Is the Volkswagen Amarok reliable?

On MOT evidence the Volkswagen Amarok is well above average. It passes 80.1% of tests once age and mileage are accounted for, against a national average of 72.3%. That figure covers 73% of the national age and mileage range, which is enough to quote but not to rank. This measures how often the car meets the MOT standard, not how often it breaks down or what a repair costs.

What is the most common MOT failure on a Volkswagen Amarok?

The item recorded most often is "A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn", which appears in 14.1% of failed Volkswagen Amarok tests. Because one failed test can list several items, these shares do not add up to 100%.

What do testers most often warn about on a Volkswagen Amarok?

The most common advisory is "Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements", noted on 19.7% of all Volkswagen Amarok tests. An advisory is not a failure: it flags something that will likely need attention before the next test.

What mileage does a Volkswagen Amarok usually have at its MOT?

The average odometer reading recorded at test is 101,313 miles. This is the mileage across all tested examples of every age, not an annual figure, so treat it as a description of the fleet rather than a target for one car.

Which Volkswagen Amarok years are the most reliable?

Going by MOT pass rate, Volkswagen Amarok cars first registered 2020–2022 do best at 84.8%, and those registered 2011–2013 do worst at 67.3%. But that ordering is mostly age, not build year: almost every model passes less often as it wears, so the newest cars top this list whatever they are. A specific year looking strong here means little on its own; the failure items above, and the individual car's own MOT history, tell you far more.

Does a Volkswagen Amarok get harder to pass as it ages?

Yes. At 3 to 5 years old, 84.8% of Volkswagen Amarok tests pass. By 12 to 14 years, that falls to 67.3%. Nearly every model follows this pattern, which is why comparing raw pass rates between models is misleading unless age is accounted for.

Model reliability file

Volkswagen Amarok MOT pass rate & common failures

From 19,694 recorded MOT tests of the Volkswagen Amarok, published by DVSA.

Data updated 29 July 2026

Quick answer

The Volkswagen Amarok passes 80.1% of MOT tests once results are adjusted for the age and mileage of the cars tested, against a national average of 72.3%. That is well above average. Based on 19,694 tests. Its most commonly recorded failure is suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn, which appears in 14.1% of failed tests. Cars of this model average 101,313 miles on the odometer when tested.

At a glance

Pass rate, adjusted for age and mileage

80.1%national average72.3%unadjusted75.4%range covered73%

The Amarok is 7.8 percentage points above the national pass rate once age and mileage are accounted for, which is well above average. The unadjusted figure is 75.4%; the difference is what the age and mileage of this model’s fleet was hiding.

DVSA recorded wording

Most common failure items

Share of failed Volkswagen Amarok tests in which each item was recorded. One failed test often lists several items, so these do not sum to 100%.

1.A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn14.1%
553 occurrencesSuspension arm bush worn explained
2.Parking brake efficiency below minimum requirement12.5%
490 occurrencesParking brake efficiency too low explained
3.A shock absorber damaged to the extent that it does not function or showing signs of severe leakage10.9%
427 occurrencesShock absorber defective explained
4.Parking brake inoperative on one side9.9%
389 occurrencesParking brake efficiency too low explained
5.A brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm9.3%
366 occurrencesBrake drum or shoe worn or contaminated explained
6.A spring or spring component fractured or seriously weakened9.0%
354 occurrencesRoad spring broken or fractured explained
7.Significant brake effort recorded with no brake applied indicating a binding brake8.8%
346 occurrencesBrake binding or imbalanced across an axle explained
8.Engine MIL illuminated indicating a malfunction8.3%
326 occurrencesEngine management light on, or not working explained
9.Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements7.4%
290 occurrencesTyre worn close to the legal limit explained
10.An obligatory rear fog lamp missing, or a front or rear fog lamp inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning6.3%
246 occurrencesLamp not working explained

Warnings without a failure

Most common advisories

Share of all Volkswagen Amarok tests carrying each advisory. The denominator differs from the failure list above because an advisory can be issued on a car that passed.

1.Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements19.7%
3,880 testsTyre worn close to the legal limit explained
2.A brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm8.3%
1,638 testsBrake drum or shoe worn or contaminated explained
3.A shock absorber damaged to the extent that it does not function or showing signs of severe leakage7.0%
1,388 testsShock absorber defective explained
4.A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn6.2%
1,212 testsSuspension arm bush worn explained
5.Fluid leaking excessively and likely to harm the environment or to pose a safety risk to other road users6.1%
1,210 tests
6.A spring or spring component fractured or seriously weakened4.9%
969 testsRoad spring broken or fractured explained
7.Brake disc or drum excessively weakened, insecure or fractured4.6%
904 testsBrake disc worn, pitted or scored explained
8.A tyre seriously damaged3.7%
738 testsTyre damaged or deteriorated explained

The rest of the record

Everything else recorded on the Volkswagen Amarok

The 17 other defects testers recorded on this model, beyond the most common listed above. Each links to what it means and what it takes to put right.

Known faults

Volkswagen Amarok common problems, by part and by year

The same failure record read the way a buyer asks the question: which parts wear out on a Amarok, when they start, and how each registration year compares — including the steps that mark a generation change.

Amarok common problems and results by year

How wear changes the picture

Amarok pass rate by age and registration year

How often the Volkswagen Amarok passes at each age, with the years those cars were first registered. Tests are from 2025, so a car aged 3 to 5 was first used in 2020–2022.

3–5 yrsreg. 2020–202285%

6–8 yrsreg. 2017–201981%

9–11 yrsreg. 2014–201672%

12–14 yrsreg. 2011–201367%

Read this as an age curve rather than a verdict on particular model years. Nearly every car passes less often as it gets older, so a newer Amarok outscoring an older one says more about wear than about how that year’s cars were built. Bands holding too few tests to be meaningful are omitted rather than shown as a rate.

What gets tested

The Amarok fleet

Average mileage recorded at test: 101,313
Fuel mix of tested cars: Diesel100.0%

Trim names grouped into this model (8)

Recorded exactly as DVSA holds them. Trim-level names are rolled up so one model is not split across a dozen thin pages.

AMAROK AVENT BLK ED V6TDI 4M A
AMAROK AVENTURA V6 TDI 4M A
AMAROK BLACK ED V6 TDI 4MOT A
AMAROK LIFE TDI 4MOTION AUTO
AMAROK STYLE TDI 4MOTION AUTO
AMAROK STYLE V6 TDI 4MOTION A
AMAROK TDI
AMAROK V6 TDI

Check a specific Volkswagen Amarok

A model average tells you the pattern. Its own MOT record tells you the car.

Compare within the range

Other Volkswagen models

Volkswagen Golf — 78.3% adjusted
Volkswagen Polo — 67.5% adjusted
Volkswagen Transporter — 73.7% adjusted
Volkswagen Tiguan — 77.3% adjusted
Volkswagen Passat — 77.9% adjusted
Volkswagen Caddy — 72.1% adjusted
All Volkswagen models

Similar test volumes

Compare against other makes

Toyota Land Cruiser — 82.5% adjusted, ranked 32
Hyundai I40 — 75.6% adjusted, ranked 100
Mercedes-Benz Citan — 65.2% adjusted, ranked 221
Volvo S60 — 76.6% adjusted, ranked 90

Common questions

Is the Volkswagen Amarok reliable?: On MOT evidence the Volkswagen Amarok is well above average. It passes 80.1% of tests once age and mileage are accounted for, against a national average of 72.3%. That figure covers 73% of the national age and mileage range, which is enough to quote but not to rank. This measures how often the car meets the MOT standard, not how often it breaks down or what a repair costs.
What is the most common MOT failure on a Volkswagen Amarok?: The item recorded most often is "A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn", which appears in 14.1% of failed Volkswagen Amarok tests. Because one failed test can list several items, these shares do not add up to 100%.
What do testers most often warn about on a Volkswagen Amarok?: The most common advisory is "Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements", noted on 19.7% of all Volkswagen Amarok tests. An advisory is not a failure: it flags something that will likely need attention before the next test.
What mileage does a Volkswagen Amarok usually have at its MOT?: The average odometer reading recorded at test is 101,313 miles. This is the mileage across all tested examples of every age, not an annual figure, so treat it as a description of the fleet rather than a target for one car.
Which Volkswagen Amarok years are the most reliable?: Going by MOT pass rate, Volkswagen Amarok cars first registered 2020–2022 do best at 84.8%, and those registered 2011–2013 do worst at 67.3%. But that ordering is mostly age, not build year: almost every model passes less often as it wears, so the newest cars top this list whatever they are. A specific year looking strong here means little on its own; the failure items above, and the individual car's own MOT history, tell you far more.
Does a Volkswagen Amarok get harder to pass as it ages?: Yes. At 3 to 5 years old, 84.8% of Volkswagen Amarok tests pass. By 12 to 14 years, that falls to 67.3%. Nearly every model follows this pattern, which is why comparing raw pass rates between models is misleading unless age is accounted for.

How this was worked out

Method and limits

Figures come from the DVSA anonymised MOT testing dataset, published under the Open Government Licence. Only class 4 initial tests are counted: retests are excluded so a car appears once, and abandoned tests are excluded entirely. The adjusted rate is directly standardised across twenty-five age and mileage bands and reweighted onto the national distribution, so this model is compared against cars that have lived a similar life rather than against a younger or lighter-used fleet.

An MOT measures whether a car met a legal standard on the day. It is not a breakdown record, a service history or a running-cost estimate, and a pass rate is a property of a fleet rather than a prediction about one car.