Vauxhall Mokka 2015: reliability & common MOT faults

In 2025, 62 in every 100 first MOTs on a 2015 Vauxhall Mokka were passes. Most common reason for a fail: Suspension arm ball joint dust cover (front).

Summary

The 2015 Vauxhall Mokka follows the pattern of the model years either side.

At a glance

How 40,617 first tests went in 2025.

Passed first time
62 in every 100
Did not pass first time
38 in every 10015,305 failed first-attempt tests
The typical car
10 yearsabout 67,006 miles
First tests counted
40,617

What failed most often

  1. Suspension arm ball joint dust cover (front)21 in every 100 failed tests
  2. Track rod end (front)15 in every 100 failed tests
  3. Coil spring (rear)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.

Note:

These are patterns across 2015 Vauxhall Mokka 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.

Suspension

Two faults. The strongest is the suspension arm ball joint dust cover (front): 17 times as often as on similar cars.

Figures below are measured across the 15,301 of 15,305 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.

Suspension arm ball joint dust cover (front)

Failed on 3,138 first tests17 times as often as similar carsStrong evidence

What it means

Whether a suspension arm ball joint dust cover still keeps dirt out decides its grade. Severely deteriorated is Minor, while missing, or no longer preventing the ingress of dirt, is Major.

Coil spring (rear)

Failed on 1,847 first tests2.3 times as often as similar carsPossible 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.

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

Lamps and electrical

Two faults. The strongest is the individual sidelight or tail light (rear): 4.4 times as often as on similar cars.

Individual sidelight or tail light (rear)

Failed on 771 first tests4.4 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

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.

Individual sidelight or tail light (front)

Failed on 1,301 first tests2.1 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

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.

Body and structure

One fault: exhaust system (front), 3.5 times as often as on similar cars.

Exhaust system (front)

Failed on 345 first tests3.5 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 507 first tests, 3.1 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.

Steering

One fault: track rod end (front), 3.3 times as often as on similar cars.

Track rod end (front)

Failed on 2,285 first tests3.3 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

What it means

A steering ball joint with excessive wear or free play is Major, and one worn to the extent there is a serious risk of detachment is graded Dangerous. A dust cover that is damaged but still keeps dirt out is Minor, and one missing or no longer keeping dirt out is Major. Testers must tell wear from a joint's built-in clearance or spring loading.

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.

Side repeater indicators (front)

Noted on 396 first tests41 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Handbrake lever

Noted on 100 first tests7.9 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Macpherson strut pins and bushes (front)

Noted on 572 first tests7.0 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

Macpherson strut ball joint (front)

Noted on 35 first tests6.9 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Other fluid leaks

Noted on 61 first tests5.8 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Individual direction indicators

Noted on 22 first tests5.1 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Engine oil leaks (front)

Noted on 2,096 first tests3.7 times as often as similar carsPossible 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
62in every 100
Passed on the first test.
Fixed at the station
7in every 100
Failed, then fixed at the test station the same day.
Failed
31in every 100
Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.

First-attempt pass 62.3% of 40,617 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 68.9%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 7 fixed and the 31 not fixed make the 38 in every 100 that did not pass first time.

Petrol and diesel

First testsTypical mileagePassed first time, as testedPassed first time, same mileage
Petrol27,22662,335 miles6462
Diesel13,39078,288 miles5962

Figures are in every 100 first tests. Cars with more miles usually fail more often, so the same-mileage figure gives every fuel the mileage mix of all the cars in this year.

Same model, other years

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

40608010020122013201420152016201720182019Older carsNewer cars
4060801002015Older carsNewer 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, 66 in every 100 passed first time.

YearPassed first timeFirst tests
201257 in every 100714
201362 in every 10011,662
201463 in every 10029,832
2015 This car62 in every 10040,617
201662 in every 10037,902
201767 in every 10035,147
201871 in every 10030,390
201977 in every 10021,398

If you are buying one

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

Mileage matters most on a 2015 Mokka.

Of 2015 Mokka vehicles with under 47,000 miles, 75 in every 100 passed their 2025 MOT first time. With 89,000 miles or more, 53 in every 100 did.

Under 47,0007,863 tests
75
47,000–61,0008,383 tests
66
61,000–73,000 Typical car7,860 tests
61
73,000–89,0008,334 tests
57
89,000 and over8,167 tests
53

Petrol or diesel?

Typical mileagePassed first time,
as tested
Passed first time,
same mileage
Petrol62,335 miles6462
Diesel78,288 miles5962

Figures are in every 100 first tests. Petrol cars look better on the raw figures only because diesel cars have done more miles (typically 78,288 against 62,335). At the same mileage there is no clear difference between the two.


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 47,00061,000–73,00089,000 and over
Suspension arm ball joint dust cover (front)5.08.87.5
Track rod end (front)1.46.29.1
Coil spring (rear)2.14.66.4
Tyre pressure monitoring system2.93.73.3
Individual sidelight or tail light (front)2.33.53.6

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


When a car fails

34in every 100

of failed cars had one item to fix.

38in every 100

of failed cars had three or more items to fix.

7in 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 2015 Vauxhall Mokka follows the pattern of the model years either side. Its main cause of failure was Suspension arm ball joint dust cover (front), about 21 in every 100 failed tests. In 2025, 62.3% of 40,617 first MOTs on the 2015 Vauxhall Mokka passed first time (PRS: items fixed at the station the same day, counted as a fail). The official-style rate including PRS is 68.9%. Among 15,305 failed first-attempt MOT tests (test year 2025), Suspension arm ball joint dust cover (front) appears more often than on similar cars (20.5% of those tests; 3,138 observed failures; about 17× 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 2015 Vauxhall Mokka at the first attempt were Suspension arm ball joint dust cover (front) (20.5%), Track rod end (front) (14.9%) and Coil spring (rear) (12.1%), 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: Suspension arm ball joint dust cover (front) (20.5% of those tests; 3,138 observed failures; about 17× more often than similar cars). These are statistical signals, not a diagnosis of any individual car.
Suspension arm ball joint dust cover (front) shows up more often than on similar cars (20.5% of those tests; 3,138 observed failures; about 17× 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 2015 Vauxhall Mokka include Suspension arm ball joint dust cover (front), Individual sidelight or tail light (rear), Exhaust system (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 2015 Vauxhall Mokka (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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