.

These figures come from UK MOT open data for this model year. We surface common failure patterns against similar cars, not a full reliability score, and not a pass/fail verdict on any individual vehicle.

2024 2025

What we include

UK Class 4 cars only. Normal MOT tests (not retests); first test per vehicle per calendar year; results pass, PRS, or fail.

Same-day repairs

PRS means the car failed items that were fixed at the test station and then passed the same day. We count PRS as a first-attempt fail in headline rates so same-day repairs do not hide problems.

How we compare

We compare this model year with other Class 4 cars of similar age and mileage in the same test year. This model family is left out of the peer group so the car is not measured against itself.

What this does not cover

  • MOTs do not cover engine internals, gearboxes, or many electronics; this is not a full reliability score.
  • Common faults come from MOT defect stats, not manufacturer TSBs or recalls.
  • Age and mileage matching reduces, but does not remove, differences in how cars were used and maintained.
  • If the data for a car is too thin to say anything useful, we say so rather than guess.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

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