Model Reports 4 min read Updated 18 Oct 2026

Volkswagen Amarok 2012: reliability & common MOT faults

In 2025, 67 in every 100 first MOTs on a 2012 Volkswagen Amarok were passes. Most common reason for a fail: Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test).

Summary

The 2012 Volkswagen Amarok follows the pattern of the model years either side.

At a glance

How 1,125 first tests went in 2025.

Passed first time
67 in every 100
Did not pass first time
33 in every 100374 failed first-attempt tests
The typical car
13 yearsabout 128,702 miles
First tests counted
1,125

What failed most often

  1. Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test)17 in every 100 failed tests

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 2012 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.

Suspension

One fault: anti-roll bar pins and bushes (front), 25 times as often as on similar cars.

Figures below are measured across the 374 failed first attempts in 2025 that had a mileage recorded, which allows a like-for-like comparison.

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.

Anti-roll bar pins and bushes (front)

Failed on 24 first tests25 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

An anti-roll bar pin or bush that is excessively worn is Major, and one likely to become detached is graded Dangerous. The wording is DVSA's general rule for a suspension pin, bush or joint.

Also noted as an advisory

Testers also noted it as an advisory, worn but not yet failing, on 34 first tests, 23 times as often as on similar cars.

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage. Advisories count notes recorded on failed first tests only.

Lamps and electrical

Three faults. The strongest is the rear fog light: 9.2 times as often as on similar cars.

Rear fog light

Failed on 45 first tests9.2 times as often as similar carsLikely 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.

Individual direction indicators (rear)

Failed on 23 first tests2.9 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

Direction indicators must be amber, though vehicles first used before a set date may have white at the front and red at the rear when the indicators are combined with stop or position lamps, and sequential or dynamic ones are not a reason to fail. A lamp that is missing, inoperative or has more than half of a multiple light source not functioning is graded Major. A flashing rate outside the permitted range is graded Minor.

Headlight

Failed on 36 first tests2.3 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

On vehicles first used on or after a set date, a halogen headlamp unit converted to take HID or LED bulbs fails for light source and lamp not compatible, which is Major. A complete unit built with those light sources is not failed for that. The precise position of the lamps is not part of the inspection beyond a visual look to see that they sit at about the same height and distance from each side.

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

Brakes

Two faults. The strongest is the brake performance (roller test, rear): 2.7 times as often as on similar cars.

Brake performance (roller test, rear)

Failed on 22 first tests2.7 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

A wheel with no recorded braking effort on the roller test is graded Dangerous. Inadequate effort, a brake grabbing severely, abnormal lag and excessive fluctuation in effort are each Major. So is significant brake effort recorded with no brake applied, which indicates a binding brake.

Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test)

Failed on 64 first tests2.6 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.

Advisories

Other things testers noted as worn or close to failing, more often than on similar cars.

An advisory is a note from the tester about something that has not failed yet. It is an early warning, not a fail. Advisories for the faults above are shown with those faults.

Coil spring (front)

Noted on 27 first tests3.9 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Shock absorbers (rear)

Noted on 43 first tests3.4 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Counts cover advisories recorded on failed first tests only, 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
67in every 100
Passed on the first test.
Fixed at the station
6in every 100
Failed, then fixed at the test station the same day.
Failed
27in every 100
Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.

First-attempt pass 66.8% of 1,125 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 72.7%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 6 fixed and the 27 not fixed make the 33 in every 100 that did not pass first time.

Same model, other years

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

406080100201220152020Older carsNewer cars
40608010020122020Newer 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, 64 in every 100 passed first time.

YearPassed first timeFirst tests
201161 in every 100508
2012 This car67 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.

The 2012 Volkswagen Amarok follows the pattern of the model years either side. Its main cause of failure was Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test), about 17 in every 100 failed tests. In 2025, 66.8% of 1,125 first MOTs on the 2012 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 72.7%. Among 374 failed first-attempt MOT tests (test year 2025), Anti-roll bar pins and bushes (front) appears more often than on similar cars (6.4% of those tests; 24 observed failures; about 25× 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.
Ranked by how often they were actually recorded, the items that most often failed a 2012 Volkswagen Amarok at the first attempt were Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test) (17.1%), each as a share of the year's failed first attempts. That is what goes wrong most often on the car. The common faults table shows a different measure: faults that are unusual compared with similar cars.
Among failed first-attempt tests we highlight patterns that appear more often than on similar cars. Top example: Anti-roll bar pins and bushes (front) (6.4% of those tests; 24 observed failures; about 25× more often than similar cars). These are statistical signals, not a diagnosis of any individual car.
Anti-roll bar pins and bushes (front) shows up more often than on similar cars (6.4% of those tests; 24 observed failures; about 25× 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 2012 Volkswagen Amarok include Anti-roll bar pins and bushes (front), Rear fog light, Individual direction indicators (rear). These are the faults that stand out compared with similar cars, not a complete list of what can go wrong on any individual car.
Advisories flag issues noted at the test and are not a fail rate. We show advisory patterns that appear more often than on similar cars among failed first-attempt tests, separate from common failure rows. Use them as early-warning checks, not as a pass/fail score.
This page highlights MOT failure patterns for the 2012 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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