Model Reports 4 min read Updated 18 Oct 2026

Vauxhall Combo 2022: reliability & common MOT faults

In 2025, 74 in every 100 first MOTs on a 2022 Vauxhall Combo were passes. Most common reason for a fail: Windscreen wipers (front).

Summary

A 2022 Vauxhall Combo passed first time about 2 in every 100 more often than the 2021 model year next to it.

At a glance

How 6,161 first tests went in 2025.

Passed first time
74 in every 100
Did not pass first time
26 in every 1001,598 failed first-attempt tests
The typical car
3 yearsabout 34,054 miles
First tests counted
6,161

What failed most often

  1. Windscreen wipers (front)13 in every 100 failed tests
  2. Headlight aim13 in every 100 failed tests
  3. Tyre condition (rear)10 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 2022 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

Three faults. The strongest is the headlight (front): 4.2 times as often as on similar cars.

Figures below are measured across the 1,597 of 1,598 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 (front)

Failed on 116 first tests4.2 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 90 first tests3.5 times as often as similar carsLikely 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.

Brake light

Failed on 32 first tests2.0 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.

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

Body and structure

One fault: drive shaft joints and boots (front), 3.2 times as often as on similar cars.

Drive shaft joints and boots (front)

Failed on 44 first tests3.2 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

What it means

A constant velocity boot that is only severely deteriorated is Minor. It is Major once it is missing, split or insecure so that it no longer prevents the ingress of dirt. A transmission joint excessively worn is Major, and graded Dangerous when it is so worn it is likely to fail.

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

Noise, emissions and leaks

One fault: diesel engine warning light, 2.4 times as often as on similar cars.

Diesel engine warning light

Failed on 51 first tests2.4 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

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

One wear pattern: brake discs (rear), 2.4 times as often as on similar cars.

Brake discs (rear)

Failed on 42 first tests2.4 times as often as similar carsWear pattern

What it means

A brake disc or drum must be significantly worn before it is rejected, and being worn below the manufacturer's recommended limits is not a reason in itself. Significantly and obviously worn is Major, as is contamination with oil or grease. A disc or drum that is fractured, insecure, seriously weakened or missing is graded Dangerous.

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.

Wheel condition (front)

Noted on 40 first tests3.4 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Brake performance (roller test, rear)

Noted on 29 first tests2.7 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

Shock absorbers (front)

Noted on 45 first tests2.4 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
74in 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
17in every 100
Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.

First-attempt pass 74.1% of 6,161 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 82.8%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 9 fixed and the 17 not fixed make the 26 in every 100 that did not pass first time.

By fuel type

First testsTypical mileagePassed first time, as tested
Diesel4,97039,493 miles72
Electric99615,648 miles81

Figures are in every 100 first tests.

Same model, other years

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

4060801002005201020152022Older cars
40608010020102022Older cars

Newer cars are younger, so look for a jump rather than the climb.

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
202172 in every 10011,422
2022 This car74 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 2022 Combo.

Of 2022 Combo vehicles with under 17,000 miles, 86 in every 100 passed their 2025 MOT first time. With 57,000 miles or more, 66 in every 100 did.

Under 17,0001,246 tests
86
17,000–28,0001,202 tests
78
28,000–41,000 Typical car1,282 tests
72
41,000–57,0001,234 tests
68
57,000 and over1,196 tests
66

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 17,00028,000–41,00057,000 and over
Windscreen wipers (front)2.24.23.5
Headlight aim2.03.74.7
Tyre condition (rear)1.93.02.1
Windscreen washers1.42.52.8
Headlight (front)0.52.02.6

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

When a car fails

47in every 100

of failed cars had one item to fix.

26in 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 2022 Vauxhall Combo passed first time about 2 in every 100 more often than the 2021 model year next to it. In 2025, 74.1% of 6,161 first MOTs on the 2022 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 82.8%. Among 1,598 failed first-attempt MOT tests (test year 2025), Headlight (front) appears more often than on similar cars (7.3% of those tests; 116 observed failures; about 4.2× 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 2022 Vauxhall Combo at the first attempt were Windscreen wipers (front) (13.1%), Headlight aim (12.9%) and Tyre condition (rear) (10.3%), 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) (7.3% of those tests; 116 observed failures; about 4.2× 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 (7.3% of those tests; 116 observed failures; about 4.2× 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 2022 Vauxhall Combo include Headlight (front), Number plate lights (rear), Drive shaft joints and boots (front). 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 2022 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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