The picture
Vivaro: a below-average pass rate worth digging into
Across 275,795 MOT tests, the Vivaro returns 66.6% first-time pass — well below the UK fleet average. The single most-logged Major fail is a worn steering ball joint. Windscreen damage and worn suspension bushes round out the top three. Average tested mileage sits at 115,925, which is the lens to read those failure rankings through. If you own one and the next test is close, the ranked list below is a sensible pre-test checklist.
Top ten reasons for rejection.
- 01
A steering ball joint with excessive wear or free play
22,981 occurrences · 8.3% of tests
- 02
Windscreen or window damaged or seriously discoloured but not adversely affecting driver's view
18,349 occurrences · 6.7% of tests
- 03
A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn
11,445 occurrences · 4.1% of tests
- 04
A spring or spring component fractured or seriously weakened
10,509 occurrences · 3.8% of tests
- 05
A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn
9,799 occurrences · 3.6% of tests
- 06
A lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning
9,699 occurrences · 3.5% of tests
- 07
Brake pipe damaged or excessively corroded
9,292 occurrences · 3.4% of tests
- 08
Parking brake efficiency below minimum requirement
8,542 occurrences · 3.1% of tests
- 09
a brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm
8,070 occurrences · 2.9% of tests
- 10
A rear registration plate lamp or light source missing or inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources
7,279 occurrences · 2.6% of tests
Counts cover Major and Dangerous defects logged at test. Advisory items excluded so this shows why a car was rejected, not just what the tester flagged in passing.
Worst-case fix budget · top 4 failures
£320–£960
If every one of this Vivaro's most-logged Major fails hit at the same MOT, that's the real-world UK garage range. Reality is usually one or two items, not all of them. Open the estimator →
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Build your own retest budget.
Owner reports · Honest John
What owners actually report.
Verbatim faults logged by owners on honestjohn.co.uk over recent years. We didn't summarise — these are the words people typed in.
What's good
Good to drive. Useful load area. Strong payload
Buying or keeping a Vivaro?
Use the failure ranking as a pre-test checklist or a haggling lever. Treat the headline pass rate as a fleet-wide trend, not a guarantee on any individual car.
If you own a Vivaro and your last MOT looked nothing like the ranked failures above, that's normal — individual cars vary widely. The ranking shows the patterns testers flag most often across the country.