Pass rate
70.7%
Below average — 3.3 pts behind the 74.0% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 18,990 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £33–£106
2009 Volkswagen Fox MOT pass rate
- 2009
- typical 75,603 mi
Most common fault
Suspension
24.5% of faults · 21.0% nationally
mostly worn arm bushes, split ball-joint boots and broken coil springs.
Which year to buy
- Best 2012 77.8% pass
- Avoid 2008 69.4% pass
Across the 7 years on record, a spread of 8.4 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 60.1%
- Typical mileage
- 76k mi
The 2009 Volkswagen Fox MOT pass rate is 70.7% of its MOT tests — 3.3 points behind what its age and mileage predict. Suspension is the biggest single reason it fails, at 24.5% of what testers record.
Check your postcode
MOT pass rates are national — type your postcode to see how Volkswagen Fox does in your corner of the country.
Expert verdict
Lamps & electrics: 1.4× the national share
Lamps & electrics make up 17.6% of everything recorded on the 2009 Volkswagen Fox, against 12.2% nationally — 5.4 points above. Suspension is still the single largest share at 24.5%, but at 21.0% nationally that one is ordinary. Walk round the car with the lights on before the test: bulbs, indicators and number-plate lamps are the cheapest failures to prevent and among the most common.
- Falls short of its own age and mileage. Like-for-like, cars this age and mileage expect about 74.0%; this one manages 70.7% — 3.3 points below. Age is a fair excuse; this is not age.
- When it fails, it costs. Only 26% of this model’s typical repairs come in under £30 in parts — the failures here tend to be the kind that need a garage rather than a bulb.
Written from this page's own figures: fault shares against the national composition, the like-for-like pass rate, and the priced repair list. How these are worked out
Watching a Volkswagen Fox? Get an email when these numbers change .
How does the 2009 Volkswagen Fox compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 74.0%, so this figure is 3.3 points behind what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 60.1%. The median 2009 Volkswagen Fox in this dataset had covered 75,603 mi.
100% of the tests on this vehicle ran on Petrol, which passed 70.7% of the time. Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 70.8% of the time, April–September 70.5%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources", noted on 5.60% of tests.
- 18,990 recorded tests behind this page.
- 70.7% overall pass rate, 60.1% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the Volkswagen Fox, the average is 70.8% — best year 2012 (77.8%), worst 2008 (69.4%).
Figures count every completed test on this vehicle-year in the dataset, including retests. See methodology for the exact definition.
This page's data
- Tests analysed
- 18,990
- Typical mileage (median)
- 75,603 mi
- Make and model
- Volkswagen Fox
- Updated
- 2026-11-05
Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data (2023–2025), OGL v3.0.
Top part to budget for
Number Plate Lamp
Usually a DIY or independent-garage job.
Does mileage affect the Fox MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 57% so small gaps stay visible.
Fuel type and reliability
Pass rate by fuel type. Petrol is the most common here (100% of tests).
Regional pass rates for the Fox
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South East | 3,672 | 72.6% |
| South West | 2,540 | 68.0% |
| North West | 2,085 | 71.8% |
| Yorkshire | 1,904 | 70.3% |
| West Midlands | 1,831 | 71.9% |
| East of England | 1,792 | 72.2% |
| Scotland | 1,356 | 65.6% |
| East Midlands | 1,191 | 70.9% |
| Wales | 1,179 | 68.4% |
| North East | 930 | 69.1% |
| London | 508 | 77.4% |
Regions come from the postcode area recorded at the test station. Areas on region borders are assigned to the region with the majority of their population.
What fails a 2009 Fox
Everything a tester recorded on this vehicle, grouped into the inspection sections that produced it. The notch on each bar is the national share, so you can see at a glance whether this car is unusual or just ordinary.
A test can record several items, so these percentages do not add up to 100%. The exact strings, with prices, are in the full DVSA record at the bottom of this page.
Before your test
Three checks worth doing on a 2009 Fox
These are not generic tips — they are the faults recorded most often on this exact model, rewritten as things you can check yourself. All three take about ten minutes and cost nothing.
-
Check the lights 5.6% of tests
“registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources”
Switch everything on and walk round the car: both headlamps on dip and main, every indicator, both brake lights, reverse, fog and the two number-plate lamps. A bulb is a few pounds and a five-minute job.
-
Check the suspension joints 4.0% of tests
“track rod end ball joint dust cover damaged or deteriorated,”
With the car parked on level ground, rock the top of each front wheel in and out while someone watches the suspension arm. Clunks, or rubber boots split and greasy, are what testers record here.
-
Check the exhaust and emissions 3.9% of tests
“exhaust system has a major leak of exhaust gases”
Listen for a blow at idle and have someone rev it gently. Then look at the tailpipe smoke: blue is oil, white when warm is coolant, black is over-fuelling. Any of those and the emissions test is the least of it.
Shares are the proportion of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item, so they overlap: one test can record several.
What it costs to get a 2009 Fox through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £33–£106 — and 26% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £33–£106
- Cheapest common item: registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the…
- £5–£20
- Dearest common item: joints constant velocity boot severely…
- £80–£250
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 60%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 26%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 18,990 MOT tests on this vehicle. They exclude diagnostics, retest fees and garage labour where the part is a DIY fit, and they are not figures from the DVSA dataset. Older and higher-mileage examples cost more than the average. How these estimates are built → · All MOT repair costs → · Cheapest cars to put through a test →
Every year of the Fox, side by side
7 model years on record, from 2006 to 2012. Across them the pass rate runs from 69.4% to 77.8% — a spread of 8.4 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2006 70.9% joints constant velocity boot…
- 2007 69.7% joints constant velocity boot…
- 2008 69.4% joints constant velocity boot…
- 2009 70.7%registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2010 71.3% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2011 73.9% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2012 77.8% registration plate lamp(s)…
Colour is the pass rate on a fixed scale, so a block means the same thing on any model. Each year links to its own page with the full fault breakdown.
Compare the 2009 Volkswagen Fox with another year
The raw pass rate mostly measures age. The year comparison adds the like-for-like figure, the mileage bands and the repair bill.
Other 2009 cars with a similar record
- Vauxhall Zafira 70.7%
- Chevrolet Matiz 70.7%
- Suzuki SX4 70.7%
- Kia Carens 70.7%
- Renault Scenic 70.8%
- Citroen C3 70.6%
Closest pass rates among 2009 cars with at least 2,000 tests, so a small sample cannot flatter itself into the list. See the full rankings: best and worst MOT pass rates.
The full DVSA record for the 2009 Volkswagen Fox 10 failure items · 6 advisories · 10 inspection categories · mileage brackets · all of it in the page, none of it above the fold
Every inspection category
Shares of the 47,934 individual items recorded on this vehicle, and the same share across all cars nationally. A single test can record several items, so a row is not a percentage of tests.
| Category | Items | This car | Nationally | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Suspension | 11,926 | 24.50% | 20.98% | +3.52 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 8,542 | 17.60% | 12.21% | +5.39 |
| Tyres | 7,227 | 14.90% | 19.76% | −4.86 |
| Brakes | 5,504 | 11.30% | 20.89% | −9.59 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 4,926 | 10.10% | 5.57% | +4.53 |
| Visibility | 3,050 | 6.30% | 4.97% | +1.33 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 2,798 | 5.80% | 5.52% | +0.28 |
| Steering | 1,953 | 4.00% | 2.57% | +1.43 |
| Non-component advisories | 1,034 | 2.10% | 4.18% | −2.08 |
| Identification of the vehicle | 974 | 2.00% | 1.76% | +0.24 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 5.6% | £5–20 |
| Headlamp lens slightly defective Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 5.5% | £5–25 |
| Joints constant velocity boot severely deteriorated Body, chassis, structure | Minor | 4.5% | £80–250 |
| Track rod end ball joint dust cover damaged or deteriorated, but preventing the ingress of dirt Steering | Minor | 4.0% | £18–45 |
| Exhaust system has a major leak of exhaust gases Body, chassis, structure | Major | 3.9% | £45–120 |
| Catalyst emissions Lambda reading after 2nd fast idle outside specified limits Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 3.9% | £60–250 |
| Coil spring fractured or broken Suspension | Major | 3.8% | £25–65 |
| Linkage ball joint dust cover ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt Suspension | Major | 3.7% | £18–45 |
| Ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated Suspension | Minor | 3.6% | £18–45 |
| Joints constant velocity boot split or insecure, no longer prevents the ingress of dirt Body, chassis, structure | Major | 3.6% | £80–250 |
Severity is as recorded: Major and Dangerous fail the test outright; Minor and Advisory do not. Costs are estimates from typical UK parts prices — see how they are built.
What testers noted without failing the car
Advisories are the early warnings — the same parts a year or two before they fail. Reading them is how you tell a car that has been maintained from one that has been patched.
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Advisory | 16.3% | £45–95 |
| Has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Tyres | Advisory | 14.5% | £45–95 |
| Exhaust system has a major leak of exhaust gases Body, chassis, structure | Advisory | 10.6% | £45–120 |
| Pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn Suspension | Advisory | 9.3% | £40–150 |
| Shock absorbers has a serious fluid leak Suspension | Advisory | 6.8% | £30–75 |
| Coil spring corroded so that its cross sectional area is reduced and seriously weakened Suspension | Advisory | 5.0% | £25–65 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 1,266 | 81.3% | 21,408 mi |
| 30-60k | 4,648 | 74.8% | 46,490 mi |
| 60-90k | 6,789 | 69.8% | 74,883 mi |
| 90-120k | 4,483 | 66.9% | 102,603 mi |
| 120k+ | 1,791 | 65.2% | 137,930 mi |
Source: 18,990 recorded tests on this vehicle-year. Every row above is recomputed from the same DVSA extract as the rest of the page — see the methodology.
2009 Fox MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2009 Volkswagen Fox?
70.7% of the 18,990 2009 Volkswagen Fox tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 74.0% for cars first used in 2009. First-attempt pass rate: 60.1%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2009 Volkswagen Fox?
The three most recorded items are registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources (5.60%), headlamp lens slightly defective (5.50%), joints constant velocity boot severely deteriorated (4.45%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2009 Volkswagen Fox MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 81.3% of the time, falling to 65.2% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2009 Volkswagen Fox in this dataset had covered 75,603 mi.
Which fuel type is most reliable for a 2009 Volkswagen Fox?
Petrol: 70.7% pass rate across 18,958 tests. Diesel: 58.6% pass rate across 29 tests. Shares are of the tests on this vehicle that recorded each fuel type.
Does the season affect the 2009 Volkswagen Fox MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 70.8% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 70.5%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.