Vauxhall Insignia: MOT pass rate and reliability data

The Vauxhall Insignia fails its first MOT more often than the average UK car, by 3.2 percentage points. These figures come from the DVSA's full year of anonymised MOT results, covering 200,489 individual Vauxhall Insignia tests. Nothing here is an estimate or a survey.

The numbers

What this means if you are buying one

A 73.5% first-time pass rate means roughly 27 in every 100 Vauxhall Insignias 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 Insignia tested had covered 99,579 miles and was built around 2014.

What this means at salvage auction

Pass rate is a proxy for what a car costs to keep on the road. The Vauxhall Insignia sits 3.2 points below the national average, ranked 1,662 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. See how it stacks up against the Ford Fiesta.

Looking at a specific Vauxhall Insignia 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 the median recorded closing bid for a damaged Vauxhall Insignia: £275 at UK salvage auction, from 55 ended listings, not independently confirmed sales.

Most common MOT failures on a Vauxhall Insignia

1. A spring or spring component fractured or seriously weakened, 6.6% of tests (2.91x the national rate for this defect)
2. A headlamp or light source missing, inoperative or more than ½ not functioning in the case of LED, 2.8% of tests (2.31x the national rate for this defect)
3. Lamp emitted colour, position or intensity not in accordance with the requirements, 1.4% of tests (2.27x the national rate for this defect)
4. a brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm, 4.1% of tests (1.91x the national rate for this defect)
5. Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements, 5.5% of tests (1.72x the national rate for this defect)
6. A rear registration plate lamp or light source missing or inoperative in the case of a single lamp or all lamps, 1.5% of tests (1.72x the national rate for this defect)
7. A shock absorber damaged to the extent that it does not function or showing signs of severe leakage, 1.6% of tests (1.69x the national rate for this defect)
8. Exhaust system leaking or insecure, 1.4% of tests (1.38x the national rate for this defect)
9. A tyre cords visible or damaged, 2.2% of tests (1.31x the national rate for this defect)
10. Engine MIL illuminated indicating a malfunction, 1.7% of tests (1.3x the national rate for this defect)

From 200,303 DVSA-tracked Vauxhall Insignia tests, 2024. DVSA testers marked 6.57% of these flagged Vauxhall Insignia defects as "dangerous", meaning the tester judged the car unsafe to drive away, against 5.11% nationally.

Most common MOT advisories on a Vauxhall Insignia

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 Insignia before it actually fails on it.

1. Lamp emitted colour, position or intensity not in accordance with the requirements, 3% of tests (2.16x the national rate for this advisory), also fails
2. A suspension component excessively damaged or corroded, 10.4% of tests (2.01x the national rate for this advisory)
3. Significant brake effort recorded with no brake applied indicating a binding brake, 3.6% of tests (1.82x the national rate for this advisory)
4. Fluid leaking excessively and likely to harm the environment or to pose a safety risk to other road users, 9.5% of tests (1.71x the national rate for this advisory)
5. Product on the lens or light source which obviously reduces light intensity or changes emitted colour to other than white or yellow, 1.8% of tests (1.6x the national rate for this advisory)
6. A shock absorber damaged to the extent that it does not function or showing signs of severe leakage, 5.9% of tests (1.52x the national rate for this advisory), also fails
7. Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements, 37.3% of tests (1.4x the national rate for this advisory), also fails
8. a brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm, 13% of tests (1.39x the national rate for this advisory), also fails
9. Exhaust system leaking or insecure, 3.8% of tests (1.34x the national rate for this advisory), also fails
10. Brake disc or drum significantly and obviously worn, 4% of tests (1.24x the national rate for this advisory)

From 200,303 DVSA-tracked Vauxhall Insignia tests, 2024.

Vauxhall Insignia pass rate by model year

From its 2009 to its 2021 model year, the Vauxhall Insignia's first-time pass rate has risen 17.9 points, from 65.9% to 83.8%, the usual pattern: a newer model year is a younger car today, so it fails less. First-time pass rate for each Vauxhall Insignia year:

• 2009 Vauxhall Insignia - 65.9% first-time pass, 9,158 tests
• 2010 Vauxhall Insignia - 68.5% first-time pass, 13,243 tests
• 2011 Vauxhall Insignia - 70.5% first-time pass, 22,223 tests
• 2012 Vauxhall Insignia - 71.6% first-time pass, 19,825 tests
• 2013 Vauxhall Insignia - 72.2% first-time pass, 20,621 tests
• 2014 Vauxhall Insignia - 70.9% first-time pass, 25,196 tests
• 2015 Vauxhall Insignia - 73.8% first-time pass, 28,566 tests
• 2016 Vauxhall Insignia - 74.9% first-time pass, 22,416 tests
• 2017 Vauxhall Insignia - 80.9% first-time pass, 15,638 tests
• 2018 Vauxhall Insignia - 85.5% first-time pass, 12,723 tests
• 2019 Vauxhall Insignia - 85.2% first-time pass, 7,998 tests
• 2020 Vauxhall Insignia - 87.1% first-time pass, 1,198 tests
• 2021 Vauxhall Insignia - 83.8% first-time pass, 328 tests

Vauxhall Insignia by fuel type

The Vauxhall Insignia's two most-tested fuel types split by 4.6 points: diesel passes first time 73.1% of the time (162,767 tests) against 77.7% for petrol (36,452 tests).

• Diesel Vauxhall Insignia - 73.1% first-time pass, 162,767 tests
• Petrol Vauxhall Insignia - 77.7% first-time pass, 36,452 tests

Other Vauxhall models

• Vauxhall Corsa - 70%
• Vauxhall Astra - 71.9%
• Vauxhall Mokka - 75.6%
• Vauxhall Zafira - 68.7%
• Vauxhall Vivaro - 59.7%
• Vauxhall Meriva - 68.9%
• Vauxhall Combo - 66.3%
• Vauxhall Adam - 74.6%

Models with a similar pass rate

• Mercedes-Benz R-Class - 73.6%
• Daihatsu Copen - 73.6%
• Fiat Motor Caravan - 73.6%
• Volkswagen Caddy - 73.5%
• Nissan X-Trail - 73.5%
• Subaru Forester - 73.5%

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?

Embed this data

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All 2,005 models ranked by MOT pass rate