Shock absorber leaking on the Volkswagen Golf
Shock absorber leaking on the Volkswagen Golf is recorded on 409,966 tests — 13.2% of all its MOT tests, against 3.9% across every car in the data. That is 3.4× the national share.
Is this unusual for this model?
| Compared with | What it says |
|---|---|
| Every car in the data | 3.9% of tests record it — this model is 3.4× that share |
| The 364 models compared | 8 of 364, highest first |
| The model's own record | 3,105,148 tests · every year of the Golf → |
A share of tests is not a probability for your car: it counts every Volkswagen Golf tested, whatever its mileage, service history and use. The like-for-like comparison on the model page is the fairer number.
Year by year
In 2000, 1.4% of this model's tests recorded it; in 2022, 2.8%. The share has risen 1.4 points over that time. Worst year 2013 at 7.0%; best 2002 at 1.4%.
| Year | Failures recorded | Tests | Share of tests |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 743 | 51,330 | 1.4% |
| 2001 | 1,490 | 91,692 | 1.6% |
| 2002 | 2,213 | 162,078 | 1.4% |
| 2003 | 2,616 | 189,846 | 1.4% |
| 2004 | 2,682 | 151,167 | 1.8% |
| 2005 | 4,287 | 233,793 | 1.8% |
| 2006 | 8,309 | 344,415 | 2.4% |
| 2007 | 14,343 | 464,931 | 3.1% |
| 2008 | 15,238 | 462,528 | 3.3% |
| 2009 | 20,033 | 503,385 | 4.0% |
| 2010 | 26,000 | 518,286 | 5.0% |
| 2011 | 28,322 | 576,474 | 4.9% |
| 2012 | 23,387 | 581,985 | 4.0% |
| 2013 | 40,304 | 579,990 | 7.0% |
| 2014 | 44,947 | 663,951 | 6.8% |
| 2015 | 45,773 | 680,112 | 6.7% |
| 2016 | 29,707 | 646,578 | 4.6% |
| 2017 | 37,165 | 686,904 | 5.4% |
| 2018 | 28,660 | 598,980 | 4.8% |
| 2019 | 18,623 | 511,374 | 3.6% |
| 2020 | 8,678 | 372,120 | 2.3% |
| 2021 | 4,311 | 166,959 | 2.6% |
| 2022 | 2,083 | 73,857 | 2.8% |
Years with fewer than 0.2% of tests recording the item are left out: a year with two failures in 400 tests is noise, and this table is not here to make noise look like a trend.
What it costs
A typical UK repair for this item is £30–£75 fitted. It is a job a careful owner can do at home. What the part is, and what to buy →
Prices are typical UK supply-and-fitting estimates, not quotes. What happens if it fails covers the retest rules.
Where this sits
- Shock absorber leaking: every model, every year → — the item's own page, with the part guide.
- Volkswagen Golf MOT pass rate by year → — the model's whole record, and what else it fails on.
- Every Volkswagen model →