Common problems

Vauxhall Viva common problems

What MOT testers find on the Vauxhall Viva: the parts that fail or get advisories most often at each age, against all cars of the same age. From 154,054 DVSA MOT tests taken 2022 to 2025.

MOT data updated 28 September 2026

At 7 years, the most tested age

Tyres fails per 100 MOTs (n=34,349)5.8

All cars at 7 years (n=10,537,318)6.0

Tyres advisories and minor defects per 100 MOTs (n=34,349)25.2

All cars, same age (n=10,537,318)24.8

What stands out

Windscreen, wipers and mirrors fails show up on 4.4 of every 100 MOTs of a Vauxhall Viva at 7 years old (n=34,349), against 3.4 for all cars of that age (n=10,537,318).
Lights and electrics fails are less common: 3.0 per 100 MOTs against 5.8 for all cars at the same age.
The fail item testers record most often at 7 years: wipers not clearing screen, on 2.9 per 100 MOTs (all cars 1.7).
The most common advisory or minor defect: tyre condition: slightly damaged/cracking or perishing, on 15.2 per 100 MOTs.

Problems by part at 7 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 Viva at 7 years (n=34,349) against all cars at 7 years (n=10,537,318). Per 100 MOTs.
Area	Fails	All cars	Advisories	All cars
Tyres	5.8	6.0	25.2	24.8
Windscreen, wipers and mirrors	4.4	3.4	3.0	3.3
Lights and electrics	3.0	5.8	2.0	2.5
Suspension	2.3	4.4	5.4	8.7
Brakes	2.0	4.1	9.3	17.9
Body and structure	1.4	1.3	7.2	1.6
Exhaust, emissions and leaks	1.1	1.7	3.1	1.7
Steering	0.6	0.8	1.3	1.1
Number plates and VIN	0.1	0.2	1.0	1.2
Seat belts and airbags	0.1	0.4	0.7	0.3
Road wheels	0.1	0.3	0.6	0.6

What testers fail most on the Viva at 7 years

Fail items on the Vauxhall Viva at 7 years (n=34,349), per 100 MOTs, with all cars at the same age (n=10,537,318).
Item	Area	Per 100 MOTs	All cars	Typical repair (estimate)
Wipers not clearing screen	Windscreen, wipers and mirrors	2.9	1.7	£15 to £30 per blade
Tyre pressure monitoring system: malfunctioning or obviously inoperative	Tyres	1.7	0.7	£53 to £125 per wheel (rough guide)
Tyre tread below 1.6 mm	Tyres	1.3	2.2	£88 to £145 per tyre
Tyre condition: has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords	Tyres	1.2	1.3	£88 to £145 per tyre
Washers: provides insufficient washer liquid	Windscreen, wipers and mirrors	1.1	1.0	£2 to £14 per car (rough guide)
Brake pads under 1.5 mm	Brakes	1.0	2.0	£72 to £174 per axle (rough guide)
Tyre with cords exposed	Tyres	0.8	1.1	£88 to £145 per tyre
Exhaust system: system insecure	Body and structure	0.8	0.1	£28 to £108 per car (rough guide)
Tyre condition: has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure	Tyres	0.8	0.5	£88 to £145 per tyre
Malfunction indicator lamp: inoperative or indicates a malfunction	Exhaust, emissions and leaks	0.8	0.6	diagnosis from £39 (rough guide)

Early warnings: advisories and minor defects at 7 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 Viva at 7 years (n=34,349), per 100 MOTs, with all cars at the same age (n=10,537,318).
Item	Area	Per 100 MOTs	All cars	If it needs replacing (estimate)
Tyre condition: slightly damaged/cracking or perishing	Tyres	15.2	8.9	£88 to £145 per tyre
Tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge	Tyres	10.4	15.0	£88 to £145 per tyre
Exhaust system: mounting defective	Body and structure	6.2	0.4	£28 to £108 per car (rough guide)
Brake pads: wearing thin	Brakes	5.8	9.0	£72 to £174 per axle (rough guide)
Suspension arm pins and bushes: pin or bush worn but not resulting in excessive movement	Suspension	3.0	3.0	£92 to £237 per arm (rough guide)
Engine oil leaks: leak, but not excessive	Exhaust, emissions and leaks	2.7	1.4
Brake discs: worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened	Brakes	2.3	8.0	£148 to £376 per axle (rough guide)
Nail in tyre	Other	2.0	2.0
Wipers: blade defective	Windscreen, wipers and mirrors	1.7	1.0
Child Seat fitted not allowing full inspection of adult belt	Other	1.5	2.4

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 7 years. Ages with fewer than 1,000 tests are not shown.
Age	Tests (n)	Tyres	Windscreen, wipers and mirrors	Lights and electrics
3 years	4,245	1.4	5.3	1.7
4 years	9,730	2.6	8.3	1.7
5 years	19,411	4.3	6.0	2.1
6 years	33,395	5.1	4.7	2.5
7 years	34,349	5.8	4.4	3.0
8 years	28,827	7.5	4.7	3.5
9 years	18,971	12.1	5.1	4.6
10 years	5,126	16.2	5.4	4.0

Mileage

At 7 years, Vauxhall Viva cars showing under 30,000 miles failed 11.5% of MOTs (n=14,750); the band that failed most, 60,000 to 90,000 miles, failed 25.7% (n=3,273). For pass and fail rates by age, see Vauxhall Viva MOT fail rates.

What to check on a viewing

On the Vauxhall Viva, testers most often record wipers not clearing screen; tyre pressure monitoring system: malfunctioning or obviously inoperative; tyre tread below 1.6 mm. Look at these first, then the areas below.

Tyres

Check the tread across the full width of all four tyres, and the spare if there is one.
Look for cuts, bulges and cracking in the sidewalls.
Wear on one edge only can point to worn suspension or the tracking being out.

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.

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 Viva?

At 7 years, the age with the most MOT tests (34,349), the fail items testers record most often on the Vauxhall Viva are wipers not clearing screen (2.9 per 100 MOTs), tyre pressure monitoring system: malfunctioning or obviously inoperative (1.7 per 100 MOTs), tyre tread below 1.6 mm (1.3 per 100 MOTs). The most common advisories or minor defects are tyre condition: slightly damaged/cracking or perishing (15.2) and tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge (10.4).

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

At 7 years: windscreen, wipers and mirrors (4.4 per 100 MOTs against 3.4 for all cars). Compared with 10,537,318 MOTs of all cars the same age.

Vauxhall Viva 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 Viva?

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