Model Reports 5 min read Updated 18 Oct 2026

Vauxhall Vivaro 2019: reliability & common MOT faults

In 2025, 72 in every 100 first MOTs on a 2019 Vauxhall Vivaro were passes. Most common reason for a fail: Brake pads (rear).

Summary

A 2019 Vauxhall Vivaro passed first time about 2 in every 100 more often than the average of the 2018 and 2020 model years.

At a glance

How 9,709 first tests went in 2025.

Passed first time
72 in every 100
Did not pass first time
28 in every 1002,670 failed first-attempt tests
The typical car
6 yearsabout 75,686 miles
First tests counted
9,709

What failed most often

  1. Brake pads (rear)8 in every 100 failed tests
  2. Diesel engine warning light8 in every 100 failed tests
  3. Track rod end (front)8 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 2019 Vauxhall Vivaro 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 anti-roll bar linkage ball joints (front): 11 times as often as on similar cars.

Figures below are measured across the 2,669 of 2,670 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.

Anti-roll bar linkage ball joints (front)

Failed on 196 first tests11 times as often as similar carsStrong 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 88 first tests, 8.0 times as often as on similar cars.

Anti-roll bar ball joint (front)

Failed on 59 first tests11 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

What it means

On an anti-roll bar ball joint, DVSA fails a suspension pin, bush or joint that is excessively worn as Major. One likely to become detached is graded Dangerous.

Shock absorbers (front)

Failed on 169 first tests4.1 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

What it means

Slight seepage that leaves a film of fluid on a shock absorber does not fail it. Severe leakage, or damage so that it does not function, is Major. A shock absorber missing or likely to become detached is graded Dangerous, though a missing one is only rejected if shock absorbers were fitted as standard.

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: diesel emissions test (compression-ignition rules for vehicles from 01/01/2014), 3.6 times as often as on similar cars.

Diesel emissions test (compression-ignition rules for vehicles from 01/01/2014)

Failed on 74 first tests3.6 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

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

Steering

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

Track rod end (front)

Failed on 206 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.

Also noted as an advisory

Testers also noted it as an advisory, worn but not yet failing, on 50 first tests, 3.3 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.

Lamps and electrical

One fault: number plate lights (rear), 2.1 times as often as on similar cars.

Number plate lights (rear)

Failed on 168 first tests2.1 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.

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.

Anti-roll bar pins and bushes (front)

Noted on 35 first tests6.4 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

Brake pedal

Noted on 33 first tests5.7 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Brake light

Noted on 36 first tests5.3 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Transmission oil leaks

Noted on 46 first tests3.8 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Individual direction indicators (rear)

Noted on 42 first tests3.6 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Suspension arm ball joint (front)

Noted on 82 first tests2.5 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
7in every 100
Failed, then fixed at the test station the same day.
Failed
21in every 100
Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.

First-attempt pass 72.5% of 9,709 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 78.9%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 7 fixed and the 21 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.

4060801002005201020152019Older carsNewer cars
40608010020102019Older cars

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

YearPassed first timeFirst tests
200245 in every 100575
200349 in every 1001,502
200449 in every 1003,016
200547 in every 1004,422
200646 in every 1005,531
200747 in every 1006,600
200847 in every 1006,650
200945 in every 1003,306
201044 in every 1005,520
201146 in every 1009,118
201245 in every 1007,619
201348 in every 1009,127
201451 in every 10011,595
201556 in every 10020,260
201660 in every 10017,638
201761 in every 10011,448
201865 in every 10010,688
2019 This car72 in every 1009,709
202075 in every 1009,356
202172 in every 10010,801
202273 in every 1008,667

If you are buying one

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

Mileage matters most on a 2019 Vivaro.

Of 2019 Vivaro vehicles with under 52,000 miles, 78 in every 100 passed their 2025 MOT first time. With 105,000 miles or more, 68 in every 100 did.

Under 52,0001,980 tests
78
52,000–68,0001,921 tests
74
68,000–84,000 Typical car1,888 tests
73
84,000–105,0001,953 tests
70
105,000 and over1,965 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 52,00068,000–84,000105,000 and over
Brake pads (rear)2.42.01.6
Diesel engine warning light1.82.42.5
Track rod end (front)0.82.43.6
Anti-roll bar linkage ball joints (front)1.62.02.8
Tyre condition (rear)1.61.62.4

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

When a car fails

39in every 100

of failed cars had one item to fix.

34in 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 2019 Vauxhall Vivaro passed first time about 2 in every 100 more often than the average of the 2018 and 2020 model years. In 2025, 72.5% of 9,709 first MOTs on the 2019 Vauxhall Vivaro passed first time (PRS: items fixed at the station the same day, counted as a fail). The official-style rate including PRS is 78.9%. Among 2,670 failed first-attempt MOT tests (test year 2025), Anti-roll bar linkage ball joints (front) appears more often than on similar cars (7.3% of those tests; 196 observed failures; about 11× 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 2019 Vauxhall Vivaro at the first attempt were Brake pads (rear) (7.9%), Diesel engine warning light (7.8%) and Track rod end (front) (7.7%), 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) (7.3% of those tests; 196 observed failures; about 11× 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 (7.3% of those tests; 196 observed failures; about 11× 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 2019 Vauxhall Vivaro include Anti-roll bar linkage ball joints (front), Anti-roll bar ball joint (front), Shock absorbers (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 2019 Vauxhall Vivaro (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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