MOT fail rates

Vauxhall Adam MOT fail rate by age

How often the Vauxhall Adam fails its MOT at each age, compared with all cars of the same age, and what it fails on. From 237,726 DVSA MOT tests taken 2022 to 2025.

MOT data updated 22 September 2026

At 9 years, the most tested age

MOT fail rate at age 9 (n=41,521)32.8%

All cars at 9 years (n=9,949,012)27.1%

Median mileage at test53,569

All cars, median mileage68,033

245 of 315 model groups with enough tests fail less often at 9 years.

What stands out

At 3 years the Vauxhall Adam fails 15.1% of MOTs (4,901 tests), 3.0 points above the 12.1% for all cars that age. At 12 years it fails 36.8% (7,567 tests), about the same as the 36.0% average.
The gap is widest at 8 years: 6.5 points above all cars.
Its most common structural or mechanical fail item at 9 years: Track rod end: ball joint dust cover excessively damaged or deteriorated so that it no longer prevents the ingress of dirt, at 8.1 per 100 MOTs.

MOT fail rate by age

Solid line: this model. Dashed line: all cars at the same age.

Vauxhall Adam: share of MOT tests that failed, by age, against all cars. Ages with fewer than 1,000 tests are not shown.
Age	MOT fail rate	Tests (n)	All cars	Difference	Median mileage
3 years	15.1%	4,901	12.1%	+3.0 pts	13,929 miles
4 years	19.4%	10,374	13.4%	+6.0 pts	20,504 miles
5 years	19.5%	17,893	15.3%	+4.2 pts	27,679 miles
6 years	22.2%	27,441	17.8%	+4.4 pts	34,117 miles
7 years	26.5%	33,544	20.6%	+5.9 pts	40,774 miles
8 years	30.3%	41,458	23.8%	+6.5 pts	47,476 miles
9 years	32.8%	41,521	27.1%	+5.7 pts	53,569 miles
10 years	35.1%	32,016	30.3%	+4.8 pts	59,226 miles
11 years	36.4%	21,011	33.3%	+3.1 pts	65,125 miles
12 years	36.8%	7,567	36.0%	+0.8 pts	70,282 miles

Most common fail items at 9 years

Split into structural or mechanical items and wear items. Wear items (tyres, brake pads, wipers, bulbs) say more about upkeep than about the design.

Structural and mechanical

Fail item	Per 100 MOTs
Track rod end: ball joint dust cover excessively damaged or deteriorated so that it no longer prevents the ingress of dirt Major	8.1
Shock absorber leaking Major	6.9
Coil spring broken Major	6.3
Malfunction indicator lamp: inoperative or indicates a malfunction Major	1.9
Track rod end: ball joint dust cover insecure so that it no longer prevents the ingress of dirt Major	1.9

Out of 41,521 MOTs. A test with two faults counts twice.

Wear and upkeep

Fail item	Per 100 MOTs
Tyre tread below 1.6 mm Dangerous	3.1
Wipers not clearing screen Major	2.7
Washers: provides insufficient washer liquid Major	2
Brake pads under 1.5 mm Dangerous	1.6
Dipped headlight not working Major	1.5

Out of 41,521 MOTs. A test with two faults counts twice.

Other models at 9 years

Model	MOT fail rate	Tests (n)	All cars
Vauxhall Corsa	36.3%	318,680	27.1%
Vauxhall Astra	30.3%	218,838	27.1%
Vauxhall Mokka	33.8%	128,324	27.1%

MOT fail rate by first-use year

Each year has its own page: the fail rate for cars first used that year at each MOT from 2022 to 2025 with at least 1,000 tests, the most common faults at that age, and the car tax and ULEZ rules for that year.

First-use year data updated 28 September 2026.

Latest MOT age with at least 1,000 tests for each first-use year.
First used	Age at test	MOT fail rate	Tests (n)	All cars
2013	12 years in 2025	36.8%	7,518	36.0%
2014	11 years in 2025	37.8%	13,268	33.3%
2015	10 years in 2025	36.5%	10,849	30.3%
2016	9 years in 2025	34.5%	9,483	27.1%
2017	8 years in 2025	33.2%	7,562	23.8%
2018	7 years in 2025	28.4%	5,489	20.6%
2019	6 years in 2025	21.9%	4,853	17.8%

More on the Vauxhall Adam

Read this with care. A fail rate is not a measure of build quality. How far cars are driven, how they are used and how well owners maintain them all change it, and wear items such as tyres and brake pads are common fails. Compare a model only with cars of the same age. Methodology and limits.

Looking at one Vauxhall Adam?

These are figures for the model, not for one car. The VetTheCar Buying Report looks at a single car: its MOT tests, defects, advisories and mileage readings.

See an example report Browse the car tools

Source

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data, class 4 normal MOT tests, 2022 to 2025. MOT data updated 22 September 2026.

Not affiliated with or endorsed by DVSA. How we calculate these figures · Data sources