Model Reports 4 min read Updated 18 Oct 2026

Volkswagen Beetle 2017: reliability & common MOT faults

In 2025, 72 in every 100 first MOTs on a 2017 Volkswagen Beetle were passes. Most common reason for a fail: Suspension arm pins and bushes (front).

Summary

A 2017 Volkswagen Beetle passed first time about 4 in every 100 less often than the average of the 2016 and 2018 model years.

At a glance

How 1,472 first tests went in 2025.

Passed first time
72 in every 100
Did not pass first time
28 in every 100410 failed first-attempt tests
The typical car
8 yearsabout 43,811 miles
First tests counted
1,472

What failed most often

  1. Suspension arm pins and bushes (front)21 in every 100 failed tests
  2. Rear fog light16 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 2017 Volkswagen Beetle 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, 23 times as often as on similar cars.

Figures below are measured across the 410 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.

Rear fog light

Failed on 64 first tests23 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.

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

Suspension

Two faults. The strongest is the suspension arm pins and bushes (front): 5.6 times as often as on similar cars.

Suspension arm pins and bushes (front)

Failed on 87 first tests5.6 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

What it means

Pins and bushes on suspension arms fail as Major when they are excessively worn. They are graded Dangerous when likely to become detached. DVSA uses the same wording for a suspension joint.

Coil spring (front)

Failed on 46 first tests2.1 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

A missing bump stop rubber is not a reason to fail a coil spring. When the vehicle is jacked and lowered, a spring that does not correctly locate as the suspension returns to its normal running position is rejected as insecurely attached. A missing spring is Major, and graded Dangerous where directional control is affected.

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
72in 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
24in every 100
Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.

First-attempt pass 72.1% of 1,472 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 75.6%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 4 fixed and the 24 not fixed make the 28 in every 100 that did not pass first time.

Petrol and diesel

First testsPassed first time, as tested
Petrol1,02372
Diesel44972

Figures are in every 100 first tests.

Same model, other years

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

4060801002000200520102017Older cars
406080100200020102017Older 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, 74 in every 100 passed first time.

YearPassed first timeFirst tests
200047 in every 100508
200152 in every 100740
200250 in every 100910
200348 in every 1001,933
200447 in every 1002,601
200551 in every 1002,364
200648 in every 1002,329
200746 in every 1002,349
200848 in every 1001,998
200952 in every 1001,575
201053 in every 1001,925
201153 in every 100621
201265 in every 1002,181
201365 in every 1004,296
201466 in every 1003,485
201568 in every 1003,150
201672 in every 1002,215
2017 This car72 in every 1001,472
201881 in every 100869

FAQs

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

A 2017 Volkswagen Beetle passed first time about 4 in every 100 less often than the average of the 2016 and 2018 model years. In 2025, 72.1% of 1,472 first MOTs on the 2017 Volkswagen Beetle passed first time (PRS: items fixed at the station the same day, counted as a fail). The official-style rate including PRS is 75.6%. Among 410 failed first-attempt MOT tests (test year 2025), Rear fog light appears more often than on similar cars (15.6% of those tests; 64 observed failures; about 23× 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 2017 Volkswagen Beetle at the first attempt were Suspension arm pins and bushes (front) (21.2%) and Rear fog light (15.6%), 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: Rear fog light (15.6% of those tests; 64 observed failures; about 23× 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 (15.6% of those tests; 64 observed failures; about 23× 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 2017 Volkswagen Beetle include Rear fog light, Suspension arm pins and bushes (front), Coil spring (front). 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 2017 Volkswagen Beetle (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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