Model Reports 4 min read Updated 18 Oct 2026

Vauxhall Combo 2016: reliability & common MOT faults

In 2025, 58 in every 100 first MOTs on a 2016 Vauxhall Combo were passes. Most common reason for a fail: Coil spring (front).

Summary

The 2016 Vauxhall Combo follows the pattern of the model years either side.

At a glance

How 4,647 first tests went in 2025.

Passed first time
58 in every 100
Did not pass first time
42 in every 1001,947 failed first-attempt tests
The typical car
9 yearsabout 97,336 miles
First tests counted
4,647

What failed most often

  1. Coil spring (front)18 in every 100 failed tests
  2. Suspension arm pins and bushes (front)11 in every 100 failed tests
  3. Tyre condition (front)8 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 2016 Vauxhall Combo 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

Two faults. The strongest is the brake pedal: 6.1 times as often as on similar cars.

Figures below are measured across the 1,946 of 1,947 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.

Brake pedal

Failed on 45 first tests6.1 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

What it means

A brake pedal rubber worn smooth is not a defect, and nor is a worn design pattern on an aftermarket rubber. A pedal with no rubber is rejected if its grooves or raised grip sections are worn smooth, unless the vehicle was made without them. Insufficient reserve travel is Major, but a vehicle is failed for it only if the pedal or lever is touching the floor or handlebar.

Handbrake lever

Failed on 41 first tests3.1 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

What it means

A parking brake lever pivot or ratchet mechanism that is obviously worn is graded Minor. It is Major when worn to the extent that the brake may inadvertently release, and also when the ratchet is not holding correctly. A lever must have obvious excessive travel before being rejected.

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

Body and structure

One fault: exhaust system (rear), 5.7 times as often as on similar cars.

Exhaust system (rear)

Failed on 56 first tests5.7 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

What it means

Exhaust fumes causing a danger to health of persons on board are graded Dangerous, and so is a silencer likely to become detached. Fumes entering the cabin are Major. One or more missing or defective mountings does not necessarily make the exhaust insecure, since testers assess the overall security of the system.

Also noted as an advisory

Testers also noted it as an advisory, worn but not yet failing, on 57 first tests, 5.1 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.

Lamps and electrical

Three faults. The strongest is the horn: 4.8 times as often as on similar cars.

Horn

Failed on 65 first tests4.8 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

What it means

A horn that does not work, or is likely to be confused with an emergency vehicle siren, is graded Major. Gongs, bells, sirens and anything with more than one tone, which includes a horn that alternates between its notes, are not allowed, except a gong, bell or siren on vehicles first used before a set date. Sound defects are Minor for named cases such as a bell or harsh sound, and Major under a general row.

Brake light

Failed on 144 first tests2.4 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

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.

Side repeater indicators

Failed on 65 first tests2.3 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

Sequential or dynamic direction indicators are not a reason to fail. Where a side repeater is required, it is allowed to be part of the front direction indicator if it has a marked wraparound lens, or an amber light coming through the front lens when viewed from a set distance to the side of the rear bumper. A lens defect with no effect on the emitted light is Minor, and one that adversely affects the light is Major.

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

Noise, emissions and leaks

One fault: diesel emissions test (compression-ignition rules for vehicles from 01/01/2014), 4.7 times as often as on similar cars.

Diesel emissions test (compression-ignition rules for vehicles from 01/01/2014)

Failed on 122 first tests4.7 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

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

Suspension

Three faults. The strongest is the coil spring (front): 3.9 times as often as on similar cars.

Coil spring (front)

Failed on 351 first tests3.9 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.

Also noted as an advisory

Testers also noted it as an advisory, worn but not yet failing, on 32 first tests, 2.9 times as often as on similar cars.

Suspension arm pins and bushes (front)

Failed on 220 first tests2.7 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

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.

Anti-roll bar linkage ball joint dust cover (front)

Failed on 90 first tests2.5 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

A suspension joint dust cover that is severely deteriorated is Minor. It becomes Major once it is missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt, so what matters is whether it still keeps dirt out. DVSA words this for any suspension joint dust cover, and files it here under anti-roll bars.

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

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.

Headlight (front)

Noted on 31 first tests13 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Coil spring (rear)

Noted on 263 first tests6.5 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Suspension arm pins and bushes (rear)

Noted on 77 first tests3.8 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

Macpherson strut pins and bushes (front)

Noted on 27 first tests3.3 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Swivel pins and bushes (rear)

Noted on 30 first tests3.0 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Wheel condition (front)

Noted on 49 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
58in 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
33in every 100
Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.

First-attempt pass 58.1% of 4,647 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 66.6%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 9 fixed and the 33 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.

4060801002005201020162020Older carsNewer cars
406080100201020162020Older 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, 59 in every 100 passed first time.

YearPassed first timeFirst tests
200248 in every 100361
200347 in every 1001,015
200447 in every 1001,384
200550 in every 1001,546
200646 in every 1002,438
200746 in every 1003,248
200848 in every 1003,965
200948 in every 1003,040
201053 in every 1005,390
201157 in every 1006,371
201251 in every 1002,424
201353 in every 1002,677
201455 in every 1004,193
201557 in every 1004,558
2016 This car58 in every 1004,647
201760 in every 1003,339
201866 in every 1002,772
201973 in every 10014,954
202074 in every 10012,793
202172 in every 10011,422
202274 in every 1006,161

If you are buying one

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

Mileage matters most on a 2016 Combo.

Of 2016 Combo vehicles with under 66,000 miles, 66 in every 100 passed their 2025 MOT first time. With 130,000 miles or more, 57 in every 100 did.

Under 66,000918 tests
66
66,000–88,000956 tests
59
88,000–107,000 Typical car916 tests
55
107,000–130,000910 tests
53
130,000 and over946 tests
57

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 66,00088,000–107,000130,000 and over
Coil spring (front)7.18.35.5
Suspension arm pins and bushes (front)3.45.83.4
Tyre condition (front)2.32.73.7
Brake light2.02.35.0
Headlight aim1.43.53.6

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

When a car fails

32in every 100

of failed cars had one item to fix.

41in every 100

of failed cars had three or more items to fix.

10in 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.

The 2016 Vauxhall Combo follows the pattern of the model years either side. Its main cause of failure was Coil spring (front), about 18 in every 100 failed tests. In 2025, 58.1% of 4,647 first MOTs on the 2016 Vauxhall Combo passed first time (PRS: items fixed at the station the same day, counted as a fail). The official-style rate including PRS is 66.6%. Among 1,947 failed first-attempt MOT tests (test year 2025), Brake pedal appears more often than on similar cars (2.3% of those tests; 45 observed failures; about 6.1× 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 2016 Vauxhall Combo at the first attempt were Coil spring (front) (18.0%), Suspension arm pins and bushes (front) (11.3%) and Tyre condition (front) (7.7%), 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: Brake pedal (2.3% of those tests; 45 observed failures; about 6.1× more often than similar cars). These are statistical signals, not a diagnosis of any individual car.
Brake pedal shows up more often than on similar cars (2.3% of those tests; 45 observed failures; about 6.1× 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 2016 Vauxhall Combo include Brake pedal, Exhaust system (rear), Horn. 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 2016 Vauxhall Combo (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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