TÜV Report 2024: The worst and the best cars

TÜV Report 2024 analysed approximately 10.2 million technical main inspections of passenger cars from July 2022 to June 2023 and recorded the defects found. The 221 vehicle models analysed were divided into six groups according to the car’s age. Due to the increasing age of cars on German roads, 12- to 13-year-old vehicles were included in the report for the first time.

New: TÜV Report 2025!

The overall results of the TÜV Report 2024 show that approximately one in five vehicles failed a main technical inspection with 20.5% “significant” or “dangerous” defects. This is an increase of 0.3 percentage points compared to last year’s period. The proportion of vehicles with minor defects also increased to 11.2 per cent. This is 0.5 percentage points more than in the previous year.

TÜV Report 2024: Significant defects in all age categories

The older the vehicles, the higher the defect rate: 28.9% of 12- to 13-year-old vehicles failed the technical inspection, but only 5.7% of two- to three-year-olds. This is similar to last year’s figures. A total of 15,000 vehicles were directly immobilised because they were found to be “dangerous for road use”.

• Vehicle recalls by make and model

Cars in Germany are getting older

Last year, the average age of passenger cars in Germany exceeded 10 years for the first time. As recently as 2011, the average was 8.3 years. Today, 45% of all cars registered in Germany are over ten years old. According to the authors of the 2024 TÜV report, there are two main reasons for this: the lifetime of vehicles is getting longer, and at the same time, new cars are becoming more expensive. Many consumers cannot afford a new car and must meet their needs by buying a used one.

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TÜV Report 2024 reliability by vehicle age

The tables below show the percentage of vehicles that failed the TÜV (HU) technical inspection with ‘significant’ or ‘dangerous’ defects. Cars marked in green are those that appear to be a good choice; cars marked in red are better to be cautious. However, roadworthiness can also be significantly affected by the care a car receives from its owner.

✅ Year of production 2020 and 2021

* Click on the name of the car to view its recalls

Best 2-3 year old cars

Order	Make/Model	Faults (%)
1	VW Golf Sportsvan	2,0
2	Audi Q2	2,1
3	Audi TT	2,5
4	Mercedes-Benz B-Class	2,6
=	Mercedes-Benz GLC	2,6
=	VW e-Golf	2,6
=	VW T-Roc	2,6
8	Mitsubishi ASX	2,9
=	Toyota RAV4	2,9

Worst 2-3 year old cars

Order	Make/Model	Faults (%)
102	Dacia Sandero	8,8
103	VW Sharan	8,9
104	Škoda Superb	9,0
105	Ford Galaxy	9,1
=	Škoda Scala	9,1
107	Dacia Dokker	10,2
=	Opel Crossland	10,2
109	Seat Alhambra	10,3
110	Dacia Logan	11,4
111	Tesla Model 3	14,7

• Full table TÜV 2024 (2 – 3 years)

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✅ Year of production 2018 and 2019

* Click on the name of the car to view its recalls

Best 4-5 year old cars

Order	Make/Model	Faults (%)
1	VW Golf Sportsvan	4,2
=	VW T-Roc	4,2
3	VW T-Cross	4,6
4	Audi A6/A7	4,7
5	Audi Q2	4,9
6	VW e-Golf	5,0
7	Mercedes-Benz B-Class	5,3
=	Škoda Karoq	5,3
9	VW Touareg	5,4
10	Audi A3	5,5

Worst 4-5 year old cars

Order	Make/Model	Faults (%)
108	BMW 5/6	15,1
109	Dacia Logan	16,0
110	BMW X1	16,4
111	Dacia Dokker	16,5
112	Seat Alhambra	17,3
113	BMW 2 Active Tourer	17,6
114	VW Sharan	17,7
115	BMW X5/X6	17,9

• Full table TÜV 2024 (4 – 5 years)

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✅ Year of production 2016 and 2017

* Click on the name of the car to view its recalls

Best 6-7 year old cars

Order	Make/Model	Faults (%)
1	Mazda CX-3	6,5
2	Audi TT	7,2
3	VW Golf Sportsvan	7,3
4	Suzuki SX4	7,7
5	Mercedes-Benz B-Class	7,8
6	Suzuki Vitara	8,0
7	Mazda2	8,1
8	Audi Q2	8,3
9	Honda Jazz	8,4
10	Mercedes-Benz A-Class	8,6

Worst 6-7 year old cars

Order	Make/Model	Faults (%)
101	Seat Alhambra	19,6
102	BMW 2 Active Tourer	19,6
103	VW Sharan	19,8
104	BMW X5/X6	20,8
105	Dacia Sandero	21,0
106	Ford Ka	21,8
107	Dacia Logan	22,4
108	Dacia Duster	24,6
109	BMW 5/6	24,8
110	Dacia Dokker	25,9

• Full table TÜV 2024 (6 – 7 years)

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✅ Year of production 2014 and 2015

* Click on the name of the car to view its recalls

Best 8-9 year old cars

Order	Make/Model	Faults (%)
1	Mercedes-Benz B-Class	10,5
2	Suzuki SX4	10,8
3	VW Golf Sportsvan	10,9
4	Mercedes-Benz A-Class	11,4
5	Audi Q5	12,0
6	VW Touareg	12,4
7	Honda Jazz	12,7
=	Volvo XC60	12,7
9	Toyota RAV4	12,8
10	Audi A3	13,1

Worst 8-9 year old cars

Order	Make/Model	Faults (%)
94	Hyundai i30	25,3
95	BMW 5/6	25,4
96	Hyundai i20	25,7
97	Ford Mondeo	26,1
98	Dacia Sandero	26,5
99	Renault Megane	27,4
100	Dacia Duster	28,5
101	Dacia Logan	29,1
102	Fiat Punto	29,7
103	Dacia Dokker	32,2

• Full table TÜV 2024 (8 – 9 years)

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✅ Year of production 2012 and 2013

* Click on the name of the car to view its recalls

Best 10-11 year old cars

Order	Make/Model	Faults (%)
1	Audi TT	12,3
2	Mercedes-Benz B-Class	14,6
3	VW Touareg	15,6
4	Honda Jazz	16,2
=	Mercedes-Benz GLE/ML	16,2
6	Toyota RAV4	16,6
7	Audi Q5	16,8
=	VW Golf Plus	16,8
9	BMW X1	17,2
10	Mini	17,5

Worst 10-11 year old cars

Order	Make/Model	Faults (%)
90	Peugeot 207	32,7
91	Dacia Duster	33,7
=	Dacia Sandero	33,7
93	Renault Megane	33,9
=	Citroën C3	33,9
95	Fiat Punto	34,2
=	Fiat Panda	34,2
97	Renault Clio	34,6
98	Dacia Logan	35,5
99	Renault Twingo	36,2

• Full table TÜV 2024 (10 – 11 years)

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✅ Year of production 2010 and 2011

* Click on the name of the car to view its recalls

Best 12-13 year old cars

Order	Make/Model	Faults (%)
1	Audi TT	15,0
2	VW Golf Plus	20,7
3	Toyota RAV4	21,3
4	BMW X1	21,4
5	Volvo XC60	22,5
6	Audi A3	22,8
7	Honda Jazz	22,9
8	Audi A6/A7	23,0
9	Mercedes-Benz E-Class Coupe	23,2
=	Mini	15,6

Worst 12-13 year old cars

Order	Make/Model	Faults (%)
74	Kia Picanto	37,1
75	Ford Galaxy	37,1
76	Fiat Panda	37,3
77	Peugeot 207	37,6
78	Fiat Punto	37,7
79	Dacia Sandero	38,5
80	Renault Clio	38,6
81	Nissan Qashqai	38,8
82	Renault Twingo	39,9
83	Dacia Logan	40,9

• Full table TÜV 2024 (12 – 13 years)

Source: autobild.de
Photo: tuvsud.com