Model Reports 4 min read Updated 18 Oct 2026

Vauxhall Adam 2019: reliability & common MOT faults

In 2025, 78 in every 100 first MOTs on a 2019 Vauxhall Adam were passes. Most common reason for a fail: Shock absorbers (front).

Summary

A 2019 Vauxhall Adam passed first time about 7 in every 100 more often than the 2018 model year next to it.

At a glance

How 4,644 first tests went in 2025.

Passed first time
78 in every 100
Did not pass first time
22 in every 1001,017 failed first-attempt tests
The typical car
6 yearsabout 30,969 miles
First tests counted
4,644

What failed most often

  1. Shock absorbers (front)23 in every 100 failed tests
  2. Coil spring (front)10 in every 100 failed tests
  3. Brake pads (front)9 in every 100 failed tests

How we count this. Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Only Class 4 cars on their first MOT of the year are counted. A car that fails and is fixed at the test station still counts as a fail in the first-attempt rate. These are raw results, not adjusted for age, mileage, or peer mix. The MOT does not test engine or gearbox internals.

Note:

These are patterns across 2019 Vauxhall Adam vehicles in 2025, not a prediction that any one car will have them. Faults are grouped by part of the car. They come from MOT defect codes, not manufacturer bulletins, recalls or a diagnosis of any one car.

Suspension

Three faults. The strongest is the shock absorbers (front): 28 times as often as on similar cars.

Figures below are measured across the 1,017 failed first attempts in 2025 that had a mileage recorded, which allows a like-for-like comparison.

We only list faults with at least 20 failures and a rate of about 2.0 times that of similar cars, which keeps one-off results out of the list.

Shock absorbers (front)

Failed on 238 first tests28 times as often as similar carsStrong evidence

What it means

Slight seepage that leaves a film of fluid on a shock absorber does not fail it. Severe leakage, or damage so that it does not function, is Major. A shock absorber missing or likely to become detached is graded Dangerous, though a missing one is only rejected if shock absorbers were fitted as standard.

Also noted as an advisory

Testers also noted it as an advisory, worn but not yet failing, on 113 first tests, 6.3 times as often as on similar cars.

Macpherson strut (front)

Failed on 35 first tests27 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

What it means

Many MacPherson strut top bushes are designed to have significant lateral play when the suspension hangs free, so a top bush is rejected only when the play comes from wear or maladjustment. A top bush or bearing with excessive wear or free play is Major. Rubber or synthetic bushes are rejected only for serious deterioration of the bonding or flexible material.

Coil spring (front)

Failed on 101 first tests4.1 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

What it means

A missing bump stop rubber is not a reason to fail a coil spring. When the vehicle is jacked and lowered, a spring that does not correctly locate as the suspension returns to its normal running position is rejected as insecurely attached. A missing spring is Major, and graded Dangerous where directional control is affected.

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage. Advisories count notes recorded on failed first tests only.

Lamps and electrical

Two faults. The strongest is the individual direction indicators (front): 19 times as often as on similar cars.

Individual direction indicators (front)

Failed on 30 first tests19 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

What it means

Direction indicators must be amber, though vehicles first used before a set date may have white at the front and red at the rear when the indicators are combined with stop or position lamps, and sequential or dynamic ones are not a reason to fail. A lamp that is missing, inoperative or has more than half of a multiple light source not functioning is graded Major. A flashing rate outside the permitted range is graded Minor.

Rear fog light

Failed on 53 first tests9.6 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

What it means

A missing obligatory rear fog lamp, one that is not working, or one that does not emit a steady red light is graded Major. A rear fog lamp adversely affected by the operation of any other lamp is Major too. The manual allows it to go out when main beam is switched on or when dipped beam headlamps are switched off.

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage.

Advisories

Other things testers noted as worn or close to failing, more often than on similar cars.

An advisory is a note from the tester about something that has not failed yet. It is an early warning, not a fail. Advisories for the faults above are shown with those faults.

Macpherson strut pins and bushes (front)

Noted on 43 first tests21 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Shock absorbers (rear)

Noted on 47 first tests4.8 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Counts cover advisories recorded on failed first tests only, compared with cars of the same age and mileage.

MOT pass rates

How first tests ended, and how the pass rates are counted.

Passed first time
78in every 100
Passed on the first test.
Fixed at the station
5in every 100
Failed, then fixed at the test station the same day.
Failed
17in every 100
Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.

First-attempt pass 78.1% of 4,644 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 83.1%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 5 fixed and the 17 not fixed make the 22 in every 100 that did not pass first time.

Same model, other years

Passed first time in every 100, all tested in 2025.

4060801002013201420152016201720182019Older cars
4060801002019Older cars

Newer cars are younger, so look for a jump rather than the climb. A year earlier (2024), when these cars were a year younger, 80 in every 100 passed first time.

YearPassed first timeFirst tests
201362 in every 1007,094
201461 in every 10012,491
201563 in every 10010,267
201665 in every 1008,975
201766 in every 1007,197
201871 in every 1005,251
2019 This car78 in every 1004,644

If you are buying one

What this year's MOT record means for the decision in front of you.

Mileage matters most on a 2019 Adam.

Of 2019 Adam vehicles with under 19,000 miles, 88 in every 100 passed their 2025 MOT first time. With 44,000 miles or more, 67 in every 100 did.

Under 19,000922 tests
88
19,000–27,000926 tests
83
27,000–35,000 Typical car962 tests
78
35,000–44,000872 tests
74
44,000 and over962 tests
67

What to check at your mileage

How often each fault turned up on a failed first test, by the car's mileage. Read it as: what is likely to need looking at on a car like the one in front of you.

Under 19,00027,000–35,00044,000 and over
Shock absorbers (front)0.74.112.3
Coil spring (front)1.72.22.1
Brake pads (front)0.23.22.5
Windscreen washers1.02.12.7
Tyre tread depth (front)0.01.73.7

Faults per 100 first tests, by the car's mileage at the test.

When a car fails

54in every 100

of failed cars had one item to fix.

19in every 100

of failed cars had three or more items to fix.

5in every 100

of all first tests had a defect the tester marked dangerous (unsafe to drive away).

Every figure here is a first-attempt MOT rate from DVSA open data for this model line, for cars of this model year tested in 2025. Each mileage band holds a fifth of the tests. MOTs do not test engine or gearbox internals, so this is a pre-purchase checklist, not a full reliability score.

FAQs

Short answers about how to read this model-year guide.

A 2019 Vauxhall Adam passed first time about 7 in every 100 more often than the 2018 model year next to it. In 2025, 78.1% of 4,644 first MOTs on the 2019 Vauxhall Adam passed first time (PRS: items fixed at the station the same day, counted as a fail). The official-style rate including PRS is 83.1%. Among 1,017 failed first-attempt MOT tests (test year 2025), Shock absorbers (front) appears more often than on similar cars (23.4% of those tests; 238 observed failures; about 28× more often than similar cars). There is no single reliability score here; this is a pre-purchase checklist built from DVSA open data, not a guarantee for any individual car.
Ranked by how often they were actually recorded, the items that most often failed a 2019 Vauxhall Adam at the first attempt were Shock absorbers (front) (23.4%), Coil spring (front) (9.9%) and Brake pads (front) (8.6%), each as a share of the year's failed first attempts. That is what goes wrong most often on the car. The common faults table shows a different measure: faults that are unusual compared with similar cars.
Among failed first-attempt tests we highlight patterns that appear more often than on similar cars. Top example: Shock absorbers (front) (23.4% of those tests; 238 observed failures; about 28× more often than similar cars). These are statistical signals, not a diagnosis of any individual car.
Shock absorbers (front) shows up more often than on similar cars (23.4% of those tests; 238 observed failures; about 28× more often than similar cars). That does not prove a design fault. Age, mileage, and how the car was used still matter. Treat it as a pre-purchase checkpoint, not a manufacturer service bulletin.
Common MOT problem areas for the 2019 Vauxhall Adam include Shock absorbers (front), Macpherson strut (front), Individual direction indicators (front). These are the faults that stand out compared with similar cars, not a complete list of what can go wrong on any individual car.
Advisories flag issues noted at the test and are not a fail rate. We show advisory patterns that appear more often than on similar cars among failed first-attempt tests, separate from common failure rows. Use them as early-warning checks, not as a pass/fail score.
This page highlights MOT failure patterns for the 2019 Vauxhall Adam (registration year) using UK DVSA open data for the selected test year. Patterns are compared with cars of a similar age and mileage. It is a buyer checklist from MOT defect statistics, not a full service history or manufacturer service-bulletin list.
No. MOT tests do not cover engine internals, gearboxes, or many electronic modules. Patterns here come from MOT defect statistics only and should not be read as engine or gearbox reliability scores.

About this data

How this page is built and what it can (and can't) say.

These figures come from UK MOT open data for this model year. We surface common failure patterns against similar cars, not a full reliability score, and not a pass/fail verdict on any individual vehicle.

2024 2025

What we include

UK Class 4 cars only. Normal MOT tests (not retests); first test per vehicle per calendar year; results pass, PRS, or fail.

Same-day repairs

PRS means the car failed items that were fixed at the test station and then passed the same day. We count PRS as a first-attempt fail in headline rates so same-day repairs do not hide problems.

How we compare

We compare this model year with other Class 4 cars of similar age and mileage in the same test year. This model family is left out of the peer group so the car is not measured against itself.

What this does not cover

  • MOTs do not cover engine internals, gearboxes, or many electronics; this is not a full reliability score.
  • Common faults come from MOT defect stats, not manufacturer TSBs or recalls.
  • Age and mileage matching reduces, but does not remove, differences in how cars were used and maintained.
  • If the data for a car is too thin to say anything useful, we say so rather than guess.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Check any vehicle’s MOT history

Full MOT history, mileage records, and reliability insights for any UK vehicle.

Run a free check