Model Reports 4 min read Updated 18 Oct 2026

Vauxhall Combo 2021: reliability & common MOT faults

In 2025, 72 in every 100 first MOTs on a 2021 Vauxhall Combo were passes. Most common reason for a fail: Windscreen wipers (front).

Summary

A 2021 Vauxhall Combo passed first time about 2 in every 100 less often than the average of the 2020 and 2022 model years.

At a glance

How 11,422 first tests went in 2025.

Passed first time
72 in every 100
Did not pass first time
28 in every 1003,185 failed first-attempt tests
The typical car
4 yearsabout 50,261 miles
First tests counted
11,422

What failed most often

  1. Windscreen wipers (front)17 in every 100 failed tests
  2. Headlight aim11 in every 100 failed tests
  3. Headlight (front)9 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 2021 Vauxhall Combo 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.

Lamps and electrical

Two faults and one wear pattern. The strongest is the headlight aim not tested (front): 5.9 times as often as on similar cars.

Figures below are measured across the 3,184 of 3,185 failed first attempts 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 aim not tested (front)

Failed on 54 first tests5.9 times as often as similar carsWear pattern

What it means

Headlamp aim recorded as not tested, or unable to be tested, is a Major failure. These results must only be used where it becomes apparent during the test that the item cannot be tested, and this could not have been identified before starting. The reason must be included in the additional information box.

Headlight (front)

Failed on 295 first tests4.1 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

What it means

On vehicles first used on or after a set date, a halogen headlamp unit converted to take HID or LED bulbs fails for light source and lamp not compatible, which is Major. A complete unit built with those light sources is not failed for that. The precise position of the lamps is not part of the inspection beyond a visual look to see that they sit at about the same height and distance from each side.

Number plate lights (rear)

Failed on 134 first tests2.6 times as often as similar carsPossible 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.

Visibility

One fault: windscreen wipers, 2.3 times as often as on similar cars.

Windscreen wipers

Failed on 521 first tests2.3 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

Only a clearly damaged or worn windscreen wiper needs to be rejected. A wiper that is missing or not working is graded Major, and so is a blade that is missing or obviously not clearing the windscreen. A defective blade is graded Minor.

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.

Individual direction indicators (rear)

Noted on 27 first tests5.6 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Brake light

Noted on 25 first tests4.9 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
72in 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
19in every 100
Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.

First-attempt pass 72.1% of 11,422 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 81.4%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 9 fixed and the 19 not fixed make the 28 in every 100 that did not pass first time.

Petrol and diesel

First testsTypical mileagePassed first time, as tested
Diesel10,16453,152 miles71
Petrol1,11823,578 miles82

Figures are in every 100 first tests.

Same model, other years

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

4060801002005201020152021Older cars
40608010020102021Older 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, 71 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
201658 in every 1004,647
201760 in every 1003,339
201866 in every 1002,772
201973 in every 10014,954
202074 in every 10012,793
2021 This car72 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 2021 Combo.

Of 2021 Combo vehicles with under 29,000 miles, 80 in every 100 passed their 2025 MOT first time. With 72,000 miles or more, 68 in every 100 did.

Under 29,0002,269 tests
80
29,000–44,0002,363 tests
75
44,000–57,000 Typical car2,293 tests
69
57,000–72,0002,235 tests
69
72,000 and over2,259 tests
68

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 29,00044,000–57,00072,000 and over
Windscreen wipers (front)5.45.34.1
Headlight aim1.14.04.5
Headlight (front)1.13.43.0
Windscreen washers1.52.73.3
Brake pads (rear)0.43.03.1

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

When a car fails

44in every 100

of failed cars had one item to fix.

28in every 100

of failed cars had three or more items to fix.

6in 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.

A 2021 Vauxhall Combo passed first time about 2 in every 100 less often than the average of the 2020 and 2022 model years. In 2025, 72.1% of 11,422 first MOTs on the 2021 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 81.4%. Among 3,185 failed first-attempt MOT tests (test year 2025), Headlight (front) appears more often than on similar cars (9.3% of those tests; 295 observed failures; about 4.1× 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 2021 Vauxhall Combo at the first attempt were Windscreen wipers (front) (17.4%), Headlight aim (11.5%) and Headlight (front) (9.3%), 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: Headlight (front) (9.3% of those tests; 295 observed failures; about 4.1× more often than similar cars). These are statistical signals, not a diagnosis of any individual car.
Headlight (front) shows up more often than on similar cars (9.3% of those tests; 295 observed failures; about 4.1× 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 2021 Vauxhall Combo include Headlight (front), Number plate lights (rear), Windscreen wipers. 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 2021 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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