Vauxhall Grandland MOT failure rate and common faults
74,495 Vauxhall Grandland cars aged 3 to 20 took their MOT in 2025, and 16.4% failed at the first attempt. An average car of the same age failed 15.4% of the time, which makes the Vauxhall Grandland 6% more likely to fail than the typical car on the road. Here is what fails, and which years to look for.
16.4%
failed first time
74,495 MOT tests in 2025
+6%
vs same age average
average car of this age mix: 15.4%
147 of 208
age adjusted rank
among cars; 1 fails least
87.0
dangerous defects per 1,000
same age average: 69.6
What fails on a Vauxhall Grandland 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 Grandland MOT failures
The individual failure items testers recorded most often, per 1,000 tests.
| Failure item | Area | Per 1,000 tests |
|---|---|---|
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm | Tyres | 43.5 |
| Brake pads: less than 1.5 mm thick | Brakes | 22.4 |
| Tyres: has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords | Tyres | 15.4 |
| Headlamp: not working on dipped beam | Lights and electrics | 11.7 |
| Drive shafts: constant velocity boot split or insecure, no longer prevents the ingress of dirt | Body, chassis, exhaust and drive shafts | 9.7 |
| Wipers: does not clear the windscreen effectively | Windscreen, wipers and mirrors | 9.4 |
| Stop lamp: not working | Lights and electrics | 8.9 |
| Headlamp aim: too low | Lights and electrics | 8.0 |
| Washers: provides insufficient washer liquid | Windscreen, wipers and mirrors | 7.5 |
| Tyres: has ply or cords exposed | Tyres | 7.2 |
Vauxhall Grandland 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 7,140 | 11.7% | 11.4% | 24,200 |
| 2021 | 10,665 | 11.4% | 12.8% | 35,300 |
| 2020 | 18,120 | 13.8% | 14.1% | 39,100 |
| 2019 | 22,420 | 17.0% | 16.5% | 46,400 |
| 2018 | 16,097 | 23.6% | 19.1% | 56,000 |
Advisories to look for in a Vauxhall Grandland'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 Grandland, per 1,000 tests. If the car you are looking at has one of these, ask whether it has been fixed since.
- Tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge353.9
- Brake discs: worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened151.5
- Brake pads: wearing thin111.8
- Tyres: slightly damaged/cracking or perishing75.3
- Brake discs: worn, but not excessively38.4
- Linkage ball joints: ball joint has slight play17.9
Checking a used Vauxhall Grandland before you buy
Against cars of the same age, the Vauxhall Grandland fails more often than average on brakes and body, chassis, exhaust and drive shafts. Start there.
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.
Body, chassis, exhaust and drive shafts
Turn the steering to full lock and look behind each front wheel: the rubber boots on the drive shafts should be whole, with no grease sprayed around. Then get down with a torch and check the exhaust hangers, sills, floor and subframes for rust.
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.
Fuel mix of the Vauxhall Grandland cars tested: Petrol 77%, Diesel 21%. Average age at test 5.4 years, average recorded mileage 43,000.
Vauxhall Grandland MOT questions
What is the Vauxhall Grandland MOT failure rate?
16.4% of Vauxhall Grandland cars failed their first MOT test of 2025, from 74,495 tests on vehicles aged 3 to 20. An average car with the same age mix failed 15.4% of the time, so the Vauxhall Grandland was 6% more likely to fail.
What fails most often on a Vauxhall Grandland MOT?
Tyres caused the most failure items, at 78 per 1,000 tests. The single most common failure item was "Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm", recorded 43.5 times per 1,000 tests.
Which Vauxhall Grandland year has the best MOT record?
Measured against cars of the same age, 2021 registrations did best: 11.4% failed against an average of 12.8% 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 Grandland will pass?
No. These are averages across every Vauxhall Grandland 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 Grandland
- Fiat Pandarank 145
- Kia Sorentorank 146
- Hyundai ix20rank 148
- Hyundai Santa Ferank 150
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 Grandland 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.