Volkswagen ID3 common problems and MOT failures
What goes wrong on a used Volkswagen ID3, year by year: known faults from UK buying guides, the parts flagged at MOT more than on other cars (from 23,793 MOTs done during 2025), and what to check before you buy one.
Pick the year
Most years have their own guide. The year is when the car was first registered (it’s on the logbook, or check the reg below).
What usually goes wrong with a Volkswagen ID3?
Known faults reported by owners, mechanics and UK buying guides, in our own words. Most apply to certain years or engines only, so check which the car has.
- Cars registered 2020–2023 · All versions
Software and infotainment glitches
Early cars suffer infotainment crashes, blank screens, erratic voice control, adaptive cruise problems and persistent warning lights. Updates have fixed some but not all. Cars delivered before January 2021 lacked the final software.
At the viewing: Ask what software version it runs, and test the screen, navigation, phone link and cruise control.
Source: RAC: Volkswagen ID.3 (2020-2023) used car review, What Car?: Volkswagen ID.3 reliability
- Cars registered 2020–2023 · All versions
12V battery and key faults
The 12V battery is a known problem, and some keys and the keyless entry have failed, locking owners out.
At the viewing: Make sure the car unlocks and starts reliably with each key.
- Cars registered 2020–2023 · All versions
Battery self-discharge fix
VW called in more than 10,000 ID.3 and ID.4s worldwide to fix batteries that lost charge too quickly because of a manufacturing flaw.
At the viewing: Run the free DVSA recall check on the reg and ask whether the battery work was done.
Volkswagen ID3 MOT pass rate by year
Of the years since 2005 with plenty of MOT tests, the 2021 Volkswagen ID3 did best (90% passed first time, 3 points above all 2021 cars) and the 2022 did worst (88%, 1 point below all 2022 cars). Older cars fail more, so compare each year with all cars registered the same year.
Questions to ask the seller before buying a Volkswagen ID3
Ask before you travel to see it. A seller who knows the car will have answers, and receipts.
- Has it had all the software updates?
- Can I see the service history and receipts for any big jobs?
Looking at a Volkswagen ID3?
Check the actual car: its own MOT history and what to ask the seller. Free, no sign-up.
Where this comes from: MOT figures are the DVSA’s anonymised results for every MOT test done in Great Britain during 2025, grouped by the year each car was first registered. How many are on the road is from the Department for Transport’s vehicle licensing statistics. Known faults are from UK buying guides, in our own words, with links. How we score