Model Reports 4 min read Updated 18 Oct 2026

Volkswagen Amarok 2019: reliability & common MOT faults

In 2025, 82 in every 100 first MOTs on a 2019 Volkswagen Amarok were passes. Most common reason for a fail: Diesel engine warning light.

Summary

The 2019 Volkswagen Amarok follows the pattern of the model years either side.

At a glance

How 2,820 first tests went in 2025.

Passed first time
82 in every 100
Did not pass first time
18 in every 100494 failed first-attempt tests
The typical car
6 yearsabout 68,868 miles
First tests counted
2,820

What failed most often

  1. Diesel engine warning light19 in every 100 failed tests
  2. Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test)13 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 2019 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

Three faults. The strongest is the handbrake performance (roller test): 16 times as often as on similar cars.

Figures below are measured across the 494 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 performance (roller test)

Failed on 23 first tests16 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

A parking brake that is inoperative on one side is Major. When tested on the road, the failure is the vehicle deviating excessively from a straight line. Vehicles whose parking brake was already tested as the secondary brake are not tested again for this.

Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test)

Failed on 65 first tests7.3 times as often as similar carsLikely 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.

Brake performance (roller test, rear)

Failed on 27 first tests5.9 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.

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

Noise, emissions and leaks

One fault: diesel engine warning light, 4.1 times as often as on similar cars.

Diesel engine warning light

Failed on 96 first tests4.1 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

What it means

An engine malfunction indicator lamp that is illuminated to show a malfunction is graded Major on a diesel, but only on the diesels the test covers, which depends on the vehicle type and when it was first used. DVSA lists it under exhaust emissions for compression ignition engines, and the detail line for the row also names an inoperative lamp.

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.

Engine oil leaks

Noted on 42 first tests3.0 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
82in every 100
Passed on the first test.
Fixed at the station
4in every 100
Failed, then fixed at the test station the same day.
Failed
14in every 100
Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.

First-attempt pass 82.5% of 2,820 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 85.8%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 4 fixed and the 14 not fixed make the 18 in every 100 that did not pass first time.

Same model, other years

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

40608010020152019Older carsNewer cars
4060801002019Older 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, 84 in every 100 passed first time.

YearPassed first timeFirst tests
201161 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
2019 This car82 in every 1002,820
202085 in every 1001,526

If you are buying one

What this year's MOT record means for the decision in front of you.

Mileage matters most on a 2019 Amarok.

Of 2019 Amarok vehicles with under 48,000 miles, 90 in every 100 passed their 2025 MOT first time. With 97,000 miles or more, 76 in every 100 did.

Under 48,000581 tests
90
48,000–62,000558 tests
84
62,000–77,000 Typical car551 tests
82
77,000–97,000566 tests
80
97,000 and over564 tests
76

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 48,00062,000–77,00097,000 and over
Diesel engine warning light2.43.14.3
Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test)1.02.73.9

Faults per 100 first tests, by the car's mileage at the test.

When a car fails

46in every 100

of failed cars had one item to fix.

26in every 100

of failed cars had three or more items to fix.

5in every 100

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.

The 2019 Volkswagen Amarok follows the pattern of the model years either side. Its main cause of failure was Diesel engine warning light, about 19 in every 100 failed tests. In 2025, 82.5% of 2,820 first MOTs on the 2019 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 85.8%. Among 494 failed first-attempt MOT tests (test year 2025), Handbrake performance (roller test) appears more often than on similar cars (4.7% of those tests; 23 observed failures; about 16× 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 2019 Volkswagen Amarok at the first attempt were Diesel engine warning light (19.4%) and Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test) (13.2%), 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: Handbrake performance (roller test) (4.7% of those tests; 23 observed failures; about 16× more often than similar cars). These are statistical signals, not a diagnosis of any individual car.
Handbrake performance (roller test) shows up more often than on similar cars (4.7% of those tests; 23 observed failures; about 16× 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 2019 Volkswagen Amarok include Handbrake performance (roller test), Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test), Brake performance (roller test, 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 2019 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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