Common problems

Vauxhall Adam common problems

What MOT testers find on the Vauxhall Adam: the parts that fail or get advisories most often at each age, against all cars of the same age. From 237,726 DVSA MOT tests taken 2022 to 2025.

MOT data updated 28 September 2026

At 9 years, the most tested age

Suspension fails per 100 MOTs (n=41,521)13.6

All cars at 9 years (n=9,949,012)7.9

Tyres advisories and minor defects per 100 MOTs (n=41,521)28.3

All cars, same age (n=9,949,012)25.8

What stands out

Steering fails show up on 8.0 of every 100 MOTs of a Vauxhall Adam at 9 years old (n=41,521), against 1.8 for all cars of that age (n=9,949,012).
Lights and electrics fails are less common: 7.6 per 100 MOTs against 9.2 for all cars at the same age.
The fail item testers record most often at 9 years: track rod end: ball joint dust cover excessively damaged or deteriorated so that it no longer prevents the ingress of dirt, on 6.0 per 100 MOTs (all cars 0.4).
The most common advisory or minor defect: shock absorbers: has light misting of oil, on 17.0 per 100 MOTs.

Problems by part at 9 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.

Vauxhall Adam at 9 years (n=41,521) against all cars at 9 years (n=9,949,012). Per 100 MOTs.
Area	Fails	All cars	Advisories	All cars
Suspension	13.6	7.9	25.0	14.9
Steering	8.0	1.8	10.9	2.1
Lights and electrics	7.6	9.2	3.2	4.5
Tyres	6.6	6.7	28.3	25.8
Brakes	4.9	5.6	15.4	20.3
Windscreen, wipers and mirrors	4.8	4.0	3.1	3.7
Exhaust, emissions and leaks	2.8	2.4	2.8	3.1
Body and structure	2.1	2.3	2.8	2.9
Number plates and VIN	0.2	0.3	1.2	1.7
Seat belts and airbags	0.2	0.6	0.1	0.4
Road wheels	0.2	0.4	0.4	0.7

What testers fail most on the Adam at 9 years

Fail items on the Vauxhall Adam at 9 years (n=41,521), per 100 MOTs, with all cars at the same age (n=9,949,012).
Item	Area	Per 100 MOTs	All cars	Typical repair (estimate)
Track rod end: ball joint dust cover excessively damaged or deteriorated so that it no longer prevents the ingress of dirt	Steering	6.0	0.4	£54 to £128 per side (rough guide)
Shock absorber leaking	Suspension	5.8	0.7	£122 to £484 per axle (pair) (rough guide)
Coil spring broken	Suspension	5.8	2.7	£64 to £236 per spring (rough guide)
Tyre tread below 1.6 mm	Tyres	2.5	2.5	£88 to £145 per tyre
Wipers not clearing screen	Windscreen, wipers and mirrors	2.2	1.7	£15 to £30 per blade
Washers: provides insufficient washer liquid	Windscreen, wipers and mirrors	2.0	1.3	£2 to £14 per car (rough guide)
Malfunction indicator lamp: inoperative or indicates a malfunction	Exhaust, emissions and leaks	1.9	0.8	diagnosis from £39 (rough guide)
Dipped headlight not working	Lights and electrics	1.5	1.5	£18 to £86 per lamp
Track rod end: ball joint dust cover insecure so that it no longer prevents the ingress of dirt	Steering	1.4	0.1
Brake pads under 1.5 mm	Brakes	1.4	2.0	£72 to £174 per axle (rough guide)

Early warnings: advisories and minor defects at 9 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 Vauxhall Adam at 9 years (n=41,521), per 100 MOTs, with all cars at the same age (n=9,949,012).
Item	Area	Per 100 MOTs	All cars	If it needs replacing (estimate)
Shock absorbers: has light misting of oil	Suspension	17.0	3.1	£122 to £484 per axle (pair) (rough guide)
Tyre condition: slightly damaged/cracking or perishing	Tyres	14.7	8.5	£88 to £145 per tyre
Tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge	Tyres	14.1	16.4	£88 to £145 per tyre
Track rod end: ball joint dust cover damaged or deteriorated, but preventing the ingress of dirt	Steering	10.4	0.8
Brake discs: worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened	Brakes	8.2	9.2	£148 to £376 per axle (rough guide)
Brake pads: wearing thin	Brakes	5.8	8.3	£72 to £174 per axle (rough guide)
Macpherson strut pins and bushes: pin or bush worn but not resulting in excessive movement	Suspension	3.2	0.3
Sub-frame: corroded but not seriously weakened	Suspension	3.1	0.8
Engine oil leaks: leak, but not excessive	Exhaust, emissions and leaks	2.5	2.5
Coil spring: corroded	Suspension	2.4	2.0

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 9 years. Ages with fewer than 1,000 tests are not shown.
Age	Tests (n)	Suspension	Steering	Lights and electrics
3 years	4,901	1.0		3.5
4 years	10,374	2.4	0.1	4.2
5 years	17,893	4.5	0.3	4.4
6 years	27,441	7.6	1.2	4.9
7 years	33,544	10.0	3.8	5.9
8 years	41,458	11.6	6.6	6.6
9 years	41,521	13.6	8.0	7.6
10 years	32,016	14.9	9.1	8.4
11 years	21,011	16.9	8.1	9.1
12 years	7,567	19.7	2.9	9.5

Mileage

At 9 years, Vauxhall Adam cars showing under 30,000 miles failed 22.1% of MOTs (n=4,474); the band that failed most, 90,000 to 120,000 miles, failed 41.5% (n=2,154). For pass and fail rates by age, see Vauxhall Adam MOT fail rates.

What to check on a viewing

On the Vauxhall Adam, testers most often record track rod end: ball joint dust cover excessively damaged or deteriorated so that it no longer prevents the ingress of dirt; shock absorber leaking; coil spring broken. Look at these first, then the areas below.

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.

Steering

The steering should feel tight with no clunks when you turn from lock to lock.
On a straight road the car should hold its line without constant correction.
Look for split rubber gaiters on the steering rack and track rod ends.

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.

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 Vauxhall Adam?

At 9 years, the age with the most MOT tests (41,521), the fail items testers record most often on the Vauxhall Adam are track rod end: ball joint dust cover excessively damaged or deteriorated so that it no longer prevents the ingress of dirt (6.0 per 100 MOTs), shock absorber leaking (5.8 per 100 MOTs), coil spring broken (5.8 per 100 MOTs). The most common advisories or minor defects are shock absorbers: has light misting of oil (17.0) and tyre condition: slightly damaged/cracking or perishing (14.7).

Which parts of the Vauxhall Adam fail more often than on other cars?

At 9 years: steering (8.0 per 100 MOTs against 1.8 for all cars); suspension (13.6 per 100 MOTs against 7.9 for all cars). Compared with 9,949,012 MOTs of all cars the same age.

Vauxhall Adam problems by area

Other Vauxhall models

All Vauxhall 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 Vauxhall Adam?

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