Vauxhall Corsa MOT failures and reliability

In 2023 the Vauxhall Corsa took 942,998 MOT tests in Britain and passed 64% of them first time, below the national average of 71% for all cars. The figures below come from the DVSA's record of every test, so they show what testers actually found on these cars rather than what owners report.

MOT tests in 2023: 942,998
First-time pass rate: 64%
All cars: 71%

What the Corsa fails on

Share of tests with at least one failure in each area, against the figure for all cars.

Lights and electrics14.5% (all cars 11.3%)
Suspension13.1% (all cars 9.0%)
Visibility7.4% (all cars 4.8%)
Brakes7.2% (all cars 6.8%)
Tyres6.5% (all cars 6.4%)
Exhaust and emissions4.8% (all cars 3.1%)
Body and structure4.1% (all cars 3.5%)
Steering3.3% (all cars 1.8%)

Most common failure items

Share of tests on which each item was recorded.

Coil spring: fractured or broken 7.1%
Stop lamp: not working 3.7%
Wipers: does not clear the windscreen effectively 2.9%
Washers: provides insufficient washer liquid 2.8%
Malfunction indicator lamp: inoperative or indicates a malfunction 2.7%
Headlamp: not working on dipped beam 2.6%
Position lamp: not working 2.5%
Tread depth: tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm 2.4%

Most common advisories

Tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge 17.3%
Tyres, condition: slightly damaged/cracking or perishing 12.6%
Engine oil leaks: leak, but not excessive 8.9%
Brake discs: worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened 8.5%
Shock absorbers: has light misting of oil 6.3%
Brake pads: wearing thin 5.9%
Exhaust system: has a minor leak of exhaust gases 4.0%
Coil spring: corroded 3.9%

Pass rate by year of registration

Older cars fail more often whatever the model, so compare a car with others of the same age.

First registered	Tests	Pass rate
1996	323	56%
1997	636	61%
1998	973	62%
1999	1,274	57%
2000	1,737	55%
2001	4,209	49%
2002	6,313	50%
2003	9,565	48%
2004	11,264	49%
2005	15,195	49%
2006	21,511	50%
2007	40,420	52%
2008	51,353	53%
2009	54,143	54%
2010	57,838	55%
2011	63,382	58%
2012	76,904	58%
2013	75,691	59%
2014	76,483	59%
2015	88,968	69%
2016	76,521	74%
2017	52,485	77%
2018	53,162	79%
2019	53,708	79%
2020	46,127	86%
2021	2,373	92%

Typical mileage by age

Average odometer reading at the MOT, by the car's age in years at the test.

Age at test	Average mileage
3 years	21,960 miles
4 years	25,513 miles
5 years	33,525 miles
6 years	41,536 miles
7 years	49,364 miles
8 years	56,114 miles
9 years	62,637 miles
10 years	68,517 miles
11 years	73,549 miles
12 years	77,816 miles
13 years	80,777 miles
14 years	84,942 miles
15 years	87,943 miles
16 years	89,373 miles
17 years	83,748 miles
18 years	82,169 miles
19 years	81,779 miles
20 years	82,027 miles

Check a particular Corsa

Model figures tell you what to look out for. To see one car's own MOT history, mileage and tax, enter its registration.

Other Vauxhall models

Source: Department for Transport, Anonymised MOT tests and results, 2023, cars and light vans, normal tests only. Pass rates are first-time passes; a pass after repair at the test station counts as a fail. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.