Common problems

Vauxhall Zafira tyre problems

How often MOT testers find tyre faults on the Vauxhall Zafira at each age, against all cars of the same age, and which items come up most. From 861,172 DVSA MOT tests taken 2022 to 2025.

MOT data updated 28 September 2026

At 10 years, the most tested age

Tyres fails per 100 MOTs (n=90,028)8.3

All cars at 10 years (n=9,049,507)6.9

Tyres advisories and minor defects per 100 MOTs (n=90,028)30.9

All cars, same age (n=9,049,507)26.4

What stands out

At 10 years, 8.3 of every 100 MOTs of the Vauxhall Zafira found a tyre fail (n=90,028), against 6.9 for all cars of that age (n=9,049,507).
It is above the all-car rate at every age with at least 1,000 tests (20 ages).
The gap is widest at 16 years: 10.1 per 100 MOTs against 7.5 for all cars.
The tyre fail item recorded most often at 10 years: tyre tread below 1.6 mm, on 3.0 per 100 MOTs.
The most common tyre advisory or minor defect: tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge, on 21.0 per 100 MOTs.

Tyres fails by age

Solid line: this model. Dashed line: all cars at the same age.

Vauxhall Zafira: tyres fails and advisories per 100 MOTs, by age, against all cars. Ages with fewer than 1,000 tests are not shown.
Age	Tests (n)	Fails	All cars	Advisories	All cars
4 years	5,144	5.8	4.7	21.7	20.4
5 years	17,206	6.4	5.1	27.0	23.3
6 years	29,384	7.4	5.6	27.7	24.3
7 years	44,126	7.8	6.0	29.1	24.8
8 years	67,929	8.2	6.3	29.2	25.2
9 years	85,329	8.1	6.7	30.1	25.8
10 years	90,028	8.3	6.9	30.9	26.4
11 years	87,946	8.8	7.0	31.9	27.2
12 years	78,647	9.1	7.1	33.0	27.7
13 years	60,182	9.7	7.3	33.6	28.1
14 years	61,017	10.0	7.5	34.0	28.4
15 years	60,344	10.0	7.5	34.2	28.5
16 years	50,712	10.1	7.5	33.9	28.4
17 years	41,624	9.4	7.3	33.8	28.1
18 years	31,073	8.6	7.0	32.3	27.6
19 years	20,918	8.1	6.8	30.8	26.9
20 years	14,062	7.3	6.4	31.0	26.1
21 years	8,585	6.8	6.0	29.8	25.2
22 years	4,667	6.4	5.6	29.2	24.2
23 years	2,249	6.9	5.1	28.6	22.8

Tyres fail items at 10 years

Tyres fail items on the Vauxhall Zafira at 10 years (n=90,028), per 100 MOTs, with all cars at the same age (n=9,049,507).
Item	Per 100 MOTs	All cars	Typical repair (estimate)
Tyre tread below 1.6 mm	3.0	2.7	£88 to £145 per tyre
Tyre with cords exposed	2.3	1.4	£88 to £145 per tyre
Tyre condition: has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords	1.6	1.2	£88 to £145 per tyre
Tyre pressure monitoring system: malfunctioning or obviously inoperative	0.7	0.7	£53 to £125 per wheel (rough guide)
Tyre condition: has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure	0.7	0.6	£88 to £145 per tyre

Tyres 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).

Tyres advisories and minor defects on the Vauxhall Zafira at 10 years (n=90,028), per 100 MOTs, with all cars at the same age (n=9,049,507).
Item	Per 100 MOTs	All cars	If it needs replacing (estimate)
Tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge	21.0	17.0	£88 to £145 per tyre
Tyre condition: slightly damaged/cracking or perishing	9.3	8.6	£88 to £145 per tyre
Tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge	2.9	2.2	£88 to £145 per tyre
Tyre condition: has a cut but not deep enough to reach the ply or cords	1.3	1.3	£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.

What to check on a viewing

On the Vauxhall Zafira, the tyre items testers fail most are tyre tread below 1.6 mm; tyre with cords exposed; tyre condition: has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords.

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.

Ask for the car's MOT history: a tyre advisory that repeats from year to year has not been fixed. GOV.UK MOT history.

Questions

What are the common tyre problems on the Vauxhall Zafira?

At 10 years (90,028 MOTs), the tyre fail items testers record most often are tyre tread below 1.6 mm (3.0 per 100 MOTs), tyre with cords exposed (2.3 per 100 MOTs), tyre condition: has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords (1.6 per 100 MOTs). The most common tyre advisories or minor defects are tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge (21.0) and tyre condition: slightly damaged/cracking or perishing (9.3).

Does the Vauxhall Zafira have more tyre problems than other cars?

At 10 years it has 8.3 tyre fails per 100 MOTs against 6.9 for all cars of the same age (1.4 more). It is above the all-car rate at every age with enough tests (20 ages).

What does a tyre repair cost on the Vauxhall Zafira?

For tyre tread below 1.6 mm, an independent garage estimate is £88 to £145 per tyre. This is a guide built from the national median garage labour rate and estimated labour hours, not a quote.

Tyre problems on other Vauxhall models

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 Zafira?

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.

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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