Vauxhall Frontera: MOT pass rate and reliability data

The Vauxhall Frontera fails its first MOT more often than the average UK car, by 9.4 percentage points. These figures come from the DVSA's full year of anonymised MOT results, covering 739 individual Vauxhall Frontera tests. Nothing here is an estimate or a survey.

The numbers

What this means if you are buying one

A 67.3% first-time pass rate means roughly 33 in every 100 Vauxhall Fronteras presented for MOT fail on the first attempt. That is worse than average, so budget for remedial work and treat a fresh 12-month MOT as a genuine selling point rather than a given. The average Vauxhall Frontera tested had covered 103,378 miles and was built around 2000.

What this means at salvage auction

Pass rate is a proxy for what a car costs to keep on the road. The Vauxhall Frontera sits 9.4 points below the national average, ranked 1,824 of 2,005 models. On one bought as repairable salvage, assume the mechanical side needs more than the visible accident damage, and pad your repair estimate accordingly.

Before you bid: run the lot through the analyzer, check the car's own record, check the mileage, decode the VIN, and if it carries a marker use the write-off value calculator. Or compare it against another model.

Looking at a specific Vauxhall Frontera rather than the model in general? The free check covers its MOT and mileage history, and the full HPI report confirms the insurance write-off category, outstanding finance and whether it is recorded stolen, from licensed data for 5 credits. Already own one that has been damaged? Work out whether fixing it beats selling it with the repair or scrap calculator, and see recorded closing bids for damaged Vauxhall Fronteras at UK salvage auction.

Most common MOT failures on a Vauxhall Frontera

1. The strength or continuity of the load bearing structure within 30cm of any seat belt anchorage (a 'prescribed area') is significantly reduced or inadequately repaired, 7.3% of tests (27.47x the national rate for this defect)
2. Body, cab or chassis excessively corroded at a mounting point, 5.8% of tests (25.51x the national rate for this defect)
3. Service brake efficiency below minimum requirement, 2.6% of tests (12.1x the national rate for this defect)
4. Vehicle structure corroded to the extent that the rigidity of the assembly is seriously reduced, 3.9% of tests (9.53x the national rate for this defect)
5. Emissions test unable to be completed, 2.4% of tests (5.95x the national rate for this defect)
6. Brake pipe damaged or excessively corroded, 6.3% of tests (5.85x the national rate for this defect)
7. Exhaust system leaking or insecure, 5.8% of tests (5.77x the national rate for this defect)
8. The strength or continuity of the load bearing structure within 30cm of any sub-frame, spring or suspension component mounting (a 'prescribed area') is significantly reduced or inadequately repaired, 5% of tests (5.32x the national rate for this defect)
9. A transmission shaft constant velocity joint boot missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt etc, 7.3% of tests (4.79x the national rate for this defect)
10. Significant brake effort recorded with no brake applied indicating a binding brake, 3.7% of tests (3.54x the national rate for this defect)

From 736 DVSA-tracked Vauxhall Frontera tests, 2024. DVSA testers marked 1.97% of these flagged Vauxhall Frontera defects as "dangerous", meaning the tester judged the car unsafe to drive away, against 5.11% nationally.

Most common MOT advisories on a Vauxhall Frontera

An advisory doesn't fail the car - the tester flags it as worth watching, but it still passes. A different list from the failures above: what testers are noting on a Vauxhall Frontera before it actually fails on it.

1. A wheel bearing with excessive play, 20.4% of tests (31.4x the national rate for this advisory)
2. Body, cab or chassis excessively corroded at a mounting point, 5.3% of tests (18.24x the national rate for this advisory), also fails
3. Vehicle structure corroded to the extent that the rigidity of the assembly is seriously reduced, 16.8% of tests (13.54x the national rate for this advisory), also fails
4. A brake hose ferrule excessively corroded, 7.5% of tests (5.87x the national rate for this advisory)
5. The strength or continuity of the load bearing structure within 30cm of any sub-frame, spring or suspension component mounting (a 'prescribed area') is significantly reduced or inadequately repaired, 8.8% of tests (5.82x the national rate for this advisory), also fails
6. Brake pipe damaged or excessively corroded, 34% of tests (5.49x the national rate for this advisory), also fails
7. Fluid leaking excessively and likely to harm the environment or to pose a safety risk to other road users, 24% of tests (4.32x the national rate for this advisory)
8. Exhaust system leaking or insecure, 9.4% of tests (3.29x the national rate for this advisory), also fails
9. A spring or spring component fractured or seriously weakened, 13.2% of tests (2.79x the national rate for this advisory)
10. A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn, 33.4% of tests (2.5x the national rate for this advisory)

From 736 DVSA-tracked Vauxhall Frontera tests, 2024.

Vauxhall Frontera by fuel type

The Vauxhall Frontera's two most-tested fuel types split by 2.2 points: diesel passes first time 69.1% of the time (369 tests) against 66.9% for petrol (357 tests).

• Diesel Vauxhall Frontera - 69.1% first-time pass, 369 tests
• Petrol Vauxhall Frontera - 66.9% first-time pass, 357 tests

Other Vauxhall models

• Vauxhall Corsa - 70%
• Vauxhall Astra - 71.9%
• Vauxhall Mokka - 75.6%
• Vauxhall Zafira - 68.7%
• Vauxhall Insignia - 73.5%
• Vauxhall Vivaro - 59.7%
• Vauxhall Meriva - 68.9%
• Vauxhall Combo - 66.3%

Models with a similar pass rate

• Nissan Murano - 67.4%
• Subaru Justy - 67.4%
• Fiat Fiorino - 67.3%
• Chrysler Ypsilon - 67.1%
• Ford Puma - 67.1%
• Peugeot 1007 - 67%

If this car is a salvage or write-off

• What does Cat N mean? Category N explained
• What does Cat S mean? Category S explained
• Cat S vs Cat N: the real differences
• Do you need an HPI check on a car you know is a write-off?

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All 2,005 models ranked by MOT pass rate