Model Reports 4 min read Updated 18 Oct 2026

Volkswagen Caddy 2006: reliability & common MOT faults

In 2025, 58 in every 100 first MOTs on a 2006 Volkswagen Caddy were passes. Most common reason for a fail: Drive shaft joints and boots (front).

Summary

The 2006 Volkswagen Caddy follows the pattern of the model years either side.

At a glance

How 2,461 first tests went in 2025.

Passed first time
58 in every 100
Did not pass first time
42 in every 1001,039 failed first-attempt tests
The typical car
19 yearsabout 165,780 miles
First tests counted
2,461

What failed most often

  1. Drive shaft joints and boots (front)15 in every 100 failed tests
  2. Windscreen washers14 in every 100 failed tests
  3. Suspension arm pins and bushes (front)8 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 2006 Volkswagen Caddy 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 (rear), 15 times as often as on similar cars.

Figures below are measured across the 1,038 of 1,039 failed first attempts (99.9%) 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.

Anti-roll bar pins and bushes (rear)

Failed on 61 first tests15 times as often as similar carsLikely 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 55 first tests, 7.2 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.

Noise, emissions and leaks

Four faults. The strongest is the diesel emissions test (pre-reg non-turbo rules before 01/07/2008): 5.2 times as often as on similar cars.

Diesel emissions test (pre-reg non-turbo rules before 01/07/2008)

Failed on 21 first tests5.2 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

Diesel emissions not tested

Failed on 28 first tests3.0 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

An emissions test on a diesel that is unable to be completed is graded Major. The failure wording 'not tested' carries the same Major grade.

Diesel engine warning light

Failed on 38 first tests2.7 times as often as similar carsPossible 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.

Diesel emissions test (pre-reg turbo rules before 01/07/2008)

Failed on 73 first tests2.6 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

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

Brakes

One fault: electronic stability control, 3.7 times as often as on similar cars.

Electronic stability control

Failed on 41 first tests3.7 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

What it means

An ESC warning lamp is failed only when the tester is certain it indicates an ESC malfunction, because the lamp takes various forms and the owner's handbook may need checking. The system is also called ESP, VDC or DSC, among many other names. Every failure row is Major, covering the lamp, wheel speed sensors, wiring, other components and the switch.

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

Body and structure

Two faults. The strongest is the drive shaft joints and boots: 3.4 times as often as on similar cars.

Drive shaft joints and boots

Failed on 24 first tests3.4 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

A constant velocity boot that is only severely deteriorated is Minor. It is Major once it is missing, split or insecure so that it no longer prevents the ingress of dirt. A transmission joint excessively worn is Major, and graded Dangerous when it is so worn it is likely to fail.

Exhaust system (rear)

Failed on 50 first tests2.4 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

Exhaust fumes causing a danger to health of persons on board are graded Dangerous, and so is a silencer likely to become detached. Fumes entering the cabin are Major. One or more missing or defective mountings does not necessarily make the exhaust insecure, since testers assess the overall security of the system.

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

Lamps and electrical

One fault: individual direction indicators (front), 3.1 times as often as on similar cars.

Individual direction indicators (front)

Failed on 46 first tests3.1 times as often as similar carsLikely 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.

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

Visibility

One fault: windscreen washers, 2.3 times as often as on similar cars.

Windscreen washers

Failed on 147 first tests2.3 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

Windscreen washers that are not working, or do not provide sufficient fluid to clear the windscreen, are graded Major. They must provide enough fluid for the wipers to clear the windscreen effectively. Vehicles with an opening windscreen, or some other adequate view to the front, left and right, are not inspected for washers.

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.

Individual direction indicators (rear)

Noted on 44 first tests3.1 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Brake discs

Noted on 23 first tests2.2 times as often as similar carsWear pattern

Shock absorbers (rear)

Noted on 93 first tests2.0 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Brake performance (roller test, rear)

Noted on 57 first tests2.0 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
58in every 100
Passed on the first test.
Fixed at the station
8in every 100
Failed, then fixed at the test station the same day.
Failed
34in every 100
Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.

First-attempt pass 57.8% of 2,461 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 66.1%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 8 fixed and the 34 not fixed make the 42 in every 100 that did not pass first time.

Same model, other years

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

4060801002006201020152020Older carsNewer cars
406080100200620102020Newer 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, 57 in every 100 passed first time.

YearPassed first timeFirst tests
200456 in every 100939
200556 in every 1001,622
2006 This car58 in every 1002,461
200758 in every 1003,830
200860 in every 1004,793
200960 in every 1006,061
201059 in every 1008,243
201162 in every 10011,047
201263 in every 1009,053
201363 in every 10011,601
201465 in every 10011,187
201567 in every 10011,331
201669 in every 10012,380
201771 in every 10010,917
201879 in every 10010,137
201978 in every 1009,911
202081 in every 1006,191
202183 in every 1003,541
202285 in every 1002,410

If you are buying one

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

Mileage makes little difference on a 2006 Caddy.

Of 2006 Caddy vehicles with under 125,000 miles, 58 in every 100 passed their 2025 MOT first time. With 203,000 miles or more, 61 in every 100 did.

Under 125,000490 tests
58
125,000–154,000487 tests
57
154,000–177,000 Typical car491 tests
54
177,000–203,000498 tests
59
203,000 and over492 tests
61

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 125,000154,000–177,000203,000 and over
Drive shaft joints and boots (front)8.07.94.5
Windscreen washers4.96.35.1
Suspension arm pins and bushes (front)2.74.13.3
Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test)2.43.94.9
Coil spring (front)2.43.94.1

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

When a car fails

17in every 100

of failed cars had one item to fix.

63in every 100

of failed cars had three or more items to fix.

9in 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 2006 Volkswagen Caddy follows the pattern of the model years either side. Its main cause of failure was Drive shaft joints and boots (front), about 15 in every 100 failed tests. In 2025, 57.8% of 2,461 first MOTs on the 2006 Volkswagen Caddy passed first time (PRS: items fixed at the station the same day, counted as a fail). The official-style rate including PRS is 66.1%. Among 1,039 failed first-attempt MOT tests (test year 2025), Anti-roll bar pins and bushes (rear) appears more often than on similar cars (5.9% of those tests; 61 observed failures; about 15× 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 2006 Volkswagen Caddy at the first attempt were Drive shaft joints and boots (front) (15.0%), Windscreen washers (14.2%) and Suspension arm pins and bushes (front) (8.5%), 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 (rear) (5.9% of those tests; 61 observed failures; about 15× more often than similar cars). These are statistical signals, not a diagnosis of any individual car.
Anti-roll bar pins and bushes (rear) shows up more often than on similar cars (5.9% of those tests; 61 observed failures; about 15× 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 2006 Volkswagen Caddy include Anti-roll bar pins and bushes (rear), Electronic stability control, Drive shaft joints and boots. 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 2006 Volkswagen Caddy (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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