65.7%
Vauxhall Adam
Vauxhall Adam MOT pass rate and common problems
The Vauxhall Adam passed 65.7% of its initial MOT tests in 2025, 6.6 percentage points below the 72.3% UK average. The item testers recorded most often was track rod end ball joint dust cover excessively damaged or deteriorated so that it no longer prevents the ingress of dirt.
Checking a specific car? Its own results, advisories and recorded mileages are in a free MOT history check.
How the Adam compares
Initial MOT tests in 2025, retests excluded. A car that failed and was repaired at the test station counts as a fail.
65.8%
Vauxhall average
72.3%
UK average, all cars
The Adam is level with the Vauxhall average. It is 8th of the 20 Vauxhall models in the data. The average Adam arrived at its test 9.4 years old with 56,291 miles recorded.
A pass rate records whether cars met the roadworthiness standard on test day. It is not a reliability score, and part of any gap reflects how old the tested cars were.
Adam MOT pass rate by age
The same 2025 tests split by the car's age at test.
Vauxhall Adam cars aged 3 to 5 years passed 79.2% of MOT tests. For cars aged 11 years and over that fell to 62.1%, a drop of 17.1 percentage points.
| Age at test | Tests | Pass rate | vs UK average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 to 5 years | 3,055 | 79.2% | 6.9 pts above |
| 6 to 10 years | 42,258 | 65.8% | 6.5 pts below |
| 11 years and over | 13,449 | 62.1% | 10.2 pts below |
That is a steep decline with age, so the headline rate flatters older examples. The UK average of 72.3% covers cars of every age, so compare like with like.
Where Adam failures cluster
Every failure item recorded on Vauxhall Adam cars in 2025, grouped into the DVSA's test areas.
Suspension and steering together account for 47.2% of recorded failure items. These are recorded failures across the model, not faults every car has.
The 10 most common Adam MOT failures
Specific items recorded on Vauxhall Adam cars that failed their 2025 MOT, as a share of all recorded failure items.
Together these 10 items make up 53.3% of everything testers recorded against failed Vauxhall Adam cars. The rest is spread across many smaller items, and one failed test often records several at once.
What to look at on a Adam
The recorded failures above, grouped by area, biggest first.
1
Suspension
Recorded most often: shock absorbers has a serious fluid leak, coil spring fractured or broken and sub-frame corroded and seriously weakened. 22.4% of failure items.
2
Steering
Recorded most often: track rod end ball joint dust cover excessively damaged or deteriorated so that it no longer prevents the ingress of dirt and track rod end ball joint dust cover insecure so that it no longer prevents the ingress of dirt. 15.3% of failure items.
3
Visibility
Recorded most often: wipers does not clear the windscreen effectively and washers provides insufficient washer liquid. 5.9% of failure items.
4
Tyres
Recorded most often: tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm. 4.3% of failure items.
The car's own MOT history matters more than any model average. A free MOT history check shows whether a specific Adam has failed on these items before, or had them noted as advisories. Buying one? See the used Vauxhall Adam buying guide.
Already found one?
Check its finance, write-off, theft, mileage and keeper history with a £15 vehicle history report.
Vauxhall Adam MOT FAQs
What is the Vauxhall Adam MOT pass rate?
65.7% of Vauxhall Adam cars passed their initial MOT first time in 2025, from 58,762 tests. That is 6.6 percentage points below the 72.3% average for all cars, and ranks 418th of 575 models.
What does a Vauxhall Adam most commonly fail its MOT on?
The item testers recorded most often on Vauxhall Adam cars failing their 2025 MOT was track rod end ball joint dust cover excessively damaged or deteriorated so that it no longer prevents the ingress of dirt, on 12.5% of failure items. Next were shock absorbers has a serious fluid leak (10.8%) and coil spring fractured or broken (8.8%).
Which area causes the most Vauxhall Adam MOT failures?
Across every recorded failure item, the largest area was suspension at 30.2%, followed by steering at 17%.
Do older Vauxhall Adam cars fail their MOT more often?
Vauxhall Adam cars aged 3 to 5 years passed 79.2% of MOT tests in 2025, against 62.1% for cars aged 11 years and over.
Does this mean every Vauxhall Adam has these problems?
No. These are the items testers recorded across every Vauxhall Adam that failed in 2025. They show where the model most often needs attention, not the condition of any individual car.
How do I see a specific Vauxhall Adam's MOT history?
Enter its registration on the free Carpeep MOT history check to see that car's own test results, failures, advisories and recorded mileages.
MOT figures are aggregated from the DVSA MOT Anonymised data set for 2025: class 4 initial tests, retests excluded, with failure items from failed tests (advisories and minor defects excluded), licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. MOT results describe roadworthiness at test, not mechanical reliability.