FIGURE 1 // WHERE IT WEARSVolkswagen ID3
Top three failure systems, annotated from 1,371 failed first-time tests. Arrows point to where the defect is found on the car.
The Volkswagen ID3 fails more often than a petrol car from its very first test
16,546 inspections in a single year make the ID3 one of the better-documented electric car. Tyres cause 70.8% of its failures; tyres take 3.0× the share they take on petrol and diesel cars of the same age.
First-time test findings
The three-year vs four-year picture
AT THREE YEARS OLD8.9%
ID3 failure rate. Petrol cars of the same age fail 8.2%.
AT FOUR YEARS OLD7.1%
ID3 failure rate, against 8.9% for petrol.
At three years old the Volkswagen ID3 fails 8.9% of the time, over the 8.2% of a petrol car the same age. By 3 years that reaches 8.9%. Tyres cause 70.8% of its failures.
FIGURE 2 // TYRE SECTION678 certificates in 2024
The tyre that wears from the inside
Tyres take 70.8% of the defects that fail this car, 3.0× the share seen on petrol and diesel cars of the same age. The most common item in that group is "A tyre seriously damaged", recorded 678 times in 2024.
SECTION // TYRES CONCENTRATIONYear 3 crossover
Where the curve bends
The crossover with petrol happens around year 3. From there the ID3's failure rate climbs faster than the petrol fleet, and the defect list explains why.
Source: DVSA MOT defect items, 2024 test year.
What to check
Check tyre age and tread across the full width, inner edge included. Electric cars wear tyres faster; a cheap mismatched set on a used car tells you how it was run. Trivial to fix, but a car advertised with worn wipers and a fresh failure certificate tells you how it was maintained. Have the suspension joints, bushes and springs checked on a lift. On this car it is a leading cause of failure and it is not visible from the outside. Check headlamp aim and every lamp before the test. It is the cheapest failure on the list and the easiest to avoid. Ask for the full MOT history by registration on the free DVSA service: advisories are next year's failures.
3 inspection points:
✓ Tyre inner-edge wear and age
✓ Wipers and washers
✓ Suspension joints and bushes on a lift
FIGURE 3 // FAILURE RATE BY AGEvs petrol, diesel and all electric cars
Points hidden where fewer than 50 cars of that age were tested. Dashed lines are the same-age petrol and diesel fleets.
Data sheet
- Inspections
- 16,546
- Passed
- 14,900
- Failed
- 1,371
- Passed after repair
- 275
- Failure rate
- 8.3% (all EV 12.0%)
- Average age
- 3.3 years
- Best year
- 4 yrs · 7.1%
- Worst year
- 3 yrs · 8.9%
- Top cause
- Tyres 70.8%
TABLE 1 // WHAT FAILS, BY SYSTEMshare of failing defects
| System | This car (mark = petrol/diesel) | Share | vs fleet |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tyres | 70.8% | 3.0× more | |
| Suspension | 5.3% | 2.6× less | |
| Brakes | 3.3% | 5.7× less | |
| Visibility | 7.5% | 1.6× less | |
| Lighting | 7.6% | 2.2× less | |
| Steering | 0.1% | 31.0× less | |
| Body | 0.3% | 13.7× less |
TABLE 2 // TOP DEFECTS ON THE CERTIFICATE
- A tyre seriously damaged678
- A tyre cords visible or damaged566
- Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements338
- Wiper blade missing or obviously not clearing the windscreen77
- A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn59
- The aim of a headlamp is not within limits laid down in the requirements46
Wording as printed by the tester, from the DVSA inspection manual.
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Where it holds up
- Suspension fail less often than on petrol and diesel cars (5.3% of defects vs 13.6%)
- Brakes fail less often than on petrol and diesel cars (3.3% of defects vs 18.7%)
- Visibility fail less often than on petrol and diesel cars (7.5% of defects vs 11.9%)
- Lighting fail less often than on petrol and diesel cars (7.6% of defects vs 16.5%)
Where it fails
- Tyres take a bigger share of failures than on the wider fleet (70.8% vs 23.7%)
- At three years old it fails 8.9% of the time, above the 8.2% of petrol cars the same age
VERSIONS SEEN IN THE TESTSas recorded
- ID3 LIFE7,932
- ID3 FAMILY2,858
- ID3 1ST EDITION1,894
- ID3 TOUR954
- ID3 BUSINESS933
- ID3 STYLE786
- ID3 TECH556
- ID3 MAX515
OWNER REPORTS // MATCHED TO RECORDED DEFECTS0 read · 0 matched
No owner discussion has been matched to this car's recorded defects yet. Reports are re-collected every quarter; the figures on this page do not depend on them.
Summaries written by us, never quotes; every entry links to its source. Owner reports have no denominator and never feed the failure rate.
SIMILAR CARS IN THE DATAclosest rate and age, other brands
Porsche Taycan8.5% fail · 6,264 testsSmart EQ8.3% fail · 2,590 testsKia Niro8.0% fail · 29,589 testsHyundai Kona8.1% fail · 15,479 tests
OTHER VOLKSWAGEN ELECTRIC CARS
Three things the data shows
- 16,546 inspections in 2024 make this one of the best-documented electric cars in the data.
- Tyres take 3.0× the share of failures they take on petrol and diesel cars of the same age.
- Failure rate rises from 7.1% at 4 years to 8.9% at 3: a gentle ageing curve.
LIMITS // WHAT THE INSPECTION DOES NOT TELL YOU
No battery health, no motor, no charging performance. The test covers brakes, suspension, steering, tyres, lights, visibility and structure. A car with a badly degraded battery passes as long as it stops and steers. Read this page as evidence about the chassis, not the powertrain. Cars are tested from their third year, so the newest model years are missing; every figure carries its sample size for that reason. Full methodology.
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