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Vauxhall Adam, Buying guide, MOT record, UK numbers and recalls

54,974 Vauxhall Adams are licensed in the UK. In 2025 they passed 65.7% of initial MOT tests, 6.6 points below the 72.3% UK average.

Looking at a specific Adam? Check its finance, write-off, stolen, mileage and keeper history. £15, no account needed.

Vauxhall Adam at the MOT

65.7% of 58,762 initial tests passed in 2025, ranking the Adam 418th of 575 models. Vauxhall Adams aged 3 to 5 years passed 79.2% of MOT tests in 2025; for examples aged 11 years and over that fell to 62.1%.

First-time pass rate, 2025

Share of initial tests passed, retests excluded.

  • Vauxhall Adam65.7%
  • All Vauxhall modelsLevel with the Adam65.8%
  • All cars72.3%

Pass rate by age at test

Vauxhall Adam tests in 2025.

  • 3 to 5 years3,055 tests79.2%
  • 6 to 10 years42,258 tests65.8%
  • 11 years and over13,449 tests62.1%

Where Adams fail

Share of all failure items recorded on Vauxhall Adam tests in 2025.

  • Suspension30.2%
  • Steering17%
  • Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment14.3%
  • Tyres11.5%
  • Brakes10.2%

The items testers recorded most often were track rod end ball joint dust cover excessively damaged or deteriorated so that it no longer prevents the ingress of dirt (12.5%), shock absorbers has a serious fluid leak (10.8%) and coil spring fractured or broken (8.8%).

The MOT page lists every common Adam MOT failure. For one car's own results and advisories, run a free MOT history check.

Full Vauxhall Adam MOT record

What to look at on a viewing

The Adam's most common failure areas, and what a tester checks in each.

  1. Suspension

    Listen for knocks over bumps, check the car sits level, and look for leaking shock absorbers and split rubber gaiters.30.2% of Adam failure items

  2. Steering

    Feel for play, knocking or stiffness in the steering, and check there is no steering warning light.17% of Adam failure items

  3. Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment

    Walk round with every light on: headlights, brake lights, indicators, fog lights and the number plate lamp. Check no warning lights stay on after starting.14.3% of Adam failure items

Vauxhall Adams in the UK

54,974 were licensed at the end of June 2026. The number licensed has grown 152% since the end of 2014, although it peaked at 58,171 at the end of 2019.

Change since 2014
+152%from 21,824 licensed
Typical year of first use
2015half of those licensed at the end of 2025 were first used in 2015 or earlier
Declared off the road
1,2532.2% of those registered, under SORN

Licensed Vauxhall Adams since 2014

Licensed at each year end and in the latest quarter.

Show the figures
DateLicensed
End of 201421,824
End of 201532,060
End of 201641,045
End of 201748,375
End of 201853,105
End of 201958,171
End of 202057,759
End of 202157,345
End of 202257,400
End of 202356,952
End of 202456,319
End of 202555,548
End of June 202654,974

How old they are

Licensed Vauxhall Adams by year of first use.

  • Licensed at the end of 2025
  • First registered that year

A further 42 were first used before 2013.

Show the figures
First usedLicensed, end 2025First registered that year
20194,6344,859
20185,2115,507
20177,1187,643
20168,9579,718
201510,12711,202
201412,438
20137,006

10,127 Adams first used in 2015 were still licensed at the end of 2025, roughly 90% of the 11,202 first registered that year.

Adam engine sizes

1.2 litre engines made up 68% of Vauxhall Adam MOT tests in 2025, followed by 1.4 litre at 30%. Petrol accounts for 100% of licensed Adams.

Engine size at MOT, 2025

Share of 58,762 initial MOT tests in 2025.

  • 1.2 litre68.5%
  • 1.4 litre30.3%
  • 1.0 litre1.2%

Vauxhall Adam recalls

10 DVSA safety recalls launched from 1992 to October 2026 name the Vauxhall Adam. The 8 most recent are below. Each covers vehicles built in a set period, so a recall does not mean every Adam is affected.

  1. Apr 2019 R/2019/070

    The lambda control might not be robust/precise enough at high speed

    Adams built Jan 2018 to Apr 2019 · 53,981 vehicles across the whole recall

    Defect and remedy
    Defect
    lambda control may result in NOx limit being exceeded during the vehicle lifetime.
    Remedy
    An engine management system software upgrade will be installed.

  2. Apr 2017 R/2017/169

    Sunroof glass may detach

    Adams built Jun 2012 to Oct 2016 · 10,168 vehicles across the whole recall

    Defect and remedy
    Defect
    A deviation in the supplier manufacturing printing process caused a high viscosity in the black print which might lead to a loss of adhesion over vehicle lifetime.
    Remedy
    Until such time a final remedy is determined affected vehicles will have additional fixation added to secure the glass roof to the vehicle.as an interim measure

  3. Apr 2017 R/2017/121

    Sunroof glass panel insecure

    Adams built Jun 2012 to Oct 2016 · 10,168 vehicles across the whole recall

    Defect and remedy
    Defect
    A deviation in the supplier manufacturing printing process on the glass panel caused may cause a loss of adhesion over vehicle lifetime. This may cause the sunroof panel to detach.
    Remedy
    On affected vehicles rework the adhesive connection between the sunroof panel and the vehicle body.

  4. Mar 2017 R/2017/111

    Handbrake may disengage

    Adams built Aug 2016 to Jan 2017 · 1,530 vehicles across the whole recall

    Defect and remedy
    Defect
    Due to a possible contamination of the tooth segment the handbrake pawl may not latch correctly. This may cause the handbrake to disengage.
    Remedy
    On affected vehicles Replace the parking brake lever assembly.

  5. Mar 2017 R/2017/029

    Drivers airbag may not deploy correctly

    Adams built Aug 2016 to Dec 2016 · 2 vehicles across the whole recall

    Defect and remedy
    Defect
    The driver's air bag may not deploy as intended
    Remedy
    On affected vehicles replace the airbag module assembly

  6. Feb 2017 R/2016/292

    Steering rack may fracture

    Adams built Oct 2014 to Jan 2015 · 3,333 vehicles across the whole recall

    Defect and remedy
    Defect
    Due to a manufacturing process deviation the toothed rack of the steering gear might break under extensive force application i.e. when manoeuvring at slow speed.
    Remedy
    Recall the vehicles that are likely to be affected and check the build date of the steering rack. Where the steering rack is proved to be from the affected batch the steering rack will be replaced.

  7. Dec 2015 R/2015/234

    Loss of stability

    Adams built Jun 2014 to Sep 2015 · 421 vehicles across the whole recall

    Defect and remedy
    Defect
    The connection between the steering knuckle and the lower control arm may not be assembled correctly. If this condition is evident the connection could become insecure. The event can happen suddenly and unexpectedly in which case the vehicle is no longer controllable.
    Remedy
    Recall the vehicles that are likely to be affected and inspect the connection between the steering knuckle and the lower control arm on both sides of the vehicle. Where necessary the connection will be reassembled correctly.

  8. Aug 2015 R/2015/172

    Loss of steering control

    Adams built Jun 2015 to Jul 2015 · 8,883 vehicles across the whole recall

    Defect and remedy
    Defect
    The gears within the steering rack may not have been manufactured to the correct specification which may allow them to crack over a period of time. Prolonged use could cause loss of steering control.
    Remedy
    On affected vehicles replace steering gear assembly
How to check a specific Adam for recalls

Other Vauxhall models

The most-tested Vauxhall models in 2025, against the Adam's 65.7% MOT pass rate.

All 20 Vauxhall models

Vauxhall Adam FAQs

How many Vauxhall Adams are there in the UK?

54,974 Vauxhall Adams were licensed in the UK at the end of June 2026, with a further 1,253 declared off the road (SORN), according to DfT vehicle licensing statistics.

Is the Vauxhall Adam reliable?

MOT data does not measure reliability. It records whether a car met the roadworthiness standard on the day of its test. What it does show is a 65.7% first-time pass rate for the Vauxhall Adam across 58,762 tests in 2025, below the 72.3% average for all cars.

Has the Vauxhall Adam had any recalls?

10 DVSA safety recalls launched from 1992 to October 2026 name the Vauxhall Adam. The most recent was published in April 2019. A recall applies to vehicles built in a set period, so check a specific car on the GOV.UK vehicle recall checker.

What should I check before buying a used Vauxhall Adam?

On the car itself, start with the areas it most often fails on: suspension, steering and lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment. Then check the individual car's own records. Outstanding finance, insurance write-offs and police stolen markers are not part of the MOT record, so they take a history check.

How do I check a Vauxhall Adam's history?

Enter the registration of the specific car. A Carpeep car history check reports outstanding finance, write-off category, stolen markers, mileage history, previous keepers, MOT and tax status, import and export markers and scrapped status in one £15 report.

Already found an Adam?

Check its finance, write-off, theft, mileage and keeper history with a £15 vehicle history report.

Across the 1,548 vehicles of every make Carpeep has checked since November 2025, 19% had outstanding finance recorded and 13% an insurance write-off. More on the Vauxhall history check. To confirm a car's identity, see the Vauxhall VIN check.

  • Outstanding finance
  • Write-off records
  • Stolen markers
  • Mileage history
  • Previous keepers

MOT figures are aggregated from the DVSA MOT Anonymised data set for 2025 (class 4 initial tests, retests excluded), which also gives the engine sizes. Licensed, SORN, fuel and registration figures are from the Department for Transport vehicle licensing statistics (VEH0120, VEH0124, VEH0160). Recalls are from the DVSA vehicle recalls data, with recalls launched up to October 2026. Government data is used under the Open Government Licence v3.0. MOT results describe roadworthiness at test, not mechanical reliability. History-check findings are anonymous counts from reports bought on Carpeep, each vehicle counted once, and are published only where at least 100 vehicles returned an answer.