Pass rate
71.2%
Below average — 2.8 pts behind the 74.0% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 6,577 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £29–£78
2009 Vauxhall Vectra MOT pass rate
- 2009
- typical 113,242 mi
Most common fault
Suspension
26.3% of faults · 21.0% nationally
mostly worn arm bushes, split ball-joint boots and broken coil springs.
Part only £35–£75 for Suspension pin or bush excessively worn. What fitting it takes →
0.5 pts down across model years — 7.4% in 2000, 6.9% in 2009.
Which year to buy
- Best 2001 75.3% pass
- Avoid 2004 69.7% pass
Across the 10 years on record, a spread of 5.6 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 61.7%
- Typical mileage
- 113k mi
The 2009 Vauxhall Vectra MOT pass rate is 71.2% of its MOT tests — 2.8 points behind what its age and mileage predict. Suspension is the biggest single reason it fails, at 26.3% of what testers record.
Check your postcode
MOT pass rates are national — type your postcode to see how Vauxhall Vectra does in your corner of the country.
Expert verdict
Suspension: 1.3× the national share
Suspension accounts for 26.3% of everything recorded on the 2009 Vauxhall Vectra, against 21.0% nationally — 5.3 points above. Ask for the front and rear suspension to be checked on a ramp before you buy — worn bushes and broken springs are cheap to look at and expensive to discover at test time.
- When it fails, it costs. Only 32% of this model’s typical repairs come in under £30 in parts — the failures here tend to be the kind that need a garage rather than a bulb.
Written from this page's own figures: fault shares against the national composition, the like-for-like pass rate, and the priced repair list. How these are worked out
Watching a Vauxhall Vectra? Get an email when these numbers change .
How does the 2009 Vauxhall Vectra compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 74.0%, so this figure is 2.8 points behind what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 61.7%. The median 2009 Vauxhall Vectra in this dataset had covered 113,242 mi.
63% of the tests on this vehicle ran on Diesel, which passed 70.6% of the time. Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 71.7% of the time, April–September 70.5%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated", noted on 6.60% of tests.
- 6,577 recorded tests behind this page.
- 71.2% overall pass rate, 61.7% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the Vauxhall Vectra, the average is 71.0% — best year 2001 (75.3%), worst 2004 (69.7%).
Figures count every completed test on this vehicle-year in the dataset, including retests. See methodology for the exact definition.
This page's data
- Tests analysed
- 6,577
- Typical mileage (median)
- 113,242 mi
- Make and model
- Vauxhall Vectra
- Updated
- 2026-11-05
Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data (2023–2025), OGL v3.0.
Top part to budget for
Ball Joint
Usually a DIY or independent-garage job.
Does mileage affect the Vectra MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 61% so small gaps stay visible.
Fuel type and reliability
Pass rate by fuel type. Diesel is the most common here (63% of tests).
Regional pass rates for the Vectra
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South East | 935 | 72.5% |
| North West | 769 | 72.8% |
| Yorkshire | 715 | 71.0% |
| East of England | 708 | 73.7% |
| Scotland | 692 | 66.8% |
| South West | 624 | 66.5% |
| West Midlands | 623 | 74.6% |
| East Midlands | 582 | 71.5% |
| North East | 566 | 68.4% |
| Wales | 284 | 71.5% |
| London | 79 | 87.3% |
Regions come from the postcode area recorded at the test station. Areas on region borders are assigned to the region with the majority of their population.
What fails a 2009 Vectra
Everything a tester recorded on this vehicle, grouped into the inspection sections that produced it. The notch on each bar is the national share, so you can see at a glance whether this car is unusual or just ordinary.
A test can record several items, so these percentages do not add up to 100%. The exact strings, with prices, are in the full DVSA record at the bottom of this page.
Before your test
Three checks worth doing on a 2009 Vectra
These are not generic tips — they are the faults recorded most often on this exact model, rewritten as things you can check yourself. All three take about ten minutes and cost nothing.
-
Check the suspension joints 6.6% of tests
“ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated”
With the car parked on level ground, rock the top of each front wheel in and out while someone watches the suspension arm. Clunks, or rubber boots split and greasy, are what testers record here.
-
Check the coil springs 6.4% of tests
“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.
-
Check the lights 6.3% of tests
“registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources”
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.
Shares are the proportion of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item, so they overlap: one test can record several.
What it costs to get a 2009 Vectra through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £29–£78 — and 32% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £29–£78
- Cheapest common item: malfunction indicator lamp inoperative or…
- £3–£12
- Dearest common item: windscreen damaged
- £80–£200
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 60%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 32%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 6,577 MOT tests on this vehicle. They exclude diagnostics, retest fees and garage labour where the part is a DIY fit, and they are not figures from the DVSA dataset. Older and higher-mileage examples cost more than the average. How these estimates are built → · All MOT repair costs → · Cheapest cars to put through a test →
Every year of the Vectra, side by side
10 model years on record, from 2000 to 2009. Across them the pass rate runs from 69.7% to 75.3% — a spread of 5.6 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2000 74.1% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2001 75.3% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2002 73.3% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2003 70.4% headlamp lens slightly defective
- 2004 69.7% headlamp lens slightly defective
- 2005 70.1% headlamp lens slightly defective
- 2006 71.3% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2007 71.0% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2008 70.8% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2009 71.2%ball joint dust cover severely…
Colour is the pass rate on a fixed scale, so a block means the same thing on any model. Each year links to its own page with the full fault breakdown.
Compare the 2009 Vauxhall Vectra with another year
The raw pass rate mostly measures age. The year comparison adds the like-for-like figure, the mileage bands and the repair bill.
Other 2009 cars with a similar record
Closest pass rates among 2009 cars with at least 2,000 tests, so a small sample cannot flatter itself into the list. See the full rankings: best and worst MOT pass rates.
The full DVSA record for the 2009 Vauxhall Vectra 10 failure items · 6 advisories · 10 inspection categories · mileage brackets · all of it in the page, none of it above the fold
Every inspection category
Shares of the 20,889 individual items recorded on this vehicle, and the same share across all cars nationally. A single test can record several items, so a row is not a percentage of tests.
| Category | Items | This car | Nationally | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Suspension | 5,535 | 26.30% | 20.98% | +5.32 |
| Brakes | 5,110 | 24.30% | 20.89% | +3.41 |
| Tyres | 2,685 | 12.80% | 19.76% | −6.96 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 2,654 | 12.60% | 12.21% | +0.39 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 1,635 | 7.80% | 5.57% | +2.23 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 1,432 | 6.80% | 5.52% | +1.28 |
| Visibility | 738 | 3.50% | 4.97% | −1.47 |
| Non-component advisories | 430 | 2.00% | 4.18% | −2.18 |
| Identification of the vehicle | 413 | 2.00% | 1.76% | +0.24 |
| Steering | 257 | 1.20% | 2.57% | −1.37 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated Suspension | Minor | 6.6% | £18–45 |
| Coil spring fractured or broken Suspension | Major | 6.4% | £25–65 |
| Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 6.3% | £5–20 |
| Headlamp lens slightly defective Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 4.4% | £5–25 |
| Rbt (sp) efficiency below requirements Brakes | Major | 3.5% | £45–110 |
| Rigid brake pipes excessively corroded Brakes | Major | 3.5% | £80–180 |
| Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view Visibility | Minor | 3.5% | £80–200 |
| Headlamp aim projected beam image is obviously incorrect Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 2.9% | £30–80 |
| Malfunction indicator lamp inoperative or indicates a malfunction Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 2.8% | £3–12 |
| Pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn Suspension | Major | 2.6% | £40–150 |
Severity is as recorded: Major and Dangerous fail the test outright; Minor and Advisory do not. Costs are estimates from typical UK parts prices — see how they are built.
What testers noted without failing the car
Advisories are the early warnings — the same parts a year or two before they fail. Reading them is how you tell a car that has been maintained from one that has been patched.
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Advisory | 22.1% | £45–95 |
| Rigid brake pipes excessively corroded Brakes | Advisory | 17.7% | £80–180 |
| Brake discs in such a condition that it is seriously weakened Brakes | Advisory | 13.8% | £45–110 |
| Engine oil leaks leaking excessively from engine Noise, emissions and leaks | Advisory | 13.0% | £200–700 |
| Coil spring corroded so that its cross sectional area is reduced and seriously weakened Suspension | Advisory | 11.4% | £25–65 |
| Pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn Suspension | Advisory | 11.3% | £40–150 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 47 | 87.2% | 23,539 mi |
| 30-60k | 413 | 77.7% | 49,410 mi |
| 60-90k | 1,286 | 73.9% | 77,389 mi |
| 90-120k | 1,970 | 69.9% | 105,216 mi |
| 120k+ | 2,858 | 69.7% | 152,374 mi |
Source: 6,577 recorded tests on this vehicle-year. Every row above is recomputed from the same DVSA extract as the rest of the page — see the methodology.
2009 Vectra MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2009 Vauxhall Vectra?
71.2% of the 6,577 2009 Vauxhall Vectra tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 74.0% for cars first used in 2009. First-attempt pass rate: 61.7%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2009 Vauxhall Vectra?
The three most recorded items are ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated (6.60%), coil spring fractured or broken (6.40%), registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources (6.34%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2009 Vauxhall Vectra MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 87.2% of the time, falling to 69.7% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2009 Vauxhall Vectra in this dataset had covered 113,242 mi.
Which fuel type is most reliable for a 2009 Vauxhall Vectra?
Diesel: 70.6% pass rate across 4,173 tests. Petrol: 72.4% pass rate across 2,403 tests. Shares are of the tests on this vehicle that recorded each fuel type.
Does the season affect the 2009 Vauxhall Vectra MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 71.7% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 70.5%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.