Common problems

Chevrolet Captiva common problems

What MOT testers find on the Chevrolet Captiva: the parts that fail or get advisories most often at each age, against all cars of the same age. From 25,550 DVSA MOT tests taken 2022 to 2025.

MOT data updated 28 September 2026

At 12 years, the most tested age

Lights and electrics fails per 100 MOTs (n=5,131)24.6

All cars at 12 years (n=7,303,151)15.4

Suspension advisories and minor defects per 100 MOTs (n=5,131)34.4

All cars, same age (n=7,303,151)24.9

What stands out

Lights and electrics fails show up on 24.6 of every 100 MOTs of a Chevrolet Captiva at 12 years old (n=5,131), against 15.4 for all cars of that age (n=7,303,151).
The fail item testers record most often at 12 years: brake light not working, on 6.5 per 100 MOTs (all cars 2.8).
The most common advisory or minor defect: tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge, on 22.6 per 100 MOTs.

Problems by part at 12 years

How many of every 100 MOTs found a fail, or an advisory or minor defect, in each area. A test with faults in two areas counts in both.

Chevrolet Captiva at 12 years (n=5,131) against all cars at 12 years (n=7,303,151). Per 100 MOTs.
Area	Fails	All cars	Advisories	All cars
Lights and electrics	24.6	15.4	16.2	9.3
Suspension	17.8	13.4	34.4	24.9
Brakes	16.0	8.2	32.2	24.0
Tyres	8.8	7.1	31.3	27.7
Body and structure	8.7	4.3	18.9	6.5
Windscreen, wipers and mirrors	8.6	5.2	4.7	4.4
Exhaust, emissions and leaks	7.1	3.7	22.6	6.9
Steering	4.0	2.8	5.5	3.1
Seat belts and airbags	2.7	1.0	1.9	0.6
Number plates and VIN	0.7	0.4	4.8	2.8
Road wheels	0.4	0.5	0.1	1.1

What testers fail most on the Captiva at 12 years

Fail items on the Chevrolet Captiva at 12 years (n=5,131), per 100 MOTs, with all cars at the same age (n=7,303,151).
Item	Area	Per 100 MOTs	All cars	Typical repair (estimate)
Brake light not working	Lights and electrics	6.5	2.8	£10 to £47 per lamp
Dipped headlight not working	Lights and electrics	6.5	2.1	£18 to £86 per lamp
Coil spring broken	Suspension	5.7	3.9	£64 to £236 per spring (rough guide)
Side/position light not working	Lights and electrics	5.2	4.1	£10 to £47 per lamp
Suspension arm bush worn	Suspension	4.8	1.8	£92 to £237 per arm (rough guide)
Brake pads under 1.5 mm	Brakes	4.6	2.1	£72 to £174 per axle (rough guide)
Tyre tread below 1.6 mm	Tyres	4.1	2.9	£88 to £145 per tyre
Wipers not clearing screen	Windscreen, wipers and mirrors	3.7	2.0	£15 to £30 per blade
Driveshaft CV boot split	Body and structure	3.5	1.8	£88 to £196 per boot (rough guide)
Suspension ball joint worn	Suspension	3.5	2.4	£75 to £237 per side (rough guide)

Early warnings: advisories and minor defects at 12 years

Advisories and minor defects are recorded, but the car still passes. Across all cars, a part with an advisory or minor defect failed at the next MOT 5.5 times in 100 (n=88,666,940 pairs of consecutive MOTs), against 0.3 times in 100 when the same part had none (n=12,936,860,350).

Advisories and minor defects on the Chevrolet Captiva at 12 years (n=5,131), per 100 MOTs, with all cars at the same age (n=7,303,151).
Item	Area	Per 100 MOTs	All cars	If it needs replacing (estimate)
Tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge	Tyres	22.6	18.0	£88 to £145 per tyre
Engine oil leaks: leak, but not excessive	Exhaust, emissions and leaks	20.8	6.0
Brake pads: wearing thin	Brakes	13.1	7.6	£72 to £174 per axle (rough guide)
Brake discs: worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened	Brakes	13.0	10.4	£148 to £376 per axle (rough guide)
Shock absorbers: has light misting of oil	Suspension	10.4	3.8	£122 to £484 per axle (pair) (rough guide)
Drive shaft joints: constant velocity boot severely deteriorated	Body and structure	10.2	1.8
Suspension arm pins and bushes: pin or bush worn but not resulting in excessive movement	Suspension	9.6	7.3	£92 to £237 per arm (rough guide)
Registration plate lamp(s): inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources	Lights and electrics	9.5	4.6
Rigid brake pipes: corroded, covered in grease or other material	Brakes	9.0	4.5	£137 to £392 per car (rough guide)
Exhaust system: has a minor leak of exhaust gases	Body and structure	7.6	2.6	£182 to £263 per section

Repair estimates are a guide for an independent garage: labour at the national median local garage rate (median £78 an hour from 65 garages, ONS price quotes) times estimated labour hours, plus a parts band. Labour hours and most parts bands are estimates, not quotes, and prices vary by model, engine and region. A warning light fault shows the cost of the diagnosis only.

How problems change with age

Fails per 100 MOTs in the three most common areas at 12 years. Ages with fewer than 1,000 tests are not shown.
Age	Tests (n)	Lights and electrics	Suspension	Brakes
9 years	1,311	17.2	10.1	11.3
10 years	2,393	21.7	11.4	11.0
11 years	3,528	22.4	15.6	14.2
12 years	5,131	24.6	17.8	16.0
13 years	4,636	25.4	19.8	18.1
14 years	4,270	26.8	20.4	18.8
15 years	2,993	26.7	20.7	18.4
16 years	1,288	28.7	21.7	20.3

Mileage

At 12 years, Chevrolet Captiva cars showing 60,000 to 90,000 miles failed 44.2% of MOTs (n=1,649); the band that failed most, 90,000 to 120,000 miles, failed 49.6% (n=2,116). For pass and fail rates by age, see MOT fail rates by model.

What to check on a viewing

On the Chevrolet Captiva, testers most often record brake light not working; dipped headlight not working; coil spring broken. Look at these first, then the areas below.

Lights and electrics

With someone outside, try every light: dipped and main beam, indicators, brake lights, fog lights and number plate lamps.
Check that the warning lights come on with the ignition and go out once the engine runs.
Look for misted, cracked or yellowed headlamp lenses.

Suspension

Listen for knocks or clonks over speed bumps and rough roads on the test drive.
Push down hard on each corner: the car should settle at once rather than keep bouncing.
Look behind the wheels for broken or heavily rusted coil springs and split rubber bushes.
Check that the car sits level and that no tyre is worn on one edge only.

Brakes

On the test drive the car should stop in a straight line without pulling, juddering or grinding.
Look at the discs through the wheels for a deep lip, heavy rust or scoring.
Check that the handbrake or electronic parking brake holds the car on a slope.
Ask when the pads, discs and brake fluid were last changed, and for the receipts.

Ask for the car's MOT history and service record: advisories that repeat from one year to the next show what has been left. GOV.UK MOT history.

Questions

What are the most common problems on the Chevrolet Captiva?

At 12 years, the age with the most MOT tests (5,131), the fail items testers record most often on the Chevrolet Captiva are brake light not working (6.5 per 100 MOTs), dipped headlight not working (6.5 per 100 MOTs), coil spring broken (5.7 per 100 MOTs). The most common advisories or minor defects are tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge (22.6) and engine oil leaks: leak, but not excessive (20.8).

Which parts of the Chevrolet Captiva fail more often than on other cars?

At 12 years: lights and electrics (24.6 per 100 MOTs against 15.4 for all cars); brakes (16.0 per 100 MOTs against 8.2 for all cars); suspension (17.8 per 100 MOTs against 13.4 for all cars). Compared with 7,303,151 MOTs of all cars the same age.

Chevrolet Captiva problems by area

Other Chevrolet models

All Chevrolet models · Common problems by make

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.

The all cars figures cover all class 4 vehicles (cars and light vans) tested at the same age.

Looking at a Chevrolet Captiva?

These figures describe the model, not the car in front of you. Found one you might buy? See what the VetTheCar Buying Report covers, or use the tools that work without a registration.

See a sample report Car tools · MOT fail rates by model · Compare models by MOT record

Repair estimates: ONS consumer price quotes for local garage labour (09/2025 to 08/2026), the MOT inspection manual for defect wording, and estimated labour hours and parts bands. Not affiliated with or endorsed by ONS.

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 28 September 2026.

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