Vauxhall Meriva, Buying guide, MOT record, UK numbers and recalls
69,733 Vauxhall Merivas are licensed in the UK. In 2025 they passed 61.5% of initial MOT tests, 10.8 points below the 72.3% UK average.
Looking at a specific Meriva? Check its finance, write-off, stolen, mileage and keeper history. £15, no account needed.
Vauxhall Meriva at the MOT
61.5% of 81,099 initial tests passed in 2025, ranking the Meriva 475th of 575 models. Vauxhall Merivas aged 6 to 10 years passed 70.5% of MOT tests in 2025; for examples aged 11 years and over that fell to 57.8%.
First-time pass rate, 2025
Share of initial tests passed, retests excluded.
Pass rate by age at test
Vauxhall Meriva tests in 2025.
Where Merivas fail
Share of all failure items recorded on Vauxhall Meriva tests in 2025.
The items testers recorded most often were coil spring fractured or broken (12.5%), malfunction indicator lamp inoperative or indicates a malfunction (3.4%) and position lamp not working (3.3%).
The MOT page lists every common Meriva MOT failure. For one car's own results and advisories, run a free MOT history check.
What to look at on a viewing
The Meriva's most common failure areas, and what a tester checks in each.
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Suspension
Listen for knocks over bumps, check the car sits level, and look for leaking shock absorbers and split rubber gaiters.26.6% of Meriva failure items
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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.20.8% of Meriva failure items
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Brakes
Make sure the pedal feels firm, the car stops in a straight line, the handbrake holds on a slope and no brake warning light is showing.15.8% of Meriva failure items
Vauxhall Merivas in the UK
69,733 were licensed at the end of June 2026. The number licensed has fallen 56% since the end of 2014.
- Change since 2014
- −56%from 158,991 licensed
- Typical year of first use
- 2012half of those licensed at the end of 2025 were first used in 2012 or earlier
- Declared off the road
- 9,50612% of those registered, under SORN
Licensed Vauxhall Merivas since 2014
Licensed at each year end and in the latest quarter.
Show the figures
| Date | Licensed |
|---|---|
| End of 2014 | 158,991 |
| End of 2015 | 161,839 |
| End of 2016 | 161,768 |
| End of 2017 | 157,364 |
| End of 2018 | 147,050 |
| End of 2019 | 135,537 |
| End of 2020 | 124,801 |
| End of 2021 | 114,151 |
| End of 2022 | 104,994 |
| End of 2023 | 95,328 |
| End of 2024 | 84,996 |
| End of 2025 | 75,051 |
| End of June 2026 | 69,733 |
How old they are
Licensed Vauxhall Merivas by year of first use.
- Licensed at the end of 2025
- First registered that year
A further 214 were first used before 2004.
Show the figures
| First used | Licensed, end 2025 | First registered that year |
|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 4,319 | 4,579 |
| 2016 | 6,248 | 6,810 |
| 2015 | 7,833 | 8,743 |
| 2014 | 7,163 | |
| 2013 | 6,947 | |
| 2012 | 7,387 | |
| 2011 | 11,623 | |
| 2010 | 7,252 | |
| 2009 | 3,801 | |
| 2008 | 3,570 | |
| 2007 | 3,136 | |
| 2006 | 2,428 | |
| 2005 | 1,430 | |
| 2004 | 1,018 |
7,833 Merivas first used in 2015 were still licensed at the end of 2025, roughly 90% of the 8,743 first registered that year.
Meriva engines and fuel
1.4 litre engines made up 70% of Vauxhall Meriva MOT tests in 2025, followed by 1.6 litre at 14%. Petrol accounts for 82% of licensed Merivas and diesel for 18%.
Engine size at MOT, 2025
Share of 81,078 initial MOT tests in 2025.
Fuel type, licensed Merivas
DfT licensing statistics, June 2026.
| Fuel | Licensed | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Petrol | 57,490 | 82% |
| Diesel | 12,232 | 18% |
| Gas | 11 | <0.1% |
Vauxhall Meriva recalls
10 DVSA safety recalls launched from 1992 to October 2026 name the Vauxhall Meriva. The 8 most recent are below. Each covers vehicles built in a set period, so a recall does not mean every Meriva is affected.
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Dec 2025 R/2025/511
Vauxhall cross carline Driver's Airbag - Takata
Defect and remedy
- Defect
- On affected vehicles the chemicals in the Takata airbag inflators may deteriorate over time. This may cause the inflators to rupture with too much force in a crash leading to serious injury or death in a worst-case scenario.
- Remedy
- Replace the driver airbag module.
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Mar 2017 R/2017/027
Front seat side airbag may deploy incorrectly
Defect and remedy
- Defect
- A front seat side air bag may not deploy as intended
- Remedy
- On affected vehicles replace the airbag module assembly
-
Jan 2017 R/2016/267
Seat belt may not function correctly
Defect and remedy
- Defect
- Repeated occupant movement into the seat over the fastener leading to bending of the steel cable. Possible damage of safety belt anchor cable - worst case: Loss of seat belt function
- Remedy
- This recall is additional to Recall R/2015/201.Improved parts are now available and the manufacturer will now replace the outer pre tensioners.
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Dec 2016 R/2016/274
Front passenger airbag may not deploy as intended
Defect and remedy
- Defect
- The passenger air bag may not meet the correct specification. In the possible event of a frontal collision front passenger airbag might not deploy as intended.
- Remedy
- On affected vehicles replace passenger air bag module.
-
Nov 2015 R/2015/201
Seatbelt may malfunction if vehicle is involved in a collision
Defect and remedy
- Defect
- The front seat belts on vehicles with height adjustable seats may not react as designed during a collision.
- Remedy
- On affected vehicles; Initially check and if necessary replace the steel cable linking the pretensioner to the seat. At a later date the outer pretensioner will be replaced with an improved version.
-
Jul 2015 R/2015/134
Possibility that the engine may stall
Defect and remedy
- Defect
- On affected vehicles there is a potential chafing condition between an engine wiring harness and the transmission housing which might cause miscellaneous engines failures e.g. engine telltale on illuminates vehicle may not start or the engine stalls during driving.
- Remedy
- Reroute loom on affected vehicles. If necessary repair or replace loom.
-
Jan 2015 R/2014/178
Seat belt may open inadvertently in the event of a crash
Defect and remedy
- Defect
- The buckles on seat belts fitted to the 2nd row of seats may have a weakness created during the manufacturing process. This weakness may allow the buckle to inadvertently open during a collision.
- Remedy
- On affected vehicles check the traceability codes of the 2nd row seat belts. Replace those belts which have an affected code.
-
Oct 2014 R/2014/100
Airbag deployment could injure front seat passenger
Defect and remedy
- Defect
- Affected vehicles may have had a damaged passenger airbag module installed during production. In the event of a frontal collision gas escaping during deployment of the airbag may cause injuries to vehicle passenger(s).
- Remedy
- Replace passenger airbag.
Other Vauxhall models
The most-tested Vauxhall models in 2025, against the Meriva's 61.5% MOT pass rate.
Vauxhall Meriva FAQs
How many Vauxhall Merivas are there in the UK?
69,733 Vauxhall Merivas were licensed in the UK at the end of June 2026, with a further 9,506 declared off the road (SORN), according to DfT vehicle licensing statistics.
Is the Vauxhall Meriva 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 61.5% first-time pass rate for the Vauxhall Meriva across 81,099 tests in 2025, below the 72.3% average for all cars.
Has the Vauxhall Meriva had any recalls?
10 DVSA safety recalls launched from 1992 to October 2026 name the Vauxhall Meriva. The most recent was published in December 2025. 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 Meriva?
On the car itself, start with the areas it most often fails on: suspension, lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment and brakes. 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 Meriva'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 a Meriva?
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.