Model Reports 4 min read Updated 18 Oct 2026

Volkswagen Touran 2008: reliability & common MOT faults

In 2025, 55 in every 100 first MOTs on a 2008 Volkswagen Touran were passes. Most common reason for a fail: Drive shaft joints and boots (front).

Summary

The 2008 Volkswagen Touran follows the pattern of the model years either side.

At a glance

How 4,134 first tests went in 2025.

Passed first time
55 in every 100
Did not pass first time
45 in every 1001,845 failed first-attempt tests
The typical car
17 yearsabout 139,584 miles
First tests counted
4,134

What failed most often

  1. Drive shaft joints and boots (front)19 in every 100 failed tests
  2. Anti-roll bar linkage ball joint dust cover (front)11 in every 100 failed tests
  3. Tyre condition (rear)9 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 2008 Volkswagen Touran 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, 3.5 times as often as on similar cars.

Figures below are measured across the 1,844 of 1,845 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.

Electronic stability control

Failed on 59 first tests3.5 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.

Noise, emissions and leaks

One fault: diesel emissions test (compression-ignition rules for vehicles from 01/07/2008), 3.0 times as often as on similar cars.

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

Failed on 86 first tests3.0 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

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

Seat belts and restraints

One fault: seat belt condition (rear), 2.6 times as often as on similar cars.

Seat belt condition (rear)

Failed on 47 first tests2.6 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

Any sign of overstretching is a deficiency, and so is a cut anywhere on a child seat belt. On other belts the size of a cut decides it, with a stricter limit at the webbing edge than away from it. Webbing significantly stretched or weakened has rows in both Major and Dangerous grades.

Also noted as an advisory

Testers also noted it as an advisory, worn but not yet failing, on 116 first tests, 11 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.

Body and structure

One fault: drive shaft joints and boots (front), 2.5 times as often as on similar cars.

Drive shaft joints and boots (front)

Failed on 347 first tests2.5 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.

Suspension

Two faults. The strongest is the anti-roll bar linkage ball joint dust cover (front): 2.3 times as often as on similar cars.

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

Failed on 199 first tests2.3 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.

Suspension arm ball joint dust cover (front)

Failed on 114 first tests2.2 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

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 101 first tests4.8 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

Brake light (rear)

Noted on 58 first tests3.5 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Suspension arm pins and bushes (front)

Noted on 409 first tests2.3 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Anti-roll bar (rear)

Noted on 27 first tests2.3 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Shock absorbers (front)

Noted on 181 first tests2.3 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
55in 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
37in every 100
Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.

First-attempt pass 55.4% of 4,134 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 62.9%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 8 fixed and the 37 not fixed make the 45 in every 100 that did not pass first time.

Petrol and diesel

First testsTypical mileagePassed first time, as testedPassed first time, same mileage
Diesel3,546144,078 miles5556
Petrol588110,294 miles5754

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.

4060801002005200820152020Older carsNewer cars
40608010020082020Newer 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, 56 in every 100 passed first time.

YearPassed first timeFirst tests
200453 in every 1001,266
200553 in every 1002,004
200652 in every 1002,921
200756 in every 1004,385
2008 This car55 in every 1004,134
200956 in every 1004,540
201057 in every 1004,410
201166 in every 1005,484
201267 in every 1005,401
201368 in every 1005,168
201472 in every 1004,764
201572 in every 1003,658
201679 in every 1003,486
201780 in every 1004,122
201881 in every 1003,523
201986 in every 1002,614
202088 in every 1002,111
202190 in every 100925
202287 in every 100368

If you are buying one

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

Mileage matters most on a 2008 Touran.

Of 2008 Touran vehicles with under 107,000 miles, 63 in every 100 passed their 2025 MOT first time. With 173,000 miles or more, 53 in every 100 did.

Under 107,000814 tests
63
107,000–130,000832 tests
57
130,000–150,000 Typical car841 tests
51
150,000–173,000820 tests
53
173,000 and over823 tests
53

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 107,000130,000–150,000173,000 and over
Drive shaft joints and boots (front)7.79.66.8
Anti-roll bar linkage ball joint dust cover (front)5.36.12.8
Tyre condition (rear)4.24.94.5
Suspension arm pins and bushes (front)1.83.95.2
Coil spring (front)3.62.72.8

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

When a car fails

25in every 100

of failed cars had one item to fix.

52in 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 2008 Volkswagen Touran follows the pattern of the model years either side. Its main cause of failure was Drive shaft joints and boots (front), about 19 in every 100 failed tests. In 2025, 55.4% of 4,134 first MOTs on the 2008 Volkswagen Touran passed first time (PRS: items fixed at the station the same day, counted as a fail). The official-style rate including PRS is 62.9%. Among 1,845 failed first-attempt MOT tests (test year 2025), Electronic stability control appears more often than on similar cars (3.2% of those tests; 59 observed failures; about 3.5× 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 2008 Volkswagen Touran at the first attempt were Drive shaft joints and boots (front) (18.8%), Anti-roll bar linkage ball joint dust cover (front) (10.8%) and Tyre condition (rear) (9.4%), 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 (3.2% of those tests; 59 observed failures; about 3.5× 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 (3.2% of those tests; 59 observed failures; about 3.5× 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 2008 Volkswagen Touran include Electronic stability control, Seat belt condition (rear), Drive shaft joints and boots (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 2008 Volkswagen Touran (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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