Model Reports 4 min read Updated 18 Oct 2026

Vauxhall Vivaro 2020: reliability & common MOT faults

In 2025, 75 in every 100 first MOTs on a 2020 Vauxhall Vivaro were passes. Most common reason for a fail: Windscreen wipers (front).

Summary

A 2020 Vauxhall Vivaro passed first time about 3 in every 100 more often than the average of the 2019 and 2021 model years.

At a glance

How 9,356 first tests went in 2025.

Passed first time
75 in every 100
Did not pass first time
25 in every 1002,333 failed first-attempt tests
The typical car
5 yearsabout 67,580 miles
First tests counted
9,356

What failed most often

  1. Windscreen wipers (front)9 in every 100 failed tests
  2. Brake pads (rear)9 in every 100 failed tests
  3. Headlight8 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 2020 Vauxhall Vivaro 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.

Brakes

One fault: anti-lock braking system (ABS), 4.8 times as often as on similar cars.

Figures below are measured across the 2,333 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.

Anti-lock braking system (ABS)

Failed on 53 first tests4.8 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

What it means

ABS is failed as removed only where it has obviously been removed, because not every vehicle in the age range where removal is not permitted has ABS. A warning lamp that does not light or shows an ABS fault is Major, as is a missing or excessively damaged wheel speed sensor. Every failure row for this component is Major.

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

Lamps and electrical

Five faults and one wear pattern. 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 111 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.

Number plate lights (rear)

Failed on 176 first tests3.1 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 (rear)

Failed on 99 first tests2.7 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.

Individual sidelight or tail light (front)

Failed on 77 first tests2.6 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.

Headlight (front)

Failed on 179 first tests2.5 times as often as similar carsPossible 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.

Headlight aim not tested (front)

Failed on 29 first tests2.5 times as often as similar carsWear pattern

What it means

Headlamp aim recorded as not tested, or unable to be tested, is a Major failure. These results must only be used where it becomes apparent during the test that the item cannot be tested, and this could not have been identified before starting. The reason must be included in the additional information box.

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.

Transmission oil leaks

Noted on 51 first tests7.2 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Engine oil leaks (front)

Noted on 186 first tests3.6 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Individual direction indicators (rear)

Noted on 27 first tests2.2 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
75in every 100
Passed on the first test.
Fixed at the station
8in 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 75.1% of 9,356 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 83.0%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 8 fixed and the 17 not fixed make the 25 in every 100 that did not pass first time.

Same model, other years

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

4060801002005201020152020Older cars
40608010020102020Older 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, 74 in every 100 passed first time.

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
201972 in every 1009,709
2020 This car75 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 2020 Vivaro.

Of 2020 Vivaro vehicles with under 47,000 miles, 80 in every 100 passed their 2025 MOT first time. With 91,000 miles or more, 70 in every 100 did.

Under 47,0001,814 tests
80
47,000–61,0001,888 tests
77
61,000–74,000 Typical car1,865 tests
75
74,000–91,0001,877 tests
73
91,000 and over1,909 tests
70

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 47,00061,000–74,00091,000 and over
Windscreen wipers (front)3.02.21.8
Brake pads (rear)1.92.81.5
Headlight1.32.12.0
Number plate lights1.12.42.9
Headlight aim0.91.72.1

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

When a car fails

41in every 100

of failed cars had one item to fix.

31in every 100

of failed cars had three or more items to fix.

5in 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 2020 Vauxhall Vivaro passed first time about 3 in every 100 more often than the average of the 2019 and 2021 model years. In 2025, 75.1% of 9,356 first MOTs on the 2020 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 83.0%. Among 2,333 failed first-attempt MOT tests (test year 2025), Anti-lock braking system (ABS) appears more often than on similar cars (2.3% of those tests; 53 observed failures; about 4.8× 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 2020 Vauxhall Vivaro at the first attempt were Windscreen wipers (front) (9.5%), Brake pads (rear) (8.8%) and Headlight (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-lock braking system (ABS) (2.3% of those tests; 53 observed failures; about 4.8× more often than similar cars). These are statistical signals, not a diagnosis of any individual car.
Anti-lock braking system (ABS) shows up more often than on similar cars (2.3% of those tests; 53 observed failures; about 4.8× 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 2020 Vauxhall Vivaro include Anti-lock braking system (ABS), Individual sidelight or tail light (rear), Number plate lights (rear). 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 2020 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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