Vauxhall Agila MOT pass rate & common failures
The Vauxhall Agila appears in 240,075 MOT tests spanning model years 2000–2018, and 76.2% of them passed. That is effectively the same as city cars of a similar age (24.3% fail rate), so the MOT record here is unremarkable in either direction. Its most common failure areas are suspension, brakes and lighting & signalling.
Best and worst Agila years
Ranked across Agila years with at least 1,000 tests. Older cars fail more simply because they are older — compare years close together in age before drawing conclusions.
What the MOT record shows
The strongest year on this record is 2015 (87.9% pass rate); the weakest is 2008 (71.2%). Older cars carry more of the difference than the average implies.
Suspension dominates the failure mix at 13.4% of all tests — 3.8 points clear of brakes, so it is the first thing to check.
At component level the recurring items are ball joint, rigid brake pipes and coil spring — ball joint alone was recorded 12,466 times.
Mileage is the strongest signal on the record: 12.9% of 0-30k cars fail, rising to 33.6% once past 150k — 2.6× the risk.
Split by fuel, diesel examples fail 6.9pp more often than petrol ones (30.5% vs 23.7%) — worth weighing if you have a choice.
Advisories point at the next bill rather than this one: brakes was flagged on 34.3% of tests without failing them.
The trend is worsening — 22.2% of tests failed in 2021 against 25.4% in 2025, the usual pattern as a fleet ages.
How it compares
By model year
Every Agila model year with a usable sample. Years with their own detailed report are linked.
| Year | Tests | Pass rate | Fail rate | Most common failure |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 2,421 | 73.6% | 26.4% | Lighting & signalling |
| 2001 | 5,014 | 73.8% | 26.2% | Lighting & signalling |
| 2002 | 5,643 | 74.3% | 25.7% | Lighting & signalling |
| 2003 | 10,281 | 74.6% | 25.4% | Lighting & signalling |
| 2004 | 9,146 | 75.0% | 25.0% | Lighting & signalling |
| 2005 | 9,122 | 75.8% | 24.2% | Lighting & signalling |
| 2006 | 8,384 | 76.3% | 23.7% | Lighting & signalling |
| 2007 | 7,173 | 77.5% | 22.5% | Lighting & signalling |
| 2008 | 21,506 | 71.2% | 28.8% | Suspension |
| 2009 | 39,117 | 72.0% | 28.0% | Suspension |
| 2010 | 25,892 | 74.1% | 25.9% | Suspension |
| 2011 | 28,290 | 75.6% | 24.4% | Suspension |
| 2012 | 25,134 | 79.4% | 20.6% | Suspension |
| 2013 | 21,137 | 82.1% | 17.9% | Suspension |
| 2014 | 20,601 | 84.5% | 15.5% | Suspension |
| 2015 | 1,203 | 87.9% | 12.1% | Brakes |
Most common failures (all years)
| # | Category | % of tests affected | Tests |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Suspension | 13.4% | 32,162 |
| 2 | Brakes | 9.6% | 23,112 |
| 3 | Lighting & signalling | 9.0% | 21,615 |
| 4 | Visibility | 5.5% | 13,229 |
| 5 | Tyres | 4.5% | 10,880 |
| 6 | Body, structure & corrosion | 2.7% | 6,378 |
| 7 | Emissions & environmental | 1.9% | 4,633 |
| 8 | Steering | 1.0% | 2,431 |
Most common specific failures
The exact components most often recorded as failures — more specific than the categories above.
| # | Failure item | Times recorded |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ball joint | 12,466 |
| 2 | Rigid brake pipes | 11,535 |
| 3 | Coil spring | 11,297 |
| 4 | Wipers | 11,048 |
| 5 | Service brake performance | 8,862 |
| 6 | Tread depth | 5,947 |
| 7 | Position lamp | 5,914 |
| 8 | Stop lamp | 5,510 |
Top advisory categories
Advisories aren't failures, but they flag work likely needed soon — useful when budgeting.
| # | Category | % of tests with advisory | Tests |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brakes | 34.3% | 82,316 |
| 2 | Tyres | 27.6% | 66,271 |
| 3 | Suspension | 26.3% | 63,171 |
| 4 | Other defects | 11.8% | 28,317 |
| 5 | Lighting & signalling | 6.3% | 15,097 |
| 6 | Emissions & environmental | 6.2% | 14,979 |
Failure rate by mileage
Higher-mileage cars tend to fail more — often the most useful guide to real condition.
| Mileage band | Tests | Fail rate |
|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 31,397 | 12.9% |
| 30-60k | 90,932 | 21.3% |
| 60-90k | 75,372 | 27.3% |
| 90-120k | 32,110 | 30.7% |
| 120-150k | 8,036 | 32.0% |
| 150k+ | 2,097 | 33.6% |
Failure rate by age
By fuel type
| Fuel | Tests | Fail rate |
|---|---|---|
| Petrol | 235,701 | 23.7% |
| Diesel | 4,374 | 30.5% |
Trend over time
| Dataset year | Tests | Fail rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 52,738 | 22.2% |
| 2022 | 50,519 | 23.0% |
| 2023 | 48,638 | 24.1% |
| 2024 | 45,570 | 24.7% |
| 2025 | 42,610 | 25.4% |
What to check before buying a Vauxhall Agila
- Suspension (13.4% of tests): Worn drop links, bushes, springs or shocks — listen for knocks over bumps and check for uneven tyre wear. Typical repair: £150–£450 per corner.
- Brakes (9.6% of tests): Pads/discs are routine wear; binding, imbalance or corroded pipes are more serious — test for pulling under braking. Typical repair: £100–£350 per axle.
- Lighting & signalling (9.0% of tests): Often a cheap bulb, but persistent issues can mean wiring or corrosion in the units. Typical repair: £10–£150.
Repair costs are rough UK ballpark ranges to set expectations, not quotes — actual prices vary widely by car, parts and garage.
Frequently asked questions
What is the MOT pass rate for the Vauxhall Agila?
76.2% of the 240,075 Vauxhall Agila MOT tests in this dataset passed, a 23.8% fail rate, across model years 2000–2018.
What does the Vauxhall Agila most often fail its MOT on?
Suspension, recorded in 13.4% of tests, then brakes (9.6%).
Which Agila years are best and worst for MOT results?
2015 has the best pass rate at 87.9% and 2008 the weakest at 71.2%, from 1,203 and 21,506 tests respectively.
How much does mileage affect Agila MOT results?
Fail rates run at 12.9% for cars in the 0-30k band and 33.6% for 150k+, a 20.7-point difference.
Is the petrol or diesel Agila more reliable at MOT time?
On MOT-testable defects the petrol fails 23.7% of the time against 30.5% for the diesel. This covers testable items only, not engine or gearbox reliability.
Methodology & source. Based on 240,075 MOT tests. Dataset: DVSA MOT testing data (2021,2022,2023,2024,2025). Data last updated 2026-07-27. Figures reflect MOT-testable defects only — read the methodology for how these are calculated and what they don't measure.