At a glance
How 3,339 first tests went in 2025.
- Passed first time
- 60 in every 100
- Did not pass first time
- 40 in every 1001,349 failed first-attempt tests
- The typical car
- 8 yearsabout 85,769 miles
- First tests counted
- 3,339
What failed most often
- Coil spring (front)20 in every 100 failed tests
- Diesel engine warning light14 in every 100 failed tests
- Suspension arm pins and bushes (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.
These are patterns across 2017 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.
Lamps and electrical
Four faults. The strongest is the headlight levelling device: 12 times as often as on similar cars.
Figures below are measured across the 1,348 of 1,349 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.
Headlight levelling device
What it means
A headlamp levelling device that is inoperative is graded Major, and so is a manual levelling device that cannot be operated from the driver's seat. Vehicles with high intensity discharge or LED dipped beam headlamps may have a self-levelling system, and if fitted it must work. Where it is not easy to tell, testers give the benefit of the doubt, and motor caravans are not checked.
Horn
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.
Side repeater indicators
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.
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.
Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage.
Brakes
Two faults. The strongest is the brake pedal: 9.7 times as often as on similar cars.
Brake pedal
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
Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage.
Suspension
Two faults. The strongest is the coil spring (front): 4.7 times as often as on similar cars.
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.
Also noted as an advisory
Testers also noted it as an advisory, worn but not yet failing, on 22 first tests, 4.4 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 engine warning light: 3.4 times as often as on similar cars.
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.
Diesel emissions test (compression-ignition rules for vehicles from 01/01/2014)
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.
Coil spring (rear)
Macpherson strut pins and bushes (front)
Suspension arm pins and bushes (rear)
Exhaust system (rear)
Number plates (front)
Wheel condition (front)
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
- 60in 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
- 32in every 100
- Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.
First-attempt pass 59.6% of 3,339 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 67.7%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 8 fixed and the 32 not fixed make the 40 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, 61 in every 100 passed first time.
| Year | Passed first time | First tests |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | 48 in every 100 | 361 |
| 2003 | 47 in every 100 | 1,015 |
| 2004 | 47 in every 100 | 1,384 |
| 2005 | 50 in every 100 | 1,546 |
| 2006 | 46 in every 100 | 2,438 |
| 2007 | 46 in every 100 | 3,248 |
| 2008 | 48 in every 100 | 3,965 |
| 2009 | 48 in every 100 | 3,040 |
| 2010 | 53 in every 100 | 5,390 |
| 2011 | 57 in every 100 | 6,371 |
| 2012 | 51 in every 100 | 2,424 |
| 2013 | 53 in every 100 | 2,677 |
| 2014 | 55 in every 100 | 4,193 |
| 2015 | 57 in every 100 | 4,558 |
| 2016 | 58 in every 100 | 4,647 |
| 2017 This car | 60 in every 100 | 3,339 |
| 2018 | 66 in every 100 | 2,772 |
| 2019 | 73 in every 100 | 14,954 |
| 2020 | 74 in every 100 | 12,793 |
| 2021 | 72 in every 100 | 11,422 |
| 2022 | 74 in every 100 | 6,161 |
If you are buying one
What this year's MOT record means for the decision in front of you.
Mileage matters most on a 2017 Combo.
Of 2017 Combo vehicles with under 57,000 miles, 68 in every 100 passed their 2025 MOT first time. With 117,000 miles or more, 52 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 57,000 | 77,000–95,000 | 117,000 and over | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coil spring (front) | 8.4 | 8.4 | 8.4 |
| Diesel engine warning light | 3.3 | 5.9 | 6.9 |
| Suspension arm pins and bushes (front) | 5.1 | 3.5 | 5.1 |
| Tyre condition (front) | 2.6 | 4.4 | 3.4 |
| Individual sidelight or tail light (front) | 1.5 | 3.8 | 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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