Model Reports 4 min read Updated 18 Oct 2026

Vauxhall Agila 2003: reliability & common MOT faults

In 2025, 59 in every 100 first MOTs on a 2003 Vauxhall Agila were passes. Most common reason for a fail: Drive shaft joints and boots (front).

Summary

The 2003 Vauxhall Agila follows the pattern of the model years either side.

At a glance

How 1,053 first tests went in 2025.

Passed first time
59 in every 100
Did not pass first time
41 in every 100435 failed first-attempt tests
The typical car
22 yearsabout 74,419 miles
First tests counted
1,053

What failed most often

  1. Drive shaft joints and boots (front)16 in every 100 failed tests
  2. Number plate lights13 in every 100 failed tests
  3. Tyre condition (front)12 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 2003 Vauxhall Agila vehicles in 2025, not a prediction that any one car will have them. Faults are grouped by part of the car. A wear pattern follows age and use more than the way the car was built. They come from MOT defect codes, not manufacturer bulletins, recalls or a diagnosis of any one car.

Suspension

Two faults. The strongest is the wheel bearings (rear): 5.0 times as often as on similar cars.

Figures below are measured across the 434 of 435 failed first attempts (99.8%) that recorded an odometer reading in 2025. Mileage is needed to compare like with like.

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.

Wheel bearings (rear)

Failed on 34 first tests5.0 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

What it means

Excessive play in a wheel bearing, or a bearing that is excessively rough, is Major. Play so excessive that the bearing is likely to break up or directional control is impaired is Dangerous, and so is a bearing so rough that it is likely to overheat or break up.

Suspension arm ball joint (front)

Failed on 38 first tests2.2 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

A suspension arm ball joint is failed under the general suspension pin, bush or joint wording. Excessively worn is Major, and likely to become detached is graded Dangerous.

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

Lamps and electrical

One fault: number plate lights, 4.4 times as often as on similar cars.

Number plate lights

Failed on 58 first tests4.4 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

What it means

Registration plate lamps must light up the rear registration plate and operate at the same time as the position lamps. A missing or inoperative lamp is Major when the plate has only one lamp or all its lamps are not working, and Minor when the plate has several lamps or light sources and not all have failed. A lamp throwing direct white light to the rear is also Minor.

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

Body and structure

One fault: drive shaft joints and boots (front), 2.8 times as often as on similar cars.

Drive shaft joints and boots (front)

Failed on 69 first tests2.8 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

A constant velocity boot that is only severely deteriorated is Minor. It is Major once it is missing, split or insecure so that it no longer prevents the ingress of dirt. A transmission joint excessively worn is Major, and graded Dangerous when it is so worn it is likely to fail.

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

Tyres

One wear pattern: tyre condition (front), 2.5 times as often as on similar cars.

Tyre condition (front)

Failed on 54 first tests2.5 times as often as similar carsWear pattern

What it means

Exposed or damaged ply or cords are graded Dangerous. A cut in excess of the requirements and deep enough to reach the ply or cords is Major, and testers may open the cut with a blunt instrument to check its depth. A tyre contacting the vehicle through flexing or suspension movement is not a defect; fouling fails only at the time of test.

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

Brakes

One fault: rigid brake pipes (rear), 2.3 times as often as on similar cars.

Rigid brake pipes (rear)

Failed on 36 first tests2.3 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

Chafing, corrosion or damage to a rigid brake pipe justifies rejection once its wall thickness is reduced by a set amount, although DVSA accepts this is not easy to determine. If a tester is not sure, the benefit of the doubt applies. A leaking pipe or connection is graded Dangerous on a hydraulic system and Major on an air system.

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.

Suspension arm (rear)

Noted on 43 first tests4.4 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Coil spring (front)

Noted on 46 first tests2.8 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Flexible brake hoses (front)

Noted on 37 first tests2.7 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
59in every 100
Passed on the first test.
Fixed at the station
8in every 100
Failed, then fixed at the test station the same day.
Failed
33in every 100
Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.

First-attempt pass 58.7% of 1,053 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 67.0%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 8 fixed and the 33 not fixed make the 41 in every 100 that did not pass first time.

Same model, other years

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

40608010020032010Older carsNewer cars
40608010020032010Newer 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, 57 in every 100 passed first time.

YearPassed first timeFirst tests
200156 in every 100437
200259 in every 100545
2003 This car59 in every 1001,053
200459 in every 100925
200560 in every 100997
200659 in every 100958
200762 in every 100882
200851 in every 1002,620
200954 in every 1004,933
201058 in every 1003,497
201159 in every 1003,994
201262 in every 1003,792
201367 in every 1003,332
201472 in every 1003,347

FAQs

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

The 2003 Vauxhall Agila follows the pattern of the model years either side. Its main cause of failure was Drive shaft joints and boots (front), about 16 in every 100 failed tests. In 2025, 58.7% of 1,053 first MOTs on the 2003 Vauxhall Agila passed first time (PRS: items fixed at the station the same day, counted as a fail). The official-style rate including PRS is 67.0%. Among 435 failed first-attempt MOT tests (test year 2025), Wheel bearings (rear) appears more often than on similar cars (7.8% of those tests; 34 observed failures; about 5.0× 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 2003 Vauxhall Agila at the first attempt were Drive shaft joints and boots (front) (15.9%), Number plate lights (13.4%) and Tyre condition (front) (12.4%), 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: Wheel bearings (rear) (7.8% of those tests; 34 observed failures; about 5.0× more often than similar cars). These are statistical signals, not a diagnosis of any individual car.
Wheel bearings (rear) shows up more often than on similar cars (7.8% of those tests; 34 observed failures; about 5.0× 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 2003 Vauxhall Agila include Wheel bearings (rear), Number plate lights, Drive shaft joints and boots (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 2003 Vauxhall Agila (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.

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