Model Reports 5 min read Updated 18 Oct 2026

Vauxhall Viva 2015: reliability & common MOT faults

In 2025, 72 in every 100 first MOTs on a 2015 Vauxhall Viva were passes. Most common reason for a fail: Tyre pressure monitoring system.

Summary

A 2015 Vauxhall Viva passed first time about 3 in every 100 less often than the 2016 model year next to it.

At a glance

How 4,952 first tests went in 2025.

Passed first time
72 in every 100
Did not pass first time
28 in every 1001,393 failed first-attempt tests
The typical car
10 yearsabout 45,539 miles
First tests counted
4,952

What failed most often

  1. Tyre pressure monitoring system46 in every 100 failed tests
  2. Windscreen wipers7 in every 100 failed tests
  3. Petrol engine warning light7 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 Viva 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.

Tyres

One wear pattern: tyre pressure monitoring system, 9.2 times as often as on similar cars.

Figures below are measured across the 1,393 failed first attempts in 2025 that had a mileage recorded, which allows a like-for-like comparison.

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.

Tyre pressure monitoring system

Failed on 647 first tests9.2 times as often as similar carsWear pattern

What it means

A tyre pressure monitoring system that is obviously inoperative is graded Major, and so is one listed as malfunctioning or obviously inoperative. The Minor row uses the word malfunctioning too, but its detail is a warning lamp indicating a fault, and it also covers a tyre that is obviously under-inflated.

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

Suspension

Two faults. The strongest is the anti-roll bar linkage ball joints (front): 5.7 times as often as on similar cars.

Anti-roll bar linkage ball joints (front)

Failed on 87 first tests5.7 times as often as similar carsLikely 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.

Also noted as an advisory

Testers also noted it as an advisory, worn but not yet failing, on 30 first tests, 3.2 times as often as on similar cars.

Anti-roll bar linkage ball joint dust cover (front)

Failed on 77 first tests4.0 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

What it means

A suspension joint dust cover that is severely deteriorated is Minor. It becomes Major once it is missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt, so what matters is whether it still keeps dirt out. DVSA words this for any suspension joint dust cover, and files it here under anti-roll bars.

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

Body and structure

One fault: exhaust system (front), 5.5 times as often as on similar cars.

Exhaust system (front)

Failed on 46 first tests5.5 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 158 first tests, 12 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.

Noise, emissions and leaks

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

Petrol engine warning light

Failed on 97 first tests2.4 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

The malfunction indicator lamp (MIL) on a petrol engine is a Major failure when it is illuminated indicating a malfunction. The detail line DVSA gives for the same row also names an inoperative lamp. The test covers only certain petrol vehicles, depending on their age, size and fuel type.

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.

Individual direction indicators (front)

Noted on 21 first tests15 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Seat belt condition (front)

Noted on 47 first tests8.8 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Individual direction indicators (rear)

Noted on 32 first tests4.2 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
72in every 100
Passed on the first test.
Fixed at the station
5in every 100
Failed, then fixed at the test station the same day.
Failed
23in every 100
Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.

First-attempt pass 71.9% of 4,952 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 76.8%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 5 fixed and the 23 not fixed make the 28 in every 100 that did not pass first time.

Same model, other years

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

40608010020152016201720182019Newer cars
40608010020152016201720182019Newer 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, 77 in every 100 passed first time.

YearPassed first timeFirst tests
2015 This car72 in every 1004,952
201675 in every 10013,314
201781 in every 1009,422
201884 in every 1005,302
201985 in every 1003,964

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 Vauxhall Viva.

Of 2015 Vauxhall Viva vehicles with under 27,000 miles, 80 in every 100 passed their 2025 MOT first time. With 68,000 miles or more, 64 in every 100 did.

Under 27,000981 tests
80
27,000–40,0001,021 tests
75
40,000–52,000 Typical car961 tests
70
52,000–68,000979 tests
71
68,000 and over1,008 tests
64

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 27,00040,000–52,00068,000 and over
Tyre pressure monitoring system11.114.712.8
Windscreen wipers1.92.22.1
Petrol engine warning light0.51.24.7
Anti-roll bar linkage ball joints (front)0.61.82.9
Anti-roll bar linkage ball joint dust cover (front)0.41.73.3

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

When a car fails

54in every 100

of failed cars had one item to fix.

21in every 100

of failed cars had three or more items to fix.

4in 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 2015 Vauxhall Viva passed first time about 3 in every 100 less often than the 2016 model year next to it. In 2025, 71.9% of 4,952 first MOTs on the 2015 Vauxhall Viva passed first time (PRS: items fixed at the station the same day, counted as a fail). The official-style rate including PRS is 76.8%. Among 1,393 failed first-attempt MOT tests (test year 2025), Anti-roll bar linkage ball joints (front) appears more often than on similar cars (6.2% of those tests; 87 observed failures; about 5.7× 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 2015 Vauxhall Viva at the first attempt were Tyre pressure monitoring system (46.4%), Windscreen wipers (7.2%) and Petrol engine warning light (7.0%), 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: Anti-roll bar linkage ball joints (front) (6.2% of those tests; 87 observed failures; about 5.7× more often than similar cars). These are statistical signals, not a diagnosis of any individual car.
Anti-roll bar linkage ball joints (front) shows up more often than on similar cars (6.2% of those tests; 87 observed failures; about 5.7× 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 2015 Vauxhall Viva include Anti-roll bar linkage ball joints (front), Exhaust system (front), Anti-roll bar linkage ball joint dust cover (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 Viva (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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