Pass rate
90.1%
Above average — 2.2 pts ahead of the 87.9% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 41,629 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £30–£81
2018 Volkswagen Up MOT pass rate
- 2018
- 2 trims combined
- typical 28,725 mi
Most common fault
Tyres
38.5% of faults · 19.8% nationally
mostly tread below the limit, cuts and sidewall bulges.
Part only £55–£85 for Tread depth below 1.6 mm. What fitting it takes →
4.1 pts down across model years — 5.2% in 2012, 1.1% in 2022.
Which year to buy
- Best 2023 95.8% pass
- Avoid 2012 83.8% pass
Across the 12 years on record, a spread of 12 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 89.1%
- Typical mileage
- 29k mi
The 2018 Volkswagen Up MOT pass rate is 90.1% of its MOT tests — 2.2 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. Tyres is the biggest single reason it fails, at 38.5% of what testers record.
Check your postcode
MOT pass rates are national — type your postcode to see how Volkswagen Up does in your corner of the country.
Expert verdict
Tyres: 1.9× the national share
Tyres make up 38.5% of everything recorded on the 2018 Volkswagen Up, against 19.8% nationally — 18.7 points above. Check all four tyres yourself, including the inner shoulders, and look at the date stamp — a tyre can pass on tread and still be six years old.
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 Up? Get an email when these numbers change .
Every Volkswagen Up first registered in 2018 is combined here — 2 trim and body variants in total — so the sample is as large as the DVSA data allows.
How does the 2018 Volkswagen Up compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 87.9%, so this figure is 2.2 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 89.1%. The median 2018 Volkswagen Up in this dataset had covered 28,725 mi.
100% of the tests on this vehicle ran on Petrol, which passed 90.1% of the time. Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 89.9% of the time, April–September 90.4%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Wipers does not clear the windscreen effectively", noted on 1.40% of tests.
- 41,629 recorded tests behind this page.
- 90.1% overall pass rate, 89.1% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the Volkswagen Up, the average is 87.0% — best year 2023 (95.8%), worst 2012 (83.8%).
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
- 41,629
- Typical mileage (median)
- 28,725 mi
- Make and model
- Volkswagen Up
- Updated
- 2026-11-05
Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data (2023–2025), OGL v3.0.
Top part to budget for
Wiper Blade
Usually a DIY or independent-garage job.
Does mileage affect the Up MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 71% 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 Up
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South East | 8,080 | 90.9% |
| South West | 5,021 | 90.1% |
| Scotland | 4,882 | 85.6% |
| North West | 4,486 | 91.5% |
| East of England | 3,950 | 92.1% |
| Yorkshire | 3,889 | 88.9% |
| West Midlands | 3,588 | 91.1% |
| East Midlands | 2,397 | 91.4% |
| North East | 2,289 | 89.6% |
| Wales | 1,966 | 89.7% |
| London | 1,080 | 92.4% |
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 2018 Up
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 2018 Up
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 wipers and washers 1.4% of tests
“wipers does not clear the windscreen effectively”
Run the wipers with the screen wet: they should clear it in one sweep without smearing or juddering. Top the washer bottle up and check both jets hit the screen.
-
Check the suspension joints 1.1% 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.
-
Check the windscreen 1.1% of tests
“windscreen damaged”
Check the driver’s side of the screen within the swept area for chips and cracks; anything larger than 10mm in the driver’s central view is a fail. Most chips can be resin-repaired for far less than a new screen.
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 2018 Up through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £30–£81 — and 47% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £30–£81
- Cheapest common item: rear fog lamp not working
- £3–£15
- Dearest common item: windscreen damaged
- £80–£200
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 60%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 47%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 41,629 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 Up, side by side
12 model years on record, from 2012 to 2023. Across them the pass rate runs from 83.8% to 95.8% — a spread of 12 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2012 83.8% service brake performance…
- 2013 85.1% service brake performance…
- 2014 85.9% service brake performance…
- 2015 86.1% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2016 85.9% pins and bushes pin or bush…
- 2017 88.3% pins and bushes pin or bush…
- 2018 90.1%wipers does not clear the…
- 2019 93.0% headlamp aim too low
- 2020 93.6% has a bulge, caused by separation…
- 2021 92.9% has a bulge, caused by separation…
- 2022 93.2% has a bulge, caused by separation…
- 2023 95.8% linkage ball joint dust cover…
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 2018 Volkswagen Up 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 2018 cars with a similar record
- Toyota C-Hr 90.1%
- Toyota Auris 90.1%
- Mitsubishi Eclipse 90.1%
- BMW 218I 90.1%
- BMW M2 90.1%
- BMW 225XE 90.1%
Closest pass rates among 2018 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 2018 Volkswagen Up 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 33,009 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tyres | 12,801 | 38.50% | 19.76% | +18.74 |
| Brakes | 7,516 | 22.60% | 20.89% | +1.71 |
| Suspension | 3,275 | 9.90% | 20.98% | −11.08 |
| Visibility | 2,606 | 7.80% | 4.97% | +2.83 |
| Non-component advisories | 2,060 | 6.20% | 4.18% | +2.02 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 2,036 | 6.10% | 12.21% | −6.11 |
| Identification of the vehicle | 1,499 | 4.50% | 1.76% | +2.74 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 722 | 2.20% | 5.52% | −3.32 |
| Road Wheels | 301 | 0.90% | 0.75% | +0.15 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 193 | 0.60% | 5.57% | −4.97 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wipers does not clear the windscreen effectively Visibility | Major | 1.4% | £8–22 |
| Wipers blade defective Visibility | Minor | 1.2% | £8–22 |
| Pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn Suspension | Major | 1.1% | £40–150 |
| Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view Visibility | Minor | 1.1% | £80–200 |
| Wipers does not clear the windscreen effectively Visibility | Rectified | 1.1% | £8–22 |
| Headlamp aim too low Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Rectified | 0.97% | £30–80 |
| Rear fog lamp not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 0.85% | £3–15 |
| Has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords Tyres | Major | 0.80% | £45–95 |
| Service brake performance excessively binding Brakes | Major | 0.58% | £60–150 |
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Major | 0.54% | £45–95 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Tyres | Advisory | 16.6% | £45–95 |
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Advisory | 8.4% | £45–95 |
| Brake discs in such a condition that it is seriously weakened Brakes | Advisory | 6.4% | £45–110 |
| Pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn Suspension | Advisory | 4.7% | £40–150 |
| Registration plates inscription illegible Identification of the vehicle | Advisory | 3.3% | £20–80 |
| Brake discs significantly and obviously worn Brakes | Advisory | 3.1% | £45–110 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 22,061 | 93.0% | 18,439 mi |
| 30-60k | 16,306 | 87.8% | 41,671 mi |
| 60-90k | 2,792 | 82.7% | 69,917 mi |
| 90-120k | 365 | 79.2% | 100,334 mi |
| 120k+ | 61 | 83.6% | 140,335 mi |
Source: 41,629 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.
2018 Up MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2018 Volkswagen Up?
90.1% of the 41,629 2018 Volkswagen Up tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 87.9% for cars first used in 2018. First-attempt pass rate: 89.1%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2018 Volkswagen Up?
The three most recorded items are wipers does not clear the windscreen effectively (1.40%), wipers blade defective (1.18%), pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn (1.14%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2018 Volkswagen Up MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 93.0% of the time, falling to 83.6% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2018 Volkswagen Up in this dataset had covered 28,725 mi.
Which fuel type is most reliable for a 2018 Volkswagen Up?
Petrol: 90.1% pass rate across 41,561 tests. Electric: 95.6% pass rate across 68 tests. Shares are of the tests on this vehicle that recorded each fuel type.
Does the season affect the 2018 Volkswagen Up MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 89.9% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 90.4%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.