At a glance
How 2,543 first tests went in 2025.
- Passed first time
- 70 in every 100
- Did not pass first time
- 30 in every 100754 failed first-attempt tests
- The typical car
- 10 yearsabout 106,454 miles
- First tests counted
- 2,543
What failed most often
- Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test)16 in every 100 failed tests
- Shock absorbers (rear)11 in every 100 failed tests
- Coil spring (front)10 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.
These are patterns across 2015 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.
Brakes
Six faults. The strongest is the handbrake efficiency below minimum (decelerometer test): 48 times as often as on similar cars.
Figures below are measured across the 754 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.
Handbrake efficiency below minimum (decelerometer test)
Brake imbalance across an axle (roller test, efficiency check, rear)
What it means
A wheel giving less than a set share of the maximum effort from the other wheel on the same axle is Major. On a steered axle, less than half is graded Dangerous. Testers disregard an imbalance if the lower effort is the result of a locked wheel, or if the higher effort from a wheel is at or below a low set figure.
Anti-lock braking system (ABS)
What it means
ABS is failed as removed only where it has obviously been removed, because not every vehicle in the age range where removal is not permitted has ABS. A warning lamp that does not light or shows an ABS fault is Major, as is a missing or excessively damaged wheel speed sensor. Every failure row for this component is Major.
Brake performance (roller test, rear)
Also noted as an advisory
Testers also noted it as an advisory, worn but not yet failing, on 31 first tests, 2.1 times as often as on similar cars.
Handbrake performance (roller test, rear)
Handbrake lever
Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage. Advisories count notes recorded on failed first tests only.
Suspension
Two faults. The strongest is the anti-roll bar pins and bushes (front): 39 times as often as on similar cars.
Anti-roll bar pins and bushes (front)
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 56 first tests, 23 times as often as on similar cars.
Shock absorbers (rear)
What it means
Slight seepage that leaves a film of fluid on a shock absorber does not fail it. Severe leakage, or damage so that it does not function, is Major. A shock absorber missing or likely to become detached is graded Dangerous, though a missing one is only rejected if shock absorbers were fitted as standard.
Also noted as an advisory
Testers also noted it as an advisory, worn but not yet failing, on 83 first tests, 4.0 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.
Steering
One fault: steering rack, 22 times as often as on similar cars.
Steering rack
What it means
Steering gear casing retaining devices dangerously loose, or visible relative movement to the chassis or bodywork, is graded Dangerous. A casing not properly attached, or fractured, is Major, but a fracture that affects the stability or attachment of the casing is Dangerous. A gaiter damaged but still keeping dirt out is Minor, and Major once missing or no longer doing so.
Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage.
Lamps and electrical
One fault: rear fog light, 3.8 times as often as on similar cars.
Rear fog light
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.
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)
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
- 70in 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
- 24in every 100
- Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.
First-attempt pass 70.3% of 2,543 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 76.1%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 6 fixed and the 24 not fixed make the 30 in every 100 that did not pass first time.
Same model, other years
Passed first time in every 100, all tested in 2025.
Newer cars are younger, so look for a jump rather than the climb. A year earlier (2024), when these cars were a year younger, 73 in every 100 passed first time.
| Year | Passed first time | First tests |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 61 in every 100 | 508 |
| 2012 | 67 in every 100 | 1,125 |
| 2013 | 69 in every 100 | 1,678 |
| 2014 | 71 in every 100 | 2,064 |
| 2015 This car | 70 in every 100 | 2,543 |
| 2016 | 73 in every 100 | 2,280 |
| 2017 | 78 in every 100 | 2,010 |
| 2018 | 80 in every 100 | 2,457 |
| 2019 | 82 in every 100 | 2,820 |
| 2020 | 85 in every 100 | 1,526 |
If you are buying one
What this year's MOT record means for the decision in front of you.
Mileage matters most on a 2015 Amarok.
Of 2015 Amarok vehicles with under 77,000 miles, 79 in every 100 passed their 2025 MOT first time. With 143,000 miles or more, 63 in every 100 did.
What to check at your mileage
How often each fault turned up on a failed first test, by the car's mileage. Read it as: what is likely to need looking at on a car like the one in front of you.
| Under 77,000 | 98,000–116,000 | 143,000 and over | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test) | 2.0 | 3.8 | 9.6 |
| Shock absorbers (rear) | 2.2 | 3.4 | 3.1 |
| Coil spring (front) | 3.1 | 2.2 | 3.1 |
| Anti-roll bar pins and bushes (front) | 1.2 | 2.4 | 4.5 |
| Brake performance (roller test, rear) | 2.0 | 3.2 | 2.1 |
Faults per 100 first tests, by the car's mileage at the test.
When a car fails
of failed cars had one item to fix.
of failed cars had three or more items to fix.
of all first tests had a defect the tester marked dangerous (unsafe to drive away).
Every figure here is a first-attempt MOT rate from DVSA open data for this model line, for cars of this model year tested in 2025. Each mileage band holds a fifth of the tests. MOTs do not test engine or gearbox internals, so this is a pre-purchase checklist, not a full reliability score.
FAQs
Short answers about how to read this model-year guide.
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.
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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