At a glance
How 3,497 first tests went in 2025.
- Passed first time
- 58 in every 100
- Did not pass first time
- 42 in every 1001,468 failed first-attempt tests
- The typical car
- 15 yearsabout 63,457 miles
- First tests counted
- 3,497
What failed most often
- Coil spring (front)18 in every 100 failed tests
- Suspension arm ball joint (front)15 in every 100 failed tests
- Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test)11 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.
These are patterns across 2010 Vauxhall Agila 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.
Brakes
Eight faults. The strongest is the brake hand lever: 5.1 times as often as on similar cars.
Figures below are measured across the 1,468 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.
Brake hand lever
What it means
A brake lever is failed for insufficient reserve only if it is touching the floor or handlebar. On motorcycle derived systems the lever may touch the handlebar, so the extent of reserve travel is assessed during the brake test. A lever not releasing correctly is Minor, and Major where the functionality of the brakes is affected.
Brake performance (plate test, rear)
Also noted as an advisory
Testers also noted it as an advisory, worn but not yet failing, on 26 first tests, 3.0 times as often as on similar cars.
Handbrake lever
Rigid brake pipes (rear)
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.
Also noted as an advisory
Testers also noted it as an advisory, worn but not yet failing, on 305 first tests, 4.9 times as often as on similar cars.
Brake performance (roller test, rear)
Also noted as an advisory
Testers also noted it as an advisory, worn but not yet failing, on 113 first tests, 3.0 times as often as on similar cars.
Brake imbalance across an axle (roller test, efficiency check, rear)
What it means
A wheel giving less than a set share of the maximum effort from the other wheel on the same axle is Major. On a steered axle, less than half is graded Dangerous. Testers disregard an imbalance if the lower effort is the result of a locked wheel, or if the higher effort from a wheel is at or below a low set figure.
Rigid brake pipes (front)
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.
Also noted as an advisory
Testers also noted it as an advisory, worn but not yet failing, on 163 first tests, 3.9 times as often as on similar cars.
Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test)
What it means
A parking brake with efficiency below the minimum requirement is Major, and graded Dangerous where efficiency is less than half of the required value. On a roller brake tester, the requirement counts as met if more than half of the wheels of a brake system lock. The check applies only to vehicles whose parking brake was not already tested as the secondary brake.
Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage. Advisories count notes recorded on failed first tests only.
Suspension
Two faults. The strongest is the suspension arm ball joint (front): 2.8 times as often as on similar cars.
Suspension arm ball joint (front)
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.
Coil spring (front)
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
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)
Suspension mounting area (rear)
Flexible brake hoses (rear)
Individual direction indicators (rear)
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
- 58in every 100
- Passed on the first test.
- Fixed at the station
- 6in every 100
- Failed, then fixed at the test station the same day.
- Failed
- 36in every 100
- Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.
First-attempt pass 58.0% of 3,497 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 63.9%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 6 fixed and the 36 not fixed make the 42 in every 100 that did not pass first time.
Same model, other years
Passed first time in every 100, all tested in 2025.
Newer cars are younger, so look for a jump rather than the climb. A year earlier (2024), when these cars were a year younger, 59 in every 100 passed first time.
| Year | Passed first time | First tests |
|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 56 in every 100 | 437 |
| 2002 | 59 in every 100 | 545 |
| 2003 | 59 in every 100 | 1,053 |
| 2004 | 59 in every 100 | 925 |
| 2005 | 60 in every 100 | 997 |
| 2006 | 59 in every 100 | 958 |
| 2007 | 62 in every 100 | 882 |
| 2008 | 51 in every 100 | 2,620 |
| 2009 | 54 in every 100 | 4,933 |
| 2010 This car | 58 in every 100 | 3,497 |
| 2011 | 59 in every 100 | 3,994 |
| 2012 | 62 in every 100 | 3,792 |
| 2013 | 67 in every 100 | 3,332 |
| 2014 | 72 in every 100 | 3,347 |
If you are buying one
What this year's MOT record means for the decision in front of you.
Mileage matters most on a 2010 Agila.
Of 2010 Agila vehicles with under 40,000 miles, 70 in every 100 passed their 2025 MOT first time. With 90,000 miles or more, 47 in every 100 did.
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 40,000 | 56,000–71,000 | 90,000 and over | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coil spring (front) | 6.1 | 6.8 | 8.4 |
| Suspension arm ball joint (front) | 2.3 | 7.7 | 9.4 |
| Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test) | 2.1 | 4.1 | 7.4 |
| Brake performance (roller test, rear) | 4.3 | 5.5 | 3.3 |
| Suspension arm pins and bushes (front) | 2.3 | 3.1 | 5.5 |
Faults per 100 first tests, by the car's mileage at the test.
When a car fails
of failed cars had one item to fix.
of failed cars had three or more items to fix.
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.
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.
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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