In recent years, the TÜV report has regularly shown an improvement in the condition of cars on German roads. But that has changed recently: the condition has deteriorated – about every fifth car fails the general inspection with defects.
The condition of cars on German roads has deteriorated. As can be seen from the “TÜV Report” that has now been published, in the observation period from June 2021 to June 2022, around one in five cars with significant or dangerous defects failed the main inspection (HU). Compared to the same period of the previous year, this means an increase of 2.3 percentage points. The rate of cars with “minor defects” rose by 1.6 points to 10.7 percent. A total of 0.05 percent of the vehicles presented were classified as “unroadworthy” and had to be shut down. Extrapolated to the number of German passenger cars, this corresponds to around 15,000 cars.
In previous years, the corona pandemic had caused lower mileage and thus also low defect rates. In addition, intensive maintenance and a high proportion of younger vehicles provided relief. According to the TÜV association, at least the pandemic effect has now fizzled out.
The most common complaints were again related to the lighting. Other classic points of criticism include the chassis, brakes or oil loss in the engine. In the case of e-cars, which were included in the statistics in significant numbers for the first time, brake problems were noticed with an above-average frequency. Because the Stromer generally decelerate using engine brakes, the rarely used friction brakes tend to corrode more often than in conventional cars.
The statistics show the Mercedes B-Class as a defect dwarf. At the first HU only 2 percent of all vehicles are complained about. It was followed by last year’s winners, the Mercedes GLC and the VW Golf Sportsvan, each with 2.3 percent. In the older age groups, the Porsche 911 wins. There are also particularly error-free models in the individual vehicle classes.
The Kia Picanto (3.6 percent defect rate) performed best among the small cars, and the Honda Jazz (2.7 percent) among the small cars. The top spot in the compact class went to the Mercedes A-Class (2.8 percent), in the middle class the Volvo V40 (3.0 percent) secured first place. The Mercedes GLC sets the standard among SUVs and the B-Class among vans.
