How often does the Volkswagen ID4 fail its MOT?

8.8% of 6,402 first-time tests in 2024 were failures, against 12.0% for all electric cars.

What does the Volkswagen ID4 most often fail on?

Tyres, 78.3% of failing defects. The single most common defect was: A tyre cords visible or damaged.

Volkswagen · Fully electric · 6,402 inspections in 2024 · Rank 34 of 83DVSA MOT analysis

The Volkswagen ID4 fails more often than a petrol car from its very first test

6,402 inspections in a single year make the ID4 one of the better-documented electric car. Tyres cause 78.3% of its failures; tyres take 3.3× the share they take on petrol and diesel cars of the same age.

FIGURE 1 // WHERE IT WEARSVolkswagen ID4

Top three failure systems, annotated from 566 failed first-time tests. Arrows point to where the defect is found on the car.

First-time test findings

First-time failure rate

AT 3 YEARS OLD8.8%

Overall first-time failure rate.

AT FLEET YEARS OLD12.0%

All electric cars in the data.

At three years old the Volkswagen ID4 fails 10.4% of the time, over the 8.2% of a petrol car the same age. Tyres cause 78.3% of its failures.

FIGURE 2 // TYRE SECTION305 certificates in 2024

The tyre that wears from the inside

Tyres take 78.3% of the defects that fail this car, 3.3× the share seen on petrol and diesel cars of the same age. The most common item in that group is "A tyre cords visible or damaged", recorded 305 times in 2024.

SECTION // TYRES CONCENTRATIONYear 3 crossover

Where the curve bends

The crossover with petrol happens around year 3. From there the ID4's failure rate climbs faster than the petrol fleet, and the defect list explains why.

DEFECT CONCENTRATION IN FAILED TESTS:

ID4 tyres share78.3%

Wider fleet average23.7%

The single most common item on a ID4 certificate is "A tyre cords visible or damaged", recorded 305 times.

Source: DVSA MOT defect items, 2024 test year.

Buyer's protocolPre-purchase checklist

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 the washers reach the screen. It fails the test and it is a thirty-second check. 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: 6,402
Passed: 5,685
Failed: 566
Passed after repair: 151
Failure rate: 8.8% (all EV 12.0%)
Average age: 3.0 years
Best year: 3 yrs · 10.4%
Worst year: 3 yrs · 10.4%
Top cause: Tyres 78.3%

TABLE 1 // WHAT FAILS, BY SYSTEMshare of failing defects

System	Share	vs fleet
Tyres	78.3%	3.3× more
Suspension	4.7%	2.9× less
Brakes	2.0%	9.3× less
Visibility	7.9%	1.5× less
Lighting	2.7%	6.1× less
Steering	0.0%	in line
Body	0.7%	5.9× less

TABLE 2 // TOP DEFECTS ON THE CERTIFICATE

A tyre cords visible or damaged305
A tyre seriously damaged287
Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements145
Wiper blade missing or obviously not clearing the windscreen27
A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn21
Windscreen washers not working or not providing sufficient fluid to clear the windscreen17

Wording as printed by the tester, from the DVSA inspection manual.

Where it holds up

Suspension fail less often than on petrol and diesel cars (4.7% of defects vs 13.6%)
Brakes fail less often than on petrol and diesel cars (2.0% of defects vs 18.7%)
Visibility fail less often than on petrol and diesel cars (7.9% of defects vs 11.9%)
Lighting fail less often than on petrol and diesel cars (2.7% of defects vs 16.5%)

Where it fails

Tyres take a bigger share of failures than on the wider fleet (78.3% vs 23.7%)
At three years old it fails 10.4% of the time, above the 8.2% of petrol cars the same age

VERSIONS SEEN IN THE TESTSas recorded

ID4 LIFE3,187
ID4 1ST EDITION2,278
ID4 FAMILY382
ID4 CITY219
ID4 MAX193
ID4 GTX62
ID4 STYLE34
ID4 LIFE EDITION25

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

MG 58.6% fail · 8,748 tests Mercedes-Benz Evito9.1% fail · 593 tests Vauxhall Mokka8.0% fail · 2,837 tests Porsche Taycan8.5% fail · 6,264 tests

OTHER VOLKSWAGEN ELECTRIC CARS

Volkswagen E-Golf11.9% fail first time Volkswagen Golf12.1% fail first time Volkswagen Abt4.2% fail first time Volkswagen ID38.3% fail first time

Three things the data shows

6,402 inspections in 2024 make this one of the best-documented electric cars in the data.
Tyres take 3.3× the share of failures they take on petrol and diesel cars of the same age.
It ranks 34 of 83 electric cars by first-time failure rate.

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.