Volkswagen ID4 MOT pass rate & common failures

At a glance

Recorded pass rate

We are not publishing a ranking for the ID4. The examples tested do not cover a wide enough spread of ages and mileages to compare it fairly, and an unadjusted pass rate mostly sorts models by how recently they were bought rather than how well they were built. The failure and advisory patterns below come from the same 11,285 tests and are worth reading on their own terms.

DVSA recorded wording

Most common failure items

Share of failed Volkswagen ID4 tests in which each item was recorded. One failed test often lists several items, so these do not sum to 100%.

1. 1.A tyre seriously damaged37.8%

   435 occurrencesTyre damaged or deteriorated explained

2. 2.A tyre cords visible or damaged35.3%

   407 occurrencesTyre ply or cord exposed, or the casing separating explained

3. 3.Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements28.4%

   327 occurrencesTyre worn close to the legal limit explained

4. 4.A shock absorber damaged to the extent that it does not function or showing signs of severe leakage9.4%

   108 occurrencesShock absorber defective explained

5. 5.Wiper blade missing or obviously not clearing the windscreen6.3%

   72 occurrencesWiper or washer not working properly explained

6. 6.A lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning2.6%

   30 occurrencesLamp not working explained

7. 7.Windscreen washers not working or not providing sufficient fluid to clear the windscreen2.3%

   26 occurrencesWiper or washer not working properly explained

8. 8.An SRS malfunction indicator lamp (MIL) indicates a system malfunction2.2%

   25 occurrencesAirbag warning lamp on, or airbag missing explained

9. 9.A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn2.1%

   24 occurrencesSuspension arm bush worn explained

10. 10.Excessive fluctuation in brake effort through each wheel revolution1.9%

    22 occurrencesBrake disc worn, pitted or scored explained

Warnings without a failure

Most common advisories

Share of all Volkswagen ID4 tests carrying each advisory. The denominator differs from the failure list above because an advisory can be issued on a car that passed.

1. 1.Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements30.1%

   3,397 testsTyre worn close to the legal limit explained

2. 2.A tyre seriously damaged6.3%

   706 testsTyre damaged or deteriorated explained

3. 3.Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements5.4%

   608 testsTyre worn close to the legal limit explained

4. 4.A shock absorber damaged to the extent that it does not function or showing signs of severe leakage3.8%

   429 testsShock absorber defective explained

5. 5.Child Seat fitted not allowing full inspection of adult belt3.7%

   414 tests

6. 6.Nail in tyre2.2%

   253 tests

7. 7.A tyre seriously damaged2.2%

   253 testsTyre damaged or deteriorated explained

8. 8.A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn1.4%

   154 testsSuspension arm bush worn explained

What gets tested

The ID4 fleet

Average mileage recorded at test

42,700

Across examples of every age, so this is a description of the fleet rather than an annual figure.

Fuel mix of tested cars

Electric100.0%

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 →

Common questions

How reliable is the Volkswagen ID4 compared with other cars?

We do not publish a comparison for the Volkswagen ID4, because the cars of this model that have been tested do not cover a wide enough range of ages and mileages. Its raw pass rate is 87.8% across 11,285 tests, but comparing a raw rate between models mostly ranks them by how new they are rather than how good they are. The failure and advisory patterns further down the page are still drawn from real tests and are worth reading.

What is the most common MOT failure on a Volkswagen ID4?

The item recorded most often is "A tyre seriously damaged", which appears in 37.8% of failed Volkswagen ID4 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 ID4?

The most common advisory is "Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements", noted on 30.1% of all Volkswagen ID4 tests. An advisory is not a failure: it flags something that will likely need attention before the next test.

What mileage does a Volkswagen ID4 usually have at its MOT?

The average odometer reading recorded at test is 42,700 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.

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. No adjusted rate is shown because this model's tested examples do not cover enough of the national age and mileage range for standardisation to mean anything.

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.

Further reading

Make sense of the numbers

• How to judge reliability from evidence rather than reputation
• What counts as high or low mileage for a car’s age
• The most common MOT failures and how to avoid them
• What to check before buying a used Volkswagen