Model Reports 4 min read Updated 18 Oct 2026

Vauxhall Vectra 2004: reliability & common MOT faults

In 2025, 54 in every 100 first MOTs on a 2004 Vauxhall Vectra were passes. Most common reason for a fail: Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test).

Summary

With 860 first tests, there are too few to say whether the 2004 Vauxhall Vectra differs from the model years either side.

At a glance

How 860 first tests went in 2025.

Passed first time
54 in every 100
Did not pass first time
46 in every 100393 failed first-attempt tests
The typical car
21 yearsabout 112,945 miles
First tests counted
860

What failed most often

  1. Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test)15 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 2004 Vauxhall Vectra 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

Three faults. The strongest is the suspension arm pins and bushes (rear): 9.7 times as often as on similar cars.

Figures below are measured across the 392 of 393 failed first attempts (99.7%) 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 pins and bushes (rear)

Failed on 32 first tests9.7 times as often as similar carsLikely 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.

Also noted as an advisory

Testers also noted it as an advisory, worn but not yet failing, on 41 first tests, 4.7 times as often as on similar cars.

Coil spring (front)

Failed on 41 first tests3.3 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.

Anti-roll bar linkage ball joints (front)

Failed on 29 first tests2.4 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

Excessive wear on an anti-roll bar linkage ball joint is Major. A joint likely to become detached is graded Dangerous.

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

Brakes

Two faults. The strongest is the handbrake performance (roller test, rear): 3.8 times as often as on similar cars.

Handbrake performance (roller test, rear)

Failed on 21 first tests3.8 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

A parking brake that is inoperative on one side is Major. When tested on the road, the failure is the vehicle deviating excessively from a straight line. Vehicles whose parking brake was already tested as the secondary brake are not tested again for this.

Rigid brake pipes (front)

Failed on 26 first tests2.8 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

Chafing, corrosion or damage to a rigid brake pipe justifies rejection once its wall thickness is reduced by a set amount, although DVSA accepts this is not easy to determine. If a tester is not sure, the benefit of the doubt applies. A leaking pipe or connection is graded Dangerous on a hydraulic system and Major on an air system.

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.

Suspension sub-frame (front)

Noted on 36 first tests3.6 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Suspension sub-frame (rear)

Noted on 57 first tests2.4 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Non-component advisories (front)

Noted on 53 first tests2.3 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
54in every 100
Passed on the first test.
Fixed at the station
6in every 100
Failed, then fixed at the test station the same day.
Failed
40in every 100
Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.

First-attempt pass 54.3% of 860 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 60.3%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 6 fixed and the 40 not fixed make the 46 in every 100 that did not pass first time.

Same model, other years

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

406080100200120022003200420052006200720082009Older carsNewer cars
4060801002004Older 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, 52 in every 100 passed first time.

YearPassed first timeFirst tests
200163 in every 100470
200259 in every 100431
200356 in every 100476
2004 This car54 in every 100860
200554 in every 1001,387
200656 in every 1003,078
200754 in every 1005,858
200853 in every 1006,766
200956 in every 1001,226

FAQs

Short answers about how to read this model-year guide.

With 860 first tests, there are too few to say whether the 2004 Vauxhall Vectra differs from the model years either side. Its main cause of failure was Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test), about 15 in every 100 failed tests. In 2025, 54.3% of 860 first MOTs on the 2004 Vauxhall Vectra passed first time (PRS: items fixed at the station the same day, counted as a fail). The official-style rate including PRS is 60.3%. Among 393 failed first-attempt MOT tests (test year 2025), Suspension arm pins and bushes (rear) appears more often than on similar cars (8.2% of those tests; 32 observed failures; about 9.7× 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 2004 Vauxhall Vectra at the first attempt were Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test) (14.5%), 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 pins and bushes (rear) (8.2% of those tests; 32 observed failures; about 9.7× more often than similar cars). These are statistical signals, not a diagnosis of any individual car.
Suspension arm pins and bushes (rear) shows up more often than on similar cars (8.2% of those tests; 32 observed failures; about 9.7× 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 2004 Vauxhall Vectra include Suspension arm pins and bushes (rear), Handbrake performance (roller test, rear), Coil spring (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 2004 Vauxhall Vectra (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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