At a glance
How 5,783 first tests went in 2025.
- Passed first time
- 54 in every 100
- Did not pass first time
- 46 in every 1002,677 failed first-attempt tests
- The typical car
- 12 yearsabout 88,565 miles
- First tests counted
- 5,783
What failed most often
- Individual sidelight or tail light (front)23 in every 100 failed tests
- Brake light11 in every 100 failed tests
- Suspension arm pins and bushes (front)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 2013 Vauxhall Antara 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.
Lamps and electrical
Three faults. The strongest is the reversing lights (rear): 17 times as often as on similar cars.
Figures below are measured across the 2,674 of 2,677 failed first attempts (99.9%) 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.
Reversing lights (rear)
What it means
Reversing lamps must show a white light to the rear, and on some vehicles the engine has to be running before they work. A lamp that does not emit a steady white light, does not face the rear or has its light intensity significantly reduced is Major. A lamp not securely attached is Minor, but one likely to become detached is Major.
Individual sidelight or tail light (front)
What it means
A position lamp showing red light to the front or white light to the rear is Major. Rear lamps must show a steady red light, and front ones can show white, predominantly white with a blue tinge, or yellow if combined in a yellow headlamp. With a multiple light source, up to half not working is Minor and more than half is Major.
Brake light (rear)
What it means
All stop lamps missing or not working is graded Dangerous, and so is a stop lamp that stays on when the brakes are released. A stop lamp that is missing or not working is Major. On some vehicles with LED rear lamps, part of the stop lamp can go out when the rear fog lamp is lit, which is not regarded as a defect.
Also noted as an advisory
Testers also noted it as an advisory, worn but not yet failing, on 26 first tests, 2.2 times as often as on similar cars.
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
Three faults. The strongest is the anti-roll bar linkage (rear): 10 times as often as on similar cars.
Anti-roll bar linkage (rear)
What it means
An anti-roll bar linkage is graded Dangerous when a suspension component is missing, likely to become detached, fractured or likely to fail. Insecure attachment that impairs directional stability is graded Dangerous too. Excessive damage or corrosion that seriously weakens the part is Major, and so is plain insecure attachment to the chassis or axle.
Suspension arm pins and bushes (rear)
What it means
Pins and bushes on suspension arms fail as Major when they are excessively worn. They are graded Dangerous when likely to become detached. DVSA uses the same wording for a suspension joint.
Also noted as an advisory
Testers also noted it as an advisory, worn but not yet failing, on 138 first tests, 3.4 times as often as on similar cars.
Suspension arm pins and bushes (front)
What it means
Pins and bushes on suspension arms fail as Major when they are excessively worn. They are graded Dangerous when likely to become detached. DVSA uses the same wording for a suspension joint.
Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage. Advisories count notes recorded on failed first tests only.
Noise, emissions and leaks
Two faults. The strongest is the diesel emissions test (compression-ignition rules for vehicles from 01/07/2008): 4.3 times as often as on similar cars.
Diesel emissions test (compression-ignition rules for vehicles from 01/07/2008)
Diesel engine warning light
What it means
An engine malfunction indicator lamp that is illuminated to show a malfunction is graded Major on a diesel, but only on the diesels the test covers, which depends on the vehicle type and when it was first used. DVSA lists it under exhaust emissions for compression ignition engines, and the detail line for the row also names an inoperative lamp.
Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage.
Brakes
Two faults. The strongest is the rigid brake pipes (rear): 3.3 times as often as on similar cars.
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.
Handbrake performance (roller test, rear)
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.
Other power steering components
Anti-roll bar linkage pins and bushes (rear)
Seat belt condition (front)
Suspension arm (rear)
Side repeater indicators
Steering rack play
Engine oil leaks (front)
Suspension sub-frame (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
- 54in every 100
- Passed on the first test.
- Fixed at the station
- 9in every 100
- Failed, then fixed at the test station the same day.
- Failed
- 37in every 100
- Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.
First-attempt pass 53.7% of 5,783 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 62.5%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 9 fixed and the 37 not fixed make the 46 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, 55 in every 100 passed first time.
| Year | Passed first time | First tests |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 51 in every 100 | 661 |
| 2012 | 51 in every 100 | 4,803 |
| 2013 This car | 54 in every 100 | 5,783 |
| 2014 | 53 in every 100 | 2,352 |
| 2015 | 54 in every 100 | 1,907 |
| 2016 | 56 in every 100 | 754 |
If you are buying one
What this year's MOT record means for the decision in front of you.
Mileage matters most on a 2013 Antara.
Of 2013 Antara vehicles with under 69,000 miles, 60 in every 100 passed their 2025 MOT first time. With 111,000 miles or more, 50 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 69,000 | 82,000–95,000 | 111,000 and over | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Individual sidelight or tail light (front) | 8.1 | 10.6 | 11.0 |
| Brake light | 5.1 | 5.7 | 5.0 |
| Suspension arm pins and bushes (front) | 4.7 | 4.5 | 5.2 |
| Coil spring (front) | 4.2 | 4.3 | 4.3 |
| Reversing lights | 3.9 | 3.9 | 4.3 |
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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