Common problems

Vauxhall Antara common problems

What MOT testers find on the Vauxhall Antara: the parts that fail or get advisories most often at each age, against all cars of the same age. From 83,963 DVSA MOT tests taken 2022 to 2025.

MOT data updated 28 September 2026

At 10 years, the most tested age

Lights and electrics fails per 100 MOTs (n=18,579)26.1

All cars at 10 years (n=9,049,507)11.2

Brakes advisories and minor defects per 100 MOTs (n=18,579)28.2

All cars, same age (n=9,049,507)21.6

What stands out

Lights and electrics fails show up on 26.1 of every 100 MOTs of a Vauxhall Antara at 10 years old (n=18,579), against 11.2 for all cars of that age (n=9,049,507).
The fail item testers record most often at 10 years: side/position light not working, on 9.9 per 100 MOTs (all cars 2.4).
The most common advisory or minor defect: tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge, on 20.0 per 100 MOTs.

Problems by part at 10 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 Antara at 10 years (n=18,579) against all cars at 10 years (n=9,049,507). Per 100 MOTs.
Area	Fails	All cars	Advisories	All cars
Lights and electrics	26.1	11.2	12.1	5.9
Suspension	12.8	9.7	26.0	18.2
Brakes	10.3	6.5	28.2	21.6
Tyres	8.0	6.9	28.2	26.4
Exhaust, emissions and leaks	5.7	2.8	19.5	4.0
Windscreen, wipers and mirrors	5.5	4.4	3.3	3.9
Body and structure	2.4	2.9	4.4	3.9
Steering	1.5	2.1	3.3	2.4
Seat belts and airbags	0.7	0.7	2.5	0.4
Number plates and VIN	0.4	0.3	3.0	2.0
Road wheels	0.3	0.4	0.1	0.8

What testers fail most on the Antara at 10 years

Fail items on the Vauxhall Antara at 10 years (n=18,579), per 100 MOTs, with all cars at the same age (n=9,049,507).
Item	Area	Per 100 MOTs	All cars	Typical repair (estimate)
Side/position light not working	Lights and electrics	9.9	2.4	£10 to £47 per lamp
Brake light not working	Lights and electrics	7.9	2.0	£10 to £47 per lamp
Reversing lamps: inoperative	Lights and electrics	4.6	0.2	£10 to £47 per lamp
Suspension arm bush worn	Suspension	4.5	1.4	£92 to £237 per arm (rough guide)
Tyre tread below 1.6 mm	Tyres	4.0	2.7	£88 to £145 per tyre
Coil spring broken	Suspension	4.0	3.2	£64 to £236 per spring (rough guide)
Registration plate lamp(s): inoperative in the case of a single lamp or all lamps	Lights and electrics	3.3	1.2	£10 to £47 per lamp
Dipped headlight not working	Lights and electrics	3.3	1.7	£18 to £86 per lamp
Brake pads under 1.5 mm	Brakes	3.1	2.1	£72 to £174 per axle (rough guide)
Wipers not clearing screen	Windscreen, wipers and mirrors	2.8	1.8	£15 to £30 per blade

Early warnings: advisories and minor defects at 10 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 Antara at 10 years (n=18,579), per 100 MOTs, with all cars at the same age (n=9,049,507).
Item	Area	Per 100 MOTs	All cars	If it needs replacing (estimate)
Tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge	Tyres	20.0	17.0	£88 to £145 per tyre
Engine oil leaks: leak, but not excessive	Exhaust, emissions and leaks	18.8	3.4
Brake pads: wearing thin	Brakes	12.3	8.1	£72 to £174 per axle (rough guide)
Suspension arm pins and bushes: pin or bush worn but not resulting in excessive movement	Suspension	11.2	5.8	£92 to £237 per arm (rough guide)
Brake discs: worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened	Brakes	10.9	9.6	£148 to £376 per axle (rough guide)
Registration plate lamp(s): inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources	Lights and electrics	9.3	3.2
Shock absorbers: has light misting of oil	Suspension	8.2	3.4	£122 to £484 per axle (pair) (rough guide)
Tyre condition: slightly damaged/cracking or perishing	Tyres	8.0	8.6	£88 to £145 per tyre
Rigid brake pipes: corroded, covered in grease or other material	Brakes	7.5	2.8	£137 to £392 per car (rough guide)
Sub-frame: corroded but not seriously weakened	Suspension	3.3	1.4

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 10 years. Ages with fewer than 1,000 tests are not shown.
Age	Tests (n)	Lights and electrics	Suspension	Brakes
7 years	3,018	20.2	8.3	6.2
8 years	5,771	22.6	10.1	7.7
9 years	13,141	25.6	11.2	9.2
10 years	18,579	26.1	12.8	10.3
11 years	16,630	27.1	14.9	12.0
12 years	13,330	27.7	16.3	13.1
13 years	7,262	26.6	17.6	13.7
14 years	2,667	23.7	19.0	16.8
15 years	2,145	22.1	19.7	17.6
16 years	1,420	23.1	20.0	20.0

Mileage

At 10 years, Vauxhall Antara cars showing 30,000 to 60,000 miles failed 35.2% of MOTs (n=3,705); the band that failed most, 90,000 to 120,000 miles, failed 48.7% (n=4,413). For pass and fail rates by age, see Vauxhall Antara MOT fail rates.

What to check on a viewing

On the Vauxhall Antara, testers most often record side/position light not working; brake light not working; reversing lamps: inoperative. 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 Vauxhall Antara?

At 10 years, the age with the most MOT tests (18,579), the fail items testers record most often on the Vauxhall Antara are side/position light not working (9.9 per 100 MOTs), brake light not working (7.9 per 100 MOTs), reversing lamps: inoperative (4.6 per 100 MOTs). The most common advisories or minor defects are tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge (20.0) and engine oil leaks: leak, but not excessive (18.8).

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

At 10 years: lights and electrics (26.1 per 100 MOTs against 11.2 for all cars); brakes (10.3 per 100 MOTs against 6.5 for all cars); suspension (12.8 per 100 MOTs against 9.7 for all cars). Compared with 9,049,507 MOTs of all cars the same age.

Vauxhall Antara 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 Antara?

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