Model Reports 4 min read Updated 18 Oct 2026

Volkswagen Caddy 2019: reliability & common MOT faults

In 2025, 78 in every 100 first MOTs on a 2019 Volkswagen Caddy were passes. Most common reason for a fail: Diesel engine warning light.

Summary

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

At a glance

How 9,911 first tests went in 2025.

Passed first time
78 in every 100
Did not pass first time
22 in every 1002,134 failed first-attempt tests
The typical car
6 yearsabout 65,984 miles
First tests counted
9,911

What failed most often

  1. Diesel engine warning light15 in every 100 failed tests
  2. Tyre condition (front)11 in every 100 failed tests
  3. Anti-roll bar pins and bushes (rear)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 2019 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), 72 times as often as on similar cars.

Figures below are measured across the 2,133 of 2,134 failed first attempts 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 178 first tests72 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 115 first tests, 39 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.

Lamps and electrical

Two faults. The strongest is the daytime running lights (front): 3.5 times as often as on similar cars.

Daytime running lights (front)

Failed on 45 first tests3.5 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

What it means

Daytime running lamps are inspected only when fitted as original equipment to cars and similar passenger vehicles first used on or after a set date. A lamp that is missing or not working, or that shows red light to the front, is Major. These lamps need not operate when the engine is not running, the parking brake is on, or park is selected on an automatic.

Individual sidelight or tail light (front)

Failed on 109 first tests3.1 times as often as similar carsLikely 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.

Noise, emissions and leaks

One fault: diesel engine warning light, 3.2 times as often as on similar cars.

Diesel engine warning light

Failed on 310 first tests3.2 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.

MOT pass rates

How first tests ended, and how the pass rates are counted.

Passed first time
78in 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
16in every 100
Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.

First-attempt pass 78.5% of 9,911 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 83.7%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 6 fixed and the 16 not fixed make the 22 in every 100 that did not pass first time.

Petrol and diesel

First testsTypical mileagePassed first time, as testedPassed first time, same mileage
Diesel9,36267,086 miles7878
Petrol54949,623 miles8176

Figures are in every 100 first tests. Cars with more miles usually fail more often, so the same-mileage figure gives every fuel the mileage mix of all the cars in this year.

Same model, other years

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

4060801002005201020152019Older carsNewer cars
40608010020102019Older cars

Newer cars are younger, so look for a jump rather than the climb.

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
201669 in every 10012,380
201771 in every 10010,917
201879 in every 10010,137
2019 This car78 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 2019 Caddy.

Of 2019 Caddy vehicles with under 39,000 miles, 86 in every 100 passed their 2025 MOT first time. With 102,000 miles or more, 71 in every 100 did.

Under 39,0002,002 tests
86
39,000–57,0001,958 tests
82
57,000–76,000 Typical car2,022 tests
77
76,000–102,0001,940 tests
76
102,000 and over1,988 tests
71

Petrol or diesel?

Typical mileagePassed first time,
as tested		Passed first time,
same mileage
Diesel67,086 miles7878
Petrol49,623 miles8176

Figures are in every 100 first tests. Petrol cars look better on the raw figures only because diesel cars have done more miles (typically 67,086 against 49,623). At the same mileage there is no clear difference between the two.

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 39,00057,000–76,000102,000 and over
Diesel engine warning light1.02.75.0
Tyre condition (front)1.81.93.0
Anti-roll bar pins and bushes (rear)0.21.83.1
Tyre tread depth (front)0.71.62.5
Headlight aim1.21.21.7

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

When a car fails

45in every 100

of failed cars had one item to fix.

26in every 100

of failed cars had three or more items to fix.

6in 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 Caddy follows the pattern of the model years either side. Its main cause of failure was Diesel engine warning light, about 15 in every 100 failed tests. In 2025, 78.5% of 9,911 first MOTs on the 2019 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 83.7%. Among 2,134 failed first-attempt MOT tests (test year 2025), Anti-roll bar pins and bushes (rear) appears more often than on similar cars (8.3% of those tests; 178 observed failures; about 72× 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 Caddy at the first attempt were Diesel engine warning light (14.5%), Tyre condition (front) (10.5%) and Anti-roll bar pins and bushes (rear) (8.3%), 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) (8.3% of those tests; 178 observed failures; about 72× 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 (8.3% of those tests; 178 observed failures; about 72× 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 Caddy include Anti-roll bar pins and bushes (rear), Daytime running lights (front), Diesel engine warning light. 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 2019 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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