Common problems

Vauxhall Combo common problems

What MOT testers find on the Vauxhall Combo: the parts that fail or get advisories most often at each age, against all cars of the same age. From 423,103 DVSA MOT tests taken 2022 to 2025.

MOT data updated 28 September 2026

At 3 years, the most tested age

Lights and electrics fails per 100 MOTs (n=50,382)11.9

All cars at 3 years (n=8,016,463)2.9

Tyres advisories and minor defects per 100 MOTs (n=50,382)23.0

All cars, same age (n=8,016,463)18.1

What stands out

Lights and electrics fails show up on 11.9 of every 100 MOTs of a Vauxhall Combo at 3 years old (n=50,382), against 2.9 for all cars of that age (n=8,016,463).
The fail item testers record most often at 3 years: wipers not clearing screen, on 8.0 per 100 MOTs (all cars 1.9).
The most common advisory or minor defect: tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge, on 17.6 per 100 MOTs.

Problems by part at 3 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 Combo at 3 years (n=50,382) against all cars at 3 years (n=8,016,463). Per 100 MOTs.
Area	Fails	All cars	Advisories	All cars
Lights and electrics	11.9	2.9	5.1	0.7
Windscreen, wipers and mirrors	11.1	2.8	6.5	2.8
Brakes	6.5	1.7	18.9	8.8
Tyres	5.8	4.8	23.0	18.1
Body and structure	1.3	0.3	2.2	0.3
Exhaust, emissions and leaks	1.2	0.5	1.2	0.4
Suspension	0.6	0.6	1.3	1.9
Number plates and VIN	0.3	0.2	0.9	0.5
Seat belts and airbags	0.3	0.3	0.1	0.1
Road wheels	0.2	0.1	1.3	0.4
Steering	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.1

What testers fail most on the Combo at 3 years

Fail items on the Vauxhall Combo at 3 years (n=50,382), per 100 MOTs, with all cars at the same age (n=8,016,463).
Item	Area	Per 100 MOTs	All cars	Typical repair (estimate)
Wipers not clearing screen	Windscreen, wipers and mirrors	8.0	1.9	£15 to £30 per blade
Brake pads under 1.5 mm	Brakes	4.6	1.0	£72 to £174 per axle (rough guide)
Dipped headlight not working	Lights and electrics	3.5	0.3	£18 to £86 per lamp
Headlight aimed too high	Lights and electrics	3.2	0.9	£16 to £39 per car (rough guide)
Washers: provides insufficient washer liquid	Windscreen, wipers and mirrors	2.4	0.6	£2 to £14 per car (rough guide)
Tyre tread below 1.6 mm	Tyres	2.3	1.3	£88 to £145 per tyre
Tyre condition: has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords	Tyres	2.1	1.8	£88 to £145 per tyre
Registration plate lamp(s): inoperative in the case of a single lamp or all lamps	Lights and electrics	1.7	0.2	£10 to £47 per lamp
Headlamp aim: projected beam image is obviously incorrect	Lights and electrics	1.6	0.1	£16 to £39 per car (rough guide)
Headlamp aim: too low	Lights and electrics	1.3	0.6	£16 to £39 per car (rough guide)

Early warnings: advisories and minor defects at 3 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 Combo at 3 years (n=50,382), per 100 MOTs, with all cars at the same age (n=8,016,463).
Item	Area	Per 100 MOTs	All cars	If it needs replacing (estimate)
Tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge	Tyres	17.6	11.8	£88 to £145 per tyre
Brake pads: wearing thin	Brakes	12.2	4.8	£72 to £174 per axle (rough guide)
Brake discs: worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened	Brakes	8.5	3.9	£148 to £376 per axle (rough guide)
Registration plate lamp(s): inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources	Lights and electrics	3.6	0.3
Windscreen: damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view	Windscreen, wipers and mirrors	3.3	1.5
Wipers: blade defective	Windscreen, wipers and mirrors	2.9	1.2
Nail in tyre	Other	2.8	2.3
Tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge	Tyres	2.6	1.8	£88 to £145 per tyre
Brake discs: worn, but not excessively	Brakes	2.4	1.1	£148 to £376 per axle (rough guide)
Tyre condition: slightly damaged/cracking or perishing	Tyres	2.1	3.7	£88 to £145 per tyre

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 3 years. Ages with fewer than 1,000 tests are not shown.
Age	Tests (n)	Lights and electrics	Windscreen, wipers and mirrors	Brakes
3 years	50,382	11.9	11.1	6.5
4 years	46,051	12.6	12.3	6.1
5 years	36,841	12.9	6.9	5.9
6 years	28,099	14.1	5.3	5.9
7 years	17,843	16.9	5.0	6.2
8 years	19,921	18.3	5.5	6.8
9 years	19,394	18.6	5.3	7.1
10 years	16,965	20.3	6.3	7.4
11 years	19,814	20.0	8.1	8.2
12 years	22,370	19.5	9.2	9.2
13 years	23,186	19.9	10.5	11.5
14 years	25,904	21.0	11.1	13.4
15 years	22,827	22.9	11.8	16.1
16 years	19,627	24.4	12.1	18.4
17 years	17,233	24.9	11.7	19.0
18 years	13,657	26.0	12.1	20.3
19 years	10,476	26.7	12.4	21.2
20 years	6,806	26.5	12.3	20.3
21 years	3,908	27.4	12.1	20.2
22 years	1,799	25.2	11.0	21.5

Mileage

At 3 years, Vauxhall Combo cars showing under 30,000 miles failed 19.9% of MOTs (n=20,260); the band that failed most, 60,000 to 90,000 miles, failed 37.2% (n=5,772). For pass and fail rates by age, see Vauxhall Combo MOT fail rates.

What to check on a viewing

On the Vauxhall Combo, testers most often record wipers not clearing screen; brake pads under 1.5 mm; dipped headlight not working. 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.

Windscreen, wipers and mirrors

Look for chips or cracks in the windscreen, above all in front of the driver.
Run the wipers and washers: they should clear the screen without smearing.
Check that the mirrors are present, secure and not cracked.

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 Combo?

At 3 years, the age with the most MOT tests (50,382), the fail items testers record most often on the Vauxhall Combo are wipers not clearing screen (8.0 per 100 MOTs), brake pads under 1.5 mm (4.6 per 100 MOTs), dipped headlight not working (3.5 per 100 MOTs). The most common advisories or minor defects are tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge (17.6) and brake pads: wearing thin (12.2).

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

At 3 years: lights and electrics (11.9 per 100 MOTs against 2.9 for all cars); windscreen, wipers and mirrors (11.1 per 100 MOTs against 2.8 for all cars); brakes (6.5 per 100 MOTs against 1.7 for all cars). Compared with 8,016,463 MOTs of all cars the same age.

Vauxhall Combo 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 Combo?

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