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. On a Vauxhall Insignia bought as a 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 what damaged Vauxhall Insignias actually sold for at UK salvage auction, from 16 real settled sales.

Most common MOT failures on a Vauxhall Insignia

1. A spring or spring component fractured or seriously weakened, 4.9% of tests (3x the national rate for this defect)
2. Lamp emitted colour, position or intensity not in accordance with the requirements, 1.1% of tests (2.41x the national rate for this defect)
3. A headlamp or light source missing, inoperative or more than ½ not functioning in the case of LED, 2.1% of tests (2.36x the national rate for this defect)
4. a brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm, 3.1% of tests (2.01x the national rate for this defect)
5. A shock absorber damaged to the extent that it does not function or showing signs of severe leakage, 1.3% of tests (1.83x the national rate for this defect)
6. Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements, 4.1% of tests (1.79x the national rate for this defect)
7. A rear registration plate lamp or light source missing or inoperative in the case of a single lamp or all lamps, 1.2% of tests (1.79x the national rate for this defect)
8. Exhaust system leaking or insecure, 1.1% of tests (1.42x the national rate for this defect)
9. A tyre cords visible or damaged, 1.7% of tests (1.38x the national rate for this defect)
10. Engine MIL illuminated indicating a malfunction, 1.3% of tests (1.35x the national rate for this defect)

From 301,164 DVSA-tracked Vauxhall Insignia tests, 2024. DVSA testers marked 6.43% of these flagged Vauxhall Insignia defects as "dangerous", meaning the tester judged the car unsafe to drive away, against 4.97% nationally.

Vauxhall Insignia pass rate by model year

Pass rates fall steadily as cars age, so the model year matters as much as the model. 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

Diesel and petrol versions of the same car fail on different things, so the fuel type moves the number:

• 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

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All 2,005 models ranked by MOT pass rate