2010 Volkswagen Fox MOT pass rate

Pass rate

71.3%

Below average — 3.4 pts behind the 74.7% that cars this age and mileage manage.

Across 29,705 recorded tests.

Typical repair bill £23–£68

Most common fault

Suspension

24.9% of faults · 21.0% nationally

mostly worn arm bushes, split ball-joint boots and broken coil springs.

Part only £40–£65 for Shock absorber leaking. What fitting it takes →

1.8 pts up across model years — 1.5% in 2006, 3.3% in 2011.

Every failure, with what it costs →

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
61.4%
Typical mileage
75k mi

The 2010 Volkswagen Fox MOT pass rate is 71.3% of its MOT tests — 3.4 points behind what its age and mileage predict. Suspension is the biggest single reason it fails, at 24.9% of what testers record.

MOT PASS RATES

The 2010 Volkswagen Fox on the real record

71.3% of 2010 Volkswagen Fox MOTs passed — 29,705 tests, 2023–2025

Pass rate

The answer from the DVSA's class-4 MOT records.

Check your postcode

MOT pass rates are national — type your postcode to see how Volkswagen Fox does in your corner of the country.

How one model's pass rate varies by postcode →

Expert verdict

Fewer problems with brakes

Brakes are 11.6% of this car’s recorded faults, against 20.9% nationally — the mirror image of the usual story on a car of this age.

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 2010 Volkswagen Fox compare?

Cars of this age and mileage average 74.7%, so this figure is 3.4 points behind what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 61.4%. The median 2010 Volkswagen Fox in this dataset had covered 74,790 mi.

100% of the tests on this vehicle ran on Petrol, which passed 71.3% of the time. Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 71.4% of the time, April–September 71.2%.

The single most recorded failure item is "Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources", noted on 6.37% of tests.

  • 29,705 recorded tests behind this page.
  • 71.3% overall pass rate, 61.4% 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
29,705
Typical mileage (median)
74,790 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?

0-30k 82.3%
30-60k 75.8%
60-90k 70.1%
90-120k 67.5%
120k+ 66.6%

Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 58% so small gaps stay visible.

Fuel type and reliability

Petrol 71.3%
Diesel 83.3%

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 5,874 73.1%
South West 4,021 69.4%
North West 3,142 70.8%
Yorkshire 2,785 71.7%
East of England 2,733 72.5%
West Midlands 2,607 72.8%
Wales 2,114 68.7%
Scotland 2,086 67.1%
East Midlands 1,944 70.9%
North East 1,459 72.2%
London 940 76.2%

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 2010 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.

Suspension 24.9%
+3.9 pts vs national national 21.0% Price suspension parts
Lamps & electrics 16.4%
+4.2 pts vs national national 12.2% Order bulbs & wipers
Tyres 15.6%
−4.2 pts vs national national 19.8% Compare tyre prices
Brakes 11.6%
−9.3 pts vs national national 20.9% Price brakes parts
Show the other 6 fault categories
  • Body & chassis 8.5%
  • Visibility 6.7%
  • Emissions & leaks 5.9%
  • Steering 3.7%
  • Advisories 2.6%
  • Identification 2.0%

Shares are of every item recorded on 2010 Volkswagen Fox tests — a composition, so they add to 100% across all sections, not per test.

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 2010 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.

  1. Check the lights 6.4% 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.

  2. Check the suspension joints 5.7% of tests

    “ball joint dust cover severely 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.

  3. Check the coil springs 4.1% of tests

    “coil spring fractured or broken”

    Look up inside each wheel arch with a torch, all the way round the spring. A snapped spring usually breaks at the very bottom coil, where a quick glance will not reach.

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 2010 Fox through its MOT

Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £23–£68 — and 23% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.

Average repair across the 10 common items
£23–£68
Cheapest common item: registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the…
£5–£20
Dearest common item: catalyst emissions lambda reading after 2nd…
£60–£250
Common items a careful owner can do at home
80%
Repairs that still cost under £30
23%

Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 29,705 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.

  1. 2006 70.9% joints constant velocity boot…
  2. 2007 69.7% joints constant velocity boot…
  3. 2008 69.4% joints constant velocity boot…
  4. 2009 70.7% registration plate lamp(s)…
  5. 2010 71.3%
    registration plate lamp(s)…
  6. 2011 73.9% registration plate lamp(s)…
  7. 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 2010 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.

Compare 2010 with another year →

Compare two different cars instead →

Other 2010 cars with a similar record

Closest pass rates among 2010 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 2010 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 72,112 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 18,358 24.90% 20.98% +3.92
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 12,083 16.40% 12.21% +4.19
Tyres 11,452 15.60% 19.76% −4.16
Brakes 8,532 11.60% 20.89% −9.29
Body, chassis, structure 6,284 8.50% 5.57% +2.93
Visibility 4,938 6.70% 4.97% +1.73
Noise, emissions and leaks 4,327 5.90% 5.52% +0.38
Steering 2,733 3.70% 2.57% +1.13
Non-component advisories 1,898 2.60% 4.18% −1.58
Identification of the vehicle 1,507 2.00% 1.76% +0.24

The exact failure items, in the tester's words

Share of the 29,705 tests on this vehicle that recorded each item
Recorded item Severity Tests Est. cost Part
Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment Minor 6.4% £5–20 Number Plate Lamp →
Ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated Suspension Minor 5.7% £18–45 Ball Joint →
Ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt Suspension Major 4.2% £18–45 Ball Joint →
Coil spring fractured or broken Suspension Major 4.1% £25–65 Coil Spring →
Linkage ball joint dust cover ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt Suspension Major 4.0% £18–45 Ball Joint →
Exhaust system has a major leak of exhaust gases Body, chassis, structure Major 3.9% £45–120 Exhaust →
Track rod end ball joint dust cover damaged or deteriorated, but preventing the ingress of dirt Steering Minor 3.7% £18–45 Ball Joint →
Catalyst emissions Lambda reading after 2nd fast idle outside specified limits Noise, emissions and leaks Major 3.6% £60–250 Emissions Repair →
Shock absorbers has a serious fluid leak Suspension Major 3.6% £30–75 Shock Absorber →
Headlamp lens slightly defective Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment Minor 3.5% £5–25 Headlight Bulb →

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.

Items recorded as advisory on this vehicle
Recorded item Severity Tests Est. cost
Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres Advisory 16.5% £45–95
Has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Tyres Advisory 14.4% £45–95
Exhaust system has a major leak of exhaust gases Body, chassis, structure Advisory 11.3% £45–120
Pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn Suspension Advisory 8.3% £40–150
Shock absorbers has a serious fluid leak Suspension Advisory 5.9% £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 1,655 82.3% 21,998 mi
30-60k 7,641 75.8% 46,956 mi
60-90k 11,212 70.1% 74,993 mi
90-120k 6,774 67.5% 102,634 mi
120k+ 2,412 66.6% 138,656 mi

Source: 29,705 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.

2010 Fox MOT questions

What is the MOT pass rate for a 2010 Volkswagen Fox?

71.3% of the 29,705 2010 Volkswagen Fox tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 74.7% for cars first used in 2010. First-attempt pass rate: 61.4%.

What are the most common MOT failures on a 2010 Volkswagen Fox?

The three most recorded items are registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources (6.37%), ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated (5.74%), ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt (4.18%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.

Does mileage affect the 2010 Volkswagen Fox MOT pass rate?

Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 82.3% of the time, falling to 66.6% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2010 Volkswagen Fox in this dataset had covered 74,790 mi.

Which fuel type is most reliable for a 2010 Volkswagen Fox?

Petrol: 71.3% pass rate across 29,693 tests. Diesel: 83.3% pass rate across 12 tests. Shares are of the tests on this vehicle that recorded each fuel type.

Does the season affect the 2010 Volkswagen Fox MOT pass rate?

Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 71.4% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 71.2%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.