Model Reports 4 min read Updated 18 Oct 2026

Volkswagen Caddy 2009: reliability & common MOT faults

In 2025, 60 in every 100 first MOTs on a 2009 Volkswagen Caddy were passes. Most common reason for a fail: Windscreen washers.

Summary

The 2009 Volkswagen Caddy follows the pattern of the model years either side.

At a glance

How 6,061 first tests went in 2025.

Passed first time
60 in every 100
Did not pass first time
40 in every 1002,443 failed first-attempt tests
The typical car
16 yearsabout 150,733 miles
First tests counted
6,061

What failed most often

  1. Windscreen washers13 in every 100 failed tests
  2. Drive shaft joints and boots (front)11 in every 100 failed tests
  3. Coil spring (front)11 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 2009 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

Two faults. The strongest is the anti-roll bar pins and bushes (rear): 27 times as often as on similar cars.

Figures below are measured across the 2,439 of 2,443 failed first attempts (99.8%) 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 149 first tests27 times as often as similar carsStrong 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 212 first tests, 19 times as often as on similar cars.

Suspension arm ball joint dust cover (front)

Failed on 150 first tests2.3 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

Whether a suspension arm ball joint dust cover still keeps dirt out decides its grade. Severely deteriorated is Minor, while missing, or no longer preventing the ingress of dirt, is Major.

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

One fault: diesel emissions test (compression-ignition rules for vehicles from 01/07/2008), 2.5 times as often as on similar cars.

Diesel emissions test (compression-ignition rules for vehicles from 01/07/2008)

Failed on 183 first tests2.5 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

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.

Anti-roll bar linkage pins and bushes (rear)

Noted on 26 first tests4.4 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

Brake performance (plate test, rear)

Noted on 40 first tests2.6 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

Macpherson strut (front)

Noted on 30 first tests2.4 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Shock absorbers (rear)

Noted on 205 first tests2.3 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Brake performance (roller test, rear)

Noted on 143 first tests2.2 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Suspension arm pins and bushes (front)

Noted on 502 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
60in 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
34in every 100
Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.

First-attempt pass 59.7% of 6,061 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 66.2%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 6 fixed and the 34 not fixed make the 40 in every 100 that did not pass first time.

Same model, other years

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

4060801002005200920152020Older carsNewer cars
40608010020092020Newer 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, 59 in every 100 passed first time.

YearPassed first timeFirst tests
200456 in every 100939
200556 in every 1001,622
200658 in every 1002,461
200758 in every 1003,830
200860 in every 1004,793
2009 This car60 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 a modest difference on a 2009 Caddy.

Of 2009 Caddy vehicles with under 113,000 miles, 64 in every 100 passed their 2025 MOT first time. With 192,000 miles or more, 60 in every 100 did.

Under 113,0001,215 tests
64
113,000–140,0001,240 tests
61
140,000–163,000 Typical car1,177 tests
58
163,000–192,0001,198 tests
56
192,000 and over1,223 tests
60

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 113,000140,000–163,000192,000 and over
Windscreen washers4.95.44.6
Drive shaft joints and boots (front)4.35.53.9
Coil spring (front)3.94.84.3
Suspension arm pins and bushes (front)2.14.05.3
Anti-roll bar linkage ball joint dust cover (front)3.94.32.2

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

When a car fails

23in every 100

of failed cars had one item to fix.

53in every 100

of failed cars had three or more items to fix.

10in 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 2009 Volkswagen Caddy follows the pattern of the model years either side. Its main cause of failure was Windscreen washers, about 13 in every 100 failed tests. In 2025, 59.7% of 6,061 first MOTs on the 2009 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 66.2%. Among 2,443 failed first-attempt MOT tests (test year 2025), Anti-roll bar pins and bushes (rear) appears more often than on similar cars (6.1% of those tests; 149 observed failures; about 27× 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 2009 Volkswagen Caddy at the first attempt were Windscreen washers (12.5%), Drive shaft joints and boots (front) (10.9%) and Coil spring (front) (10.7%), 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) (6.1% of those tests; 149 observed failures; about 27× 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 (6.1% of those tests; 149 observed failures; about 27× 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 2009 Volkswagen Caddy include Anti-roll bar pins and bushes (rear), Suspension arm ball joint dust cover (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.
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 2009 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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