Pass rate
76.6%
Around average — 0.6 pts behind the 77.2% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 141,764 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £27–£76
2012 Volkswagen Polo MOT pass rate
- 2012
- typical 77,638 mi
Most common fault
Suspension
22.8% 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 →
1.2 pts down across model years — 1.9% in 2000, 0.7% in 2020.
Which year to buy
- Best 2023 94.9% pass
- Avoid 2005 68.3% pass
Across the 24 years on record, a spread of 26.6 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 70.1%
- Typical mileage
- 78k mi
The 2012 Volkswagen Polo MOT pass rate is 76.6% of its MOT tests — about what its age and mileage predict. Suspension is the biggest single reason it fails, at 22.8% of what testers record.
Check your postcode
MOT pass rates are national — type your postcode to see how Volkswagen Polo does in your corner of the country.
Watching a Volkswagen Polo? Get an email when these numbers change .
How does the 2012 Volkswagen Polo compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 77.2%, so this figure is 0.6 points behind what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 70.1%. The median 2012 Volkswagen Polo in this dataset had covered 77,638 mi.
The most common fuel recorded here is Petrol — 88% of tests, with a 77.1% pass rate. Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 76.6% of the time, April–September 76.5%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources", noted on 8.23% of tests.
- 141,764 recorded tests behind this page.
- 76.6% overall pass rate, 70.1% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the Volkswagen Polo, the average is 78.3% — best year 2023 (94.9%), worst 2005 (68.3%).
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
- 141,764
- Typical mileage (median)
- 77,638 mi
- Make and model
- Volkswagen Polo
- 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 Polo MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 62% so small gaps stay visible.
Fuel type and reliability
Pass rate by fuel type. Petrol is the most common here (88% of tests).
Regional pass rates for the Polo
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South East | 32,587 | 79.4% |
| South West | 16,245 | 74.4% |
| North West | 14,571 | 75.9% |
| East of England | 14,342 | 78.6% |
| West Midlands | 12,449 | 78.3% |
| Yorkshire | 11,524 | 75.3% |
| Scotland | 10,775 | 69.0% |
| East Midlands | 9,013 | 75.7% |
| London | 8,037 | 83.0% |
| Wales | 7,201 | 72.6% |
| North East | 5,008 | 72.7% |
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 2012 Polo
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 2012 Polo
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 8.2% 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 shock absorbers 3.3% of tests
“shock absorbers has a serious fluid leak”
Press down hard on each corner of the car and let go. It should settle in one bounce; if it keeps rocking, or you can see oil weeping down a shock absorber, that is the fault a tester will find.
-
Check the suspension joints 3.1% of tests
“pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn”
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.
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 2012 Polo through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £27–£76 — and 41% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £27–£76
- Cheapest common item: registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the…
- £5–£20
- Dearest common item: windscreen damaged
- £80–£200
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 70%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 41%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 141,764 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 Polo, side by side
24 model years on record, from 2000 to 2023. Across them the pass rate runs from 68.3% to 94.9% — a spread of 26.6 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2000 71.8% headlamp lens slightly defective
- 2001 71.8% joints constant velocity boot…
- 2002 68.7% joints constant velocity boot…
- 2003 68.3% joints constant velocity boot…
- 2004 68.3% joints constant velocity boot…
- 2005 68.3% joints constant velocity boot…
- 2006 68.7% joints constant velocity boot…
- 2007 70.4% joints constant velocity boot…
- 2008 70.4% joints constant velocity boot…
- 2009 71.4% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2010 73.1% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2011 74.0% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2012 76.6%registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2013 77.5% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2014 79.3% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2015 81.3% pins and bushes pin or bush…
- 2016 82.9% pins and bushes pin or bush…
- 2017 84.3% pins and bushes pin or bush…
- 2018 83.3% track rod end ball joint dust…
- 2019 88.0% track rod end ball joint dust…
- 2020 92.1% track rod end ball joint dust…
- 2021 92.5% wipers does not clear the…
- 2022 94.0% has a cut in excess of the…
- 2023 94.9% has a cut in excess of the…
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 2012 Volkswagen Polo 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 2012 cars with a similar record
- Peugeot 508 76.6%
- Mercedes-Benz Vito 76.5%
- Ford Grand C-Max 76.7%
- Volvo C30 76.7%
- Mazda Cx-5 76.7%
- Ford Kuga 76.9%
Closest pass rates among 2012 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 2012 Volkswagen Polo 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 285,533 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 | 65,748 | 22.80% | 20.98% | +1.82 |
| Brakes | 52,482 | 18.20% | 20.89% | −2.69 |
| Tyres | 52,304 | 18.10% | 19.76% | −1.66 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 41,924 | 14.50% | 12.21% | +2.29 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 19,147 | 6.60% | 5.57% | +1.03 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 15,175 | 5.30% | 5.52% | −0.22 |
| Non-component advisories | 13,731 | 4.80% | 4.18% | +0.62 |
| Visibility | 11,777 | 4.10% | 4.97% | −0.87 |
| Steering | 8,771 | 3.00% | 2.57% | +0.43 |
| Identification of the vehicle | 4,474 | 1.50% | 1.76% | −0.26 |
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 | 8.2% | £5–20 |
| Shock absorbers has a serious fluid leak Suspension | Major | 3.3% | £30–75 |
| Pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn Suspension | Major | 3.1% | £40–150 |
| Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view Visibility | Minor | 2.5% | £80–200 |
| Track rod end ball joint dust cover damaged or deteriorated, but preventing the ingress of dirt Steering | Minor | 2.3% | £18–45 |
| Service brake performance excessively binding Brakes | Major | 2.0% | £60–150 |
| Rbt (sp) efficiency below requirements Brakes | Major | 2.0% | £45–110 |
| Headlamp not working on dipped beam Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 1.9% | £5–25 |
| Coil spring fractured or broken Suspension | Major | 1.8% | £25–65 |
| Position lamp not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 1.8% | £5–25 |
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 | 16.8% | £45–95 |
| Pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn Suspension | Advisory | 12.1% | £40–150 |
| Has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Tyres | Advisory | 11.8% | £45–95 |
| Brake discs in such a condition that it is seriously weakened Brakes | Advisory | 9.1% | £45–110 |
| Shock absorbers has a serious fluid leak Suspension | Advisory | 8.3% | £30–75 |
| Engine oil leaks leaking excessively from engine Noise, emissions and leaks | Advisory | 5.8% | £200–700 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 6,032 | 89.4% | 22,202 mi |
| 30-60k | 32,805 | 82.5% | 47,538 mi |
| 60-90k | 54,240 | 75.8% | 74,989 mi |
| 90-120k | 35,628 | 72.1% | 102,751 mi |
| 120k+ | 13,020 | 70.9% | 138,414 mi |
Source: 141,764 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.
2012 Polo MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2012 Volkswagen Polo?
76.6% of the 141,764 2012 Volkswagen Polo tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 77.2% for cars first used in 2012. First-attempt pass rate: 70.1%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2012 Volkswagen Polo?
The three most recorded items are registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources (8.23%), shock absorbers has a serious fluid leak (3.27%), pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn (3.08%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2012 Volkswagen Polo MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 89.4% of the time, falling to 70.9% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2012 Volkswagen Polo in this dataset had covered 77,638 mi.
Which fuel type is most reliable for a 2012 Volkswagen Polo?
Petrol: 77.1% pass rate across 124,842 tests. Diesel: 72.8% pass rate across 16,912 tests. Shares are of the tests on this vehicle that recorded each fuel type.
Does the season affect the 2012 Volkswagen Polo MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 76.6% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 76.5%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.