Model Reports 4 min read Updated 18 Oct 2026

Volkswagen Eos 2007: reliability & common MOT faults

In 2025, 59 in every 100 first MOTs on a 2007 Volkswagen Eos were passes. Most common reason for a fail: Drive shaft joints and boots (front).

Summary

The 2007 Volkswagen Eos follows the pattern of the model years either side.

At a glance

How 2,267 first tests went in 2025.

Passed first time
59 in every 100
Did not pass first time
41 in every 100923 failed first-attempt tests
The typical car
18 yearsabout 100,675 miles
First tests counted
2,267

What failed most often

  1. Drive shaft joints and boots (front)14 in every 100 failed tests
  2. Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test)12 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 2007 Volkswagen Eos 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.

Brakes

One fault: electronic stability control, 4.7 times as often as on similar cars.

Figures below are measured across the 911 of 923 failed first attempts (98.7%) 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.

Electronic stability control

Failed on 28 first tests4.7 times as often as similar carsPossible 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.

Lamps and electrical

One fault: side repeater indicators, 3.7 times as often as on similar cars.

Side repeater indicators

Failed on 46 first tests3.7 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

What it means

Sequential or dynamic direction indicators are not a reason to fail. Where a side repeater is required, it is allowed to be part of the front direction indicator if it has a marked wraparound lens, or an amber light coming through the front lens when viewed from a set distance to the side of the rear bumper. A lens defect with no effect on the emitted light is Minor, and one that adversely affects the light is Major.

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

Suspension

Four faults. The strongest is the suspension arm pins and bushes (rear): 3.4 times as often as on similar cars.

Suspension arm pins and bushes (rear)

Failed on 26 first tests3.4 times as often as similar carsPossible 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.

Also noted as an advisory

Testers also noted it as an advisory, worn but not yet failing, on 62 first tests, 3.1 times as often as on similar cars.

Anti-roll bar linkage ball joint dust cover (front)

Failed on 95 first tests2.2 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

A suspension joint dust cover that is severely deteriorated is Minor. It becomes Major once it is missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt, so what matters is whether it still keeps dirt out. DVSA words this for any suspension joint dust cover, and files it here under anti-roll bars.

Anti-roll bar ball joint dust cover (front)

Failed on 36 first tests2.1 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

A missing anti-roll bar ball joint dust cover is Major, and so is one that no longer prevents the ingress of dirt. A cover that is only severely deteriorated is Minor. DVSA uses one wording for the dust cover on any suspension joint.

Coil spring (front)

Failed on 102 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. Advisories count notes recorded on failed first tests only.

Body and structure

One fault: drive shaft joints and boots (front), 2.1 times as often as on similar cars.

Drive shaft joints and boots (front)

Failed on 130 first tests2.1 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.

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 ball joints (rear)

Noted on 36 first tests4.2 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Suspension arm (rear)

Noted on 57 first tests2.5 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Suspension sub-frame (rear)

Noted on 122 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
59in 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
35in every 100
Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.

First-attempt pass 59.3% of 2,267 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 64.5%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 6 fixed and the 35 not fixed make the 41 in every 100 that did not pass first time.

Petrol and diesel

First testsTypical mileagePassed first time, as testedPassed first time, same mileage
Petrol1,28494,573 miles5958
Diesel983110,228 miles6061

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.

406080100200620072008200920102011201220132014Older carsNewer cars
40608010020072010Newer 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, 58 in every 100 passed first time.

YearPassed first timeFirst tests
200659 in every 100767
2007 This car59 in every 1002,267
200862 in every 1002,058
200961 in every 1001,067
201061 in every 1001,729
201165 in every 1001,259
201270 in every 100359
201376 in every 100434
201475 in every 100322

If you are buying one

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

Mileage matters most on a 2007 Volkswagen Eos.

Of 2007 Volkswagen Eos vehicles with under 73,000 miles, 71 in every 100 passed their 2025 MOT first time. With 131,000 miles or more, 51 in every 100 did.

Under 73,000450 tests
71
73,000–92,000449 tests
61
92,000–109,000 Typical car447 tests
57
109,000–131,000448 tests
57
131,000 and over455 tests
51

Petrol or diesel?

Typical mileagePassed first time,
as tested		Passed first time,
same mileage
Petrol94,573 miles5958
Diesel110,228 miles6061

Figures are in every 100 first tests. 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 73,00092,000–109,000131,000 and over
Drive shaft joints and boots (front)3.35.65.9
Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test)2.03.66.6
Coil spring (front)2.74.56.4
Anti-roll bar linkage ball joint dust cover (front)2.24.94.2
Tyre condition (rear)2.44.34.8

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

When a car fails

27in every 100

of failed cars had one item to fix.

47in every 100

of failed cars had three or more items to fix.

12in 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 2007 Volkswagen Eos follows the pattern of the model years either side. Its main cause of failure was Drive shaft joints and boots (front), about 14 in every 100 failed tests. In 2025, 59.3% of 2,267 first MOTs on the 2007 Volkswagen Eos passed first time (PRS: items fixed at the station the same day, counted as a fail). The official-style rate including PRS is 64.5%. Among 923 failed first-attempt MOT tests (test year 2025), Electronic stability control appears more often than on similar cars (3.1% of those tests; 28 observed failures; about 4.7× 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 2007 Volkswagen Eos at the first attempt were Drive shaft joints and boots (front) (14.3%), Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test) (11.7%) and Coil spring (front) (11.2%), 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: Electronic stability control (3.1% of those tests; 28 observed failures; about 4.7× more often than similar cars). These are statistical signals, not a diagnosis of any individual car.
Electronic stability control shows up more often than on similar cars (3.1% of those tests; 28 observed failures; about 4.7× 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 2007 Volkswagen Eos include Electronic stability control, Side repeater indicators, Suspension arm pins and bushes (rear). 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 2007 Volkswagen Eos (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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