Common problems

Vauxhall Tigra common problems

What MOT testers find on the Vauxhall Tigra: the parts that fail or get advisories most often at each age, against all cars of the same age. From 28,719 DVSA MOT tests taken 2022 to 2025. These figures cover cars first used 2004 or later. Earlier cars sold under the same name are not included.

MOT data updated 28 September 2026

At 16 years, the most tested age

Brakes fails per 100 MOTs (n=6,459)20.8

All cars at 16 years (n=4,858,625)11.6

Brakes advisories and minor defects per 100 MOTs (n=6,459)35.3

All cars, same age (n=4,858,625)29.5

What stands out

Brakes fails show up on 20.8 of every 100 MOTs of a Vauxhall Tigra at 16 years old (n=6,459), against 11.6 for all cars of that age (n=4,858,625).
Lights and electrics fails are less common: 17.7 per 100 MOTs against 20.4 for all cars at the same age.
The fail item testers record most often at 16 years: handbrake too weak, on 8.1 per 100 MOTs (all cars 2.5).
The most common advisory or minor defect: exhaust system: has a minor leak of exhaust gases, on 15.7 per 100 MOTs.

Problems by part at 16 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 Tigra at 16 years (n=6,459) against all cars at 16 years (n=4,858,625). Per 100 MOTs.
Area	Fails	All cars	Advisories	All cars
Brakes	20.8	11.6	35.3	29.5
Suspension	20.1	17.1	31.0	33.7
Lights and electrics	17.7	20.4	8.7	15.3
Body and structure	10.5	7.6	22.1	12.6
Tyres	10.0	7.5	28.9	28.4
Windscreen, wipers and mirrors	8.9	6.8	4.4	5.7
Exhaust, emissions and leaks	6.8	6.2	15.5	12.0
Steering	6.1	3.4	6.9	4.6
Number plates and VIN	0.6	0.6	4.2	4.8
Seat belts and airbags	0.3	2.1	0.2	1.1
Road wheels	0.3	0.6	1.0	1.5

What testers fail most on the Tigra at 16 years

Fail items on the Vauxhall Tigra at 16 years (n=6,459), per 100 MOTs, with all cars at the same age (n=4,858,625).
Item	Area	Per 100 MOTs	All cars	Typical repair (estimate)
Handbrake too weak	Brakes	8.1	2.5
Coil spring broken	Suspension	6.9	3.9	£64 to £236 per spring (rough guide)
Driveshaft CV boot split	Body and structure	5.5	2.9	£88 to £196 per boot (rough guide)
Steering track rod end: ball joint play	Steering	4.8	1.9	£54 to £128 per side (rough guide)
Rigid brake pipes: excessively corroded	Brakes	3.9	1.6	£137 to £392 per car (rough guide)
Wipers not clearing screen	Windscreen, wipers and mirrors	3.9	2.6	£15 to £30 per blade
Linkage ball joint dust cover: ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt	Suspension	3.6	1.8	£33 to £102 per link (rough guide)
Side/position light not working	Lights and electrics	3.3	5.9	£10 to £47 per lamp
Rbt (sp): efficiency less than 50% of the required value	Brakes	3.2	0.7
Exhaust system: has a major leak of exhaust gases	Body and structure	3.1	1.8	£182 to £263 per section

Early warnings: advisories and minor defects at 16 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 Tigra at 16 years (n=6,459), per 100 MOTs, with all cars at the same age (n=4,858,625).
Item	Area	Per 100 MOTs	All cars	If it needs replacing (estimate)
Exhaust system: has a minor leak of exhaust gases	Body and structure	15.7	4.6	£182 to £263 per section
Tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge	Tyres	15.4	18.2	£88 to £145 per tyre
Engine oil leaks: leak, but not excessive	Exhaust, emissions and leaks	14.8	10.7
Rigid brake pipes: corroded, covered in grease or other material	Brakes	14.6	8.8	£137 to £392 per car (rough guide)
Brake discs: worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened	Brakes	13.5	11.2	£148 to £376 per axle (rough guide)
Tyre condition: slightly damaged/cracking or perishing	Tyres	13.1	9.5	£88 to £145 per tyre
Play in steering rack inner joint(s)	Other	7.2	3.0
Suspension arm pins and bushes: pin or bush worn but not resulting in excessive movement	Suspension	5.6	8.7	£92 to £237 per arm (rough guide)
Shock absorbers: has light misting of oil	Suspension	5.5	4.1	£122 to £484 per axle (pair) (rough guide)
Sub-frame: corroded but not seriously weakened	Suspension	5.4	5.3

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 16 years. Ages with fewer than 1,000 tests are not shown.
Age	Tests (n)	Brakes	Suspension	Lights and electrics
13 years	2,025	18.0	18.3	15.5
14 years	3,421	18.9	20.0	17.7
15 years	4,929	19.2	18.7	17.9
16 years	6,459	20.8	20.1	17.7
17 years	5,651	20.3	19.3	19.3
18 years	4,005	20.8	19.2	18.2
19 years	2,229	17.7	18.8	16.8

Mileage

At 16 years, Vauxhall Tigra cars showing 30,000 to 60,000 miles failed 41.1% of MOTs (n=1,537); the band that failed most, 90,000 to 120,000 miles, failed 55.9% (n=1,418). For pass and fail rates by age, see MOT fail rates by model.

What to check on a viewing

On the Vauxhall Tigra, testers most often record handbrake too weak; coil spring broken; driveshaft CV boot split. Look at these first, then the areas below.

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.

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.

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 Tigra?

At 16 years, the age with the most MOT tests (6,459), the fail items testers record most often on the Vauxhall Tigra are handbrake too weak (8.1 per 100 MOTs), coil spring broken (6.9 per 100 MOTs), driveshaft CV boot split (5.5 per 100 MOTs). The most common advisories or minor defects are exhaust system: has a minor leak of exhaust gases (15.7) and tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge (15.4).

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

At 16 years: brakes (20.8 per 100 MOTs against 11.6 for all cars); suspension (20.1 per 100 MOTs against 17.1 for all cars); body and structure (10.5 per 100 MOTs against 7.6 for all cars). Compared with 4,858,625 MOTs of all cars the same age.

Vauxhall Tigra 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 Tigra?

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