Common problems

Vauxhall Agila common problems

What MOT testers find on the Vauxhall Agila: the parts that fail or get advisories most often at each age, against all cars of the same age. From 144,956 DVSA MOT tests taken 2022 to 2025.

MOT data updated 28 September 2026

At 13 years, the most tested age

Suspension fails per 100 MOTs (n=18,365)22.2

All cars at 13 years (n=6,612,160)14.9

Brakes advisories and minor defects per 100 MOTs (n=18,365)35.6

All cars, same age (n=6,612,160)25.0

What stands out

Suspension fails show up on 22.2 of every 100 MOTs of a Vauxhall Agila at 13 years old (n=18,365), against 14.9 for all cars of that age (n=6,612,160).
Lights and electrics fails are less common: 11.0 per 100 MOTs against 17.0 for all cars at the same age.
The fail item testers record most often at 13 years: coil spring broken, on 7.7 per 100 MOTs (all cars 4.1).
The most common advisory or minor defect: rigid brake pipes: corroded, covered in grease or other material, on 21.6 per 100 MOTs.

Problems by part at 13 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 Agila at 13 years (n=18,365) against all cars at 13 years (n=6,612,160). Per 100 MOTs.
Area	Fails	All cars	Advisories	All cars
Suspension	22.2	14.9	29.3	27.9
Brakes	14.6	9.1	35.6	25.0
Lights and electrics	11.0	17.0	8.0	10.8
Windscreen, wipers and mirrors	7.2	5.6	5.0	4.7
Tyres	5.5	7.3	27.8	28.1
Body and structure	2.5	5.0	4.6	8.0
Exhaust, emissions and leaks	2.2	4.3	4.1	8.2
Seat belts and airbags	0.7	1.2	0.2	0.7
Steering	0.6	2.9	0.7	3.5
Number plates and VIN	0.3	0.4	3.1	3.4
Road wheels	0.1	0.5	0.6	1.3

What testers fail most on the Agila at 13 years

Fail items on the Vauxhall Agila at 13 years (n=18,365), per 100 MOTs, with all cars at the same age (n=6,612,160).
Item	Area	Per 100 MOTs	All cars	Typical repair (estimate)
Coil spring broken	Suspension	7.7	4.1	£64 to £236 per spring (rough guide)
Suspension ball joint worn	Suspension	6.7	2.5	£75 to £237 per side (rough guide)
Wipers not clearing screen	Windscreen, wipers and mirrors	4.6	2.1	£15 to £30 per blade
Service brake performance: excessively binding	Brakes	4.2	1.1	£55 to £267 per wheel (rough guide)
Rigid brake pipes: excessively corroded	Brakes	3.7	0.9	£137 to £392 per car (rough guide)
Handbrake too weak	Brakes	3.0	1.7
Brake light not working	Lights and electrics	3.0	3.1	£10 to £47 per lamp
Side/position light not working	Lights and electrics	2.4	4.8	£10 to £47 per lamp
Tyre tread below 1.6 mm	Tyres	2.4	3.0	£88 to £145 per tyre
Suspension arm bush worn	Suspension	2.4	2.0	£92 to £237 per arm (rough guide)

Early warnings: advisories and minor defects at 13 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 Agila at 13 years (n=18,365), per 100 MOTs, with all cars at the same age (n=6,612,160).
Item	Area	Per 100 MOTs	All cars	If it needs replacing (estimate)
Rigid brake pipes: corroded, covered in grease or other material	Brakes	21.6	5.1	£137 to £392 per car (rough guide)
Tyre condition: slightly damaged/cracking or perishing	Tyres	14.8	9.1	£88 to £145 per tyre
Tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge	Tyres	14.1	18.2	£88 to £145 per tyre
Suspension arm pins and bushes: pin or bush worn but not resulting in excessive movement	Suspension	11.6	8.0	£92 to £237 per arm (rough guide)
Brake discs: worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened	Brakes	6.8	10.6	£148 to £376 per axle (rough guide)
Service brake performance: binding but not excessively	Brakes	5.0	2.0	£55 to £267 per wheel (rough guide)
Flexible brake hoses: has slight corrosion to ferrule	Brakes	4.1	1.2
Macpherson strut pins and bushes: pin or bush worn but not resulting in excessive movement	Suspension	3.7	0.5
Brake pads: wearing thin	Brakes	3.7	7.3	£72 to £174 per axle (rough guide)
Individual direction indicators: slightly discoloured	Lights and electrics	3.5	1.7	£10 to £47 per lamp

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 13 years. Ages with fewer than 1,000 tests are not shown.
Age	Tests (n)	Suspension	Brakes	Lights and electrics
8 years	3,784	7.1	6.2	4.9
9 years	7,329	9.6	7.0	6.2
10 years	11,387	12.4	8.8	7.9
11 years	15,492	15.9	10.1	8.5
12 years	16,023	18.7	12.2	10.1
13 years	18,365	22.2	14.6	11.0
14 years	17,263	23.6	15.5	11.1
15 years	13,764	23.8	15.8	13.1
16 years	10,826	22.4	15.3	14.5
17 years	6,728	17.9	12.7	16.6
18 years	5,141	10.5	10.4	17.1
19 years	5,486	11.8	10.3	17.7
20 years	4,814	12.8	11.4	18.4
21 years	4,071	12.7	12.2	18.4
22 years	2,948	13.2	13.7	18.8
23 years	1,535	13.4	13.4	20.0

Mileage

At 13 years, Vauxhall Agila cars showing under 30,000 miles failed 23.0% of MOTs (n=2,252); the band that failed most, 90,000 to 120,000 miles, failed 52.5% (n=2,239). For pass and fail rates by age, see Vauxhall Agila MOT fail rates.

What to check on a viewing

On the Vauxhall Agila, testers most often record coil spring broken; suspension ball joint worn; wipers not clearing screen. 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.

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.

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 Agila?

At 13 years, the age with the most MOT tests (18,365), the fail items testers record most often on the Vauxhall Agila are coil spring broken (7.7 per 100 MOTs), suspension ball joint worn (6.7 per 100 MOTs), wipers not clearing screen (4.6 per 100 MOTs). The most common advisories or minor defects are rigid brake pipes: corroded, covered in grease or other material (21.6) and tyre condition: slightly damaged/cracking or perishing (14.8).

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

At 13 years: suspension (22.2 per 100 MOTs against 14.9 for all cars); brakes (14.6 per 100 MOTs against 9.1 for all cars); windscreen, wipers and mirrors (7.2 per 100 MOTs against 5.6 for all cars). Compared with 6,612,160 MOTs of all cars the same age.

Vauxhall Agila 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 Agila?

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