Vauxhall Agila MOT failure rate and common faults
29,510 Vauxhall Agila cars aged 3 to 20 took their MOT in 2025, and 39.3% failed at the first attempt. An average car of the same age failed 38.5% of the time, which makes the Vauxhall Agila about as likely to fail than the typical car on the road. Here is what fails, and which years to look for.
39.3%
failed first time
29,510 MOT tests in 2025
+2%
vs same age average
average car of this age mix: 38.5%
133 of 208
age adjusted rank
among cars; 1 fails least
107.2
dangerous defects per 1,000
same age average: 134.1
What fails on a Vauxhall Agila MOT
Failure items recorded per 1,000 tests, by part of the car, set against an average car with exactly the same spread of ages. A figure well above average is a weak spot worth checking before you buy.
The most common Vauxhall Agila MOT failures
The individual failure items testers recorded most often, per 1,000 tests.
| Failure item | Area | Per 1,000 tests |
|---|---|---|
| Ball joint excessively worn | Suspension | 73.2 |
| Coil spring: fractured or broken | Suspension | 70.8 |
| Wipers: does not clear the windscreen effectively | Windscreen, wipers and mirrors | 57.1 |
| Rigid brake pipes: excessively corroded | Brakes | 45.1 |
| Service brake performance: excessively binding | Brakes | 39.1 |
| Stop lamp: not working | Lights and electrics | 35.5 |
| Position lamp: not working | Lights and electrics | 35.0 |
| Parking brake efficiency: efficiency below requirements | Brakes | 32.3 |
| Individual direction indicators: incorrect colour | Lights and electrics | 31.9 |
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm | Tyres | 27.8 |
Vauxhall Agila MOT failure rate by year
Every car fails more often as it ages, so each registration year is compared with the average for all cars of the same age. Years with fewer than 500 tests are left out.
| First registered | Tests | Failed | Same age average | Average mileage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 3,428 | 28.0% | 31.4% | 50,500 |
| 2013 | 3,434 | 32.9% | 34.3% | 55,800 |
| 2012 | 3,896 | 37.9% | 36.6% | 61,500 |
| 2011 | 4,114 | 40.6% | 38.8% | 66,000 |
| 2010 | 3,619 | 41.6% | 40.7% | 66,800 |
| 2009 | 5,166 | 45.6% | 41.8% | 70,600 |
| 2008 | 2,741 | 48.0% | 42.9% | 72,500 |
| 2007 | 902 | 37.5% | 42.7% | 72,000 |
| 2006 | 976 | 40.7% | 43.0% | 73,100 |
| 2005 | 1,026 | 39.6% | 42.4% | 75,000 |
Advisories to look for in a Vauxhall Agila's MOT history
An advisory is a tester's warning that something is wearing but has not failed yet. These are the ones written most often on the Vauxhall Agila, per 1,000 tests. If the car you are looking at has one of these, ask whether it has been fixed since.
- Rigid brake pipes: corroded, covered in grease or other material337.0
- Tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge233.5
- Tyres: slightly damaged/cracking or perishing224.9
- Suspension arms: pin or bush worn but not resulting in excessive movement135.2
- Brake discs: worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened89.1
- Flexible brake hoses: has slight corrosion to ferrule63.8
Checking a used Vauxhall Agila before you buy
Against cars of the same age, the Vauxhall Agila fails more often than average on suspension, brakes and windscreen, wipers and mirrors. Start there.
Suspension
Drive over speed bumps with the radio off and listen for knocks. Look at the car side on: a corner sitting lower than the others often means a broken coil spring.
Brakes
Look through the wheel spokes at the discs for a deep lip or scoring, check the handbrake holds the car on a slope, and feel for a pull to one side when braking hard.
Windscreen, wipers and mirrors
Look for chips or cracks in the driver's line of sight, and test the wipers and washers. Windscreen damage in the swept area is an MOT failure.
Averages only take you so far. The specific car's MOT history shows whether it has already failed on any of these, how often advisories were ignored, and whether the mileage climbs steadily from test to test. Read our guide to reading a car's MOT history before you go to view it.
Vauxhall Agila MOT questions
What is the Vauxhall Agila MOT failure rate?
39.3% of Vauxhall Agila cars failed their first MOT test of 2025, from 29,510 tests on vehicles aged 3 to 20. An average car with the same age mix failed 38.5% of the time, so the Vauxhall Agila was about as likely to fail.
What fails most often on a Vauxhall Agila MOT?
Suspension caused the most failure items, at 321 per 1,000 tests. The single most common failure item was "Ball joint excessively worn", recorded 73.2 times per 1,000 tests.
Which Vauxhall Agila year has the best MOT record?
Measured against cars of the same age, 2014 registrations did best: 28.0% failed against an average of 31.4% for cars that age. Older cars always fail more often, so compare a year with its age group rather than with newer cars.
Does this tell me whether a particular Vauxhall Agila will pass?
No. These are averages across every Vauxhall Agila tested in 2025. The car in front of you has its own record: its full MOT history shows every pass, failure and advisory it has had, and it is free to view by registration.
Other Vauxhall models
- Vauxhall Corsa35.2% failed
- Vauxhall Astra33.9% failed
- Vauxhall Mokka30.9% failed
- Vauxhall Insignia32.6% failed
- Vauxhall Vivaro41.7% failed
- Vauxhall Zafira38.2% failed
Ranked close to the Vauxhall Agila
- Ford C-Maxrank 130
- Mercedes-Benz CLArank 131
- Mazda 6rank 132
- Skoda Rapidrank 134
How these figures are calculated
Source: DVSA Anonymised MOT tests and results, 2025 release. We count first tests of cars and small vans (class 4) aged 3 to 20, so a car that fails and is retested is counted once. A failure includes faults fixed and passed within the same visit. The same age average weights the national failure rate for each age by how many Vauxhall Agila cars of that age were tested, so a model is never penalised for having an older fleet. Make and model are as recorded at the test; trim levels are combined. Full method and rankings.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.