Model Reports 4 min read Updated 18 Oct 2026

Volkswagen Caddy 2016: reliability & common MOT faults

In 2025, 69 in every 100 first MOTs on a 2016 Volkswagen Caddy were passes. Most common reason for a fail: Suspension arm pins and bushes (front).

Summary

The 2016 Volkswagen Caddy follows the pattern of the model years either side.

At a glance

How 12,380 first tests went in 2025.

Passed first time
69 in every 100
Did not pass first time
31 in every 1003,799 failed first-attempt tests
The typical car
9 yearsabout 93,498 miles
First tests counted
12,380

What failed most often

  1. Suspension arm pins and bushes (front)13 in every 100 failed tests
  2. Diesel engine warning light11 in every 100 failed tests
  3. Tyre condition (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 2016 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): 54 times as often as on similar cars.

Figures below are measured across the 3,799 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.

Anti-roll bar pins and bushes (rear)

Failed on 255 first tests54 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 283 first tests, 37 times as often as on similar cars.

Suspension arm pins and bushes (front)

Failed on 512 first tests3.2 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.

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage. Advisories count notes recorded on failed first tests only.

Seat belts and restraints

One fault: airbag warning light, 3.7 times as often as on similar cars.

Airbag warning light

Failed on 141 first tests3.7 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

What it means

The airbag warning lamp (SRS MIL in DVSA's wording) is failed only if it indicates a system malfunction, which is Major. A lamp lit to show the passenger airbag is disabled is not to be regarded as a defect. Dashboard messages are not a defect in their own right, though they can help the tester confirm a malfunction.

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, 2.8 times as often as on similar cars.

Diesel engine warning light

Failed on 424 first tests2.8 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.

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

Lamps and electrical

Two faults. The strongest is the brake light (rear): 2.4 times as often as on similar cars.

Brake light (rear)

Failed on 287 first tests2.4 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

All stop lamps missing or not working is graded Dangerous, and so is a stop lamp that stays on when the brakes are released. A stop lamp that is missing or not working is Major. On some vehicles with LED rear lamps, part of the stop lamp can go out when the rear fog lamp is lit, which is not regarded as a defect.

Individual sidelight or tail light (rear)

Failed on 120 first tests2.3 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

A position lamp showing red light to the front or white light to the rear is Major. Rear lamps must show a steady red light, and front ones can show white, predominantly white with a blue tinge, or yellow if combined in a yellow headlamp. With a multiple light source, up to half not working is Minor and more than half is Major.

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 30 first tests8.7 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

Wheel condition (rear)

Noted on 42 first tests2.2 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Engine oil leaks (front)

Noted on 73 first tests2.1 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
69in every 100
Passed on the first test.
Fixed at the station
7in 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 69.3% of 12,380 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 7 fixed and the 24 not fixed make the 31 in every 100 that did not pass first time.

Same model, other years

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

4060801002005201020162020Older carsNewer cars
406080100201020162020Older carsNewer 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, 70 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
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
2016 This car69 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 matters most on a 2016 Caddy.

Of 2016 Caddy vehicles with under 64,000 miles, 76 in every 100 passed their 2025 MOT first time. With 132,000 miles or more, 65 in every 100 did.

Under 64,0002,476 tests
76
64,000–84,0002,535 tests
70
84,000–104,000 Typical car2,414 tests
66
104,000–132,0002,479 tests
69
132,000 and over2,475 tests
65

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 64,00084,000–104,000132,000 and over
Suspension arm pins and bushes (front)1.94.95.0
Diesel engine warning light2.43.65.1
Tyre condition (front)2.93.14.0
Coil spring (front)2.32.92.8
Brake light1.72.62.5

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

When a car fails

34in every 100

of failed cars had one item to fix.

38in every 100

of failed cars had three or more items to fix.

8in 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 2016 Volkswagen Caddy follows the pattern of the model years either side. Its main cause of failure was Suspension arm pins and bushes (front), about 13 in every 100 failed tests. In 2025, 69.3% of 12,380 first MOTs on the 2016 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 76.1%. Among 3,799 failed first-attempt MOT tests (test year 2025), Anti-roll bar pins and bushes (rear) appears more often than on similar cars (6.7% of those tests; 255 observed failures; about 54× 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 2016 Volkswagen Caddy at the first attempt were Suspension arm pins and bushes (front) (13.5%), Diesel engine warning light (11.2%) and Tyre condition (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) (6.7% of those tests; 255 observed failures; about 54× 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 (6.7% of those tests; 255 observed failures; about 54× 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 2016 Volkswagen Caddy include Anti-roll bar pins and bushes (rear), Airbag warning light, Suspension arm pins and bushes (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 2016 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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