Vauxhall Ampera MOT Pass Rate & Official DVSA Failure Statistics

Vauxhall Ampera MOT History and Failure Rates vs UK National Average

The Vauxhall Ampera passed on its first attempt in 73.4%, and its overall record sits −2.7 percentage points below the national average for all cars. These figures come from every recorded DVSA MOT test for the Vauxhall Ampera in the 2023–2025 data: 4,277 tests across 4 model years (2012–2015). A test still carries exactly one pass or fail verdict.

Figures are computed from every recorded DVSA test for this model in the 2023–2025 data.

Most Common Vauxhall Ampera MOT Problems by Failure Category

Every MOT failure a tester records belongs to one inspection section of the DVSA manual. For the Vauxhall Ampera, the Body, chassis, structure section leads the record — the breakdown below shows where the recorded failures cluster, then the exact strings behind the three biggest sections.

Shares are over the Vauxhall Ampera's recorded defect strings, merged across its year pages.

Top Recorded Vauxhall Ampera DVSA MOT Test Statistics & Defect Descriptions

The descriptions below are the exact DVSA failure strings testers recorded most often for the Vauxhall Ampera, each with how many of the model's 4,277 tests it was noted on.

• "Joints constant velocity boot severely deteriorated" (Minor) — noted on about 348 Vauxhall Ampera tests, 8.1% of the model's MOT record.
• "Joints constant velocity boot split or insecure, no longer prevents the ingress of dirt" (Major) — noted on about 214 Vauxhall Ampera tests, 5.0% of the model's MOT record.
• "Malfunction indicator lamp inoperative or indicates a malfunction" (Major) — noted on about 201 Vauxhall Ampera tests, 4.7% of the model's MOT record.
• "Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources" (Minor) — noted on about 126 Vauxhall Ampera tests, 2.9% of the model's MOT record.
• "Coil spring fractured or broken" (Major) — noted on about 119 Vauxhall Ampera tests, 2.8% of the model's MOT record.
• "Side repeaters not working" (Major) — noted on about 107 Vauxhall Ampera tests, 2.5% of the model's MOT record.

Best and Worst Vauxhall Ampera Model Years by Pass Rate

The strongest Vauxhall Ampera model year on record is 2015 (82.5% across 331 tests), and the weakest is 2012 (76.8%). The gap between them is 5.7 points. Years with fewer than 50 recorded tests are excluded, so these are the years with enough MOT history to mean something.

Vauxhall Ampera reliability is improving in the DVSA data — the pass rate moves about 1.4 points a year across the most recent model years shown above.

Newest model year first. Only years with at least 50 recorded tests are listed.

Pre-MOT Inspection Checklist for Vauxhall Ampera Owners

These checks follow this Vauxhall Ampera's own most-recorded failure strings, starting with what a tester is most likely to flag on a Vauxhall Ampera.

• the lights — “malfunction indicator lamp inoperative or indicates a malfunction”

  Switch everything on and walk round the car: both headlamps on dip and main, every indicator, both brake lights, reverse, fog and the two number-plate lamps. A bulb is a few pounds and a five-minute job.

• the coil springs — “coil spring fractured or broken”

  Look up inside each wheel arch with a torch, all the way round the spring. A snapped spring usually breaks at the very bottom coil, where a quick glance will not reach.

• the windscreen — “windscreen damaged”

  Check the driver’s side of the screen within the swept area for chips and cracks; anything larger than 10mm in the driver’s central view is a fail. Most chips can be resin-repaired for far less than a new screen.

Derived from the DVSA failure strings testers recorded for the Vauxhall Ampera. A check that finds nothing means the item is likely fine, not that the test is guaranteed.

Where the Vauxhall Ampera is most common

Across every Ampera model year on record (2012–2015): 1,845 Vauxhall Ampera cars tested in a recordable postcode area, across 4,276 tests. Birmingham (B) has the most, with 67 cars tested there. Cars are counted by the postcode area of the MOT station, so this is where they were tested, not necessarily where their owners live.

The twenty areas with the most Vauxhall Ampera cars in the record, sorted by car count — sort the columns for a different question. Cars tested at a station whose postcode area could not be resolved are counted in the model's total but in no area, so the shares add up to slightly under 100% even across every area, and an area's cars are a subset of the model's. Pass rate is blank below 30 tests in an area, where a percentage is noise rather than a finding. How this model's pass rate varies by postcode →

Frequently Asked Questions: Vauxhall Ampera MOT & Reliability