Vauxhall
363,308 MOT tests analysed. runs below the UK fleet average — here's where Zafiras pass, fail, and end up on the retest sheet.
That's 8.2 points below the UK fleet average across our 1,984 tracked models — buyers should expect more first-time fails than the typical UK car.
Pass
69.3%
Pass-after-fix
6.1%
Fail
23.9%
Avg miles
96,246
Pass + Pass-after-fix + Fail = 100%
This model's production run straddles the January 2006 Euro 4 cutoff. Individual cars vary — check your registration plate on the government's ULEZ checker. Daily charges if driven in the zone: London £12.50 · Birmingham £8.00 .
Performance by cohort
2 year bands · 363,308 tests
Pass rate climbs 13.9 points across the cohorts — newer Zafira examples clear the test more reliably than the early cars.
Pass
69.2%
Fail
24.0%
PRS
6.1%
Avg mileage at test
96,656 mi
Pass
83.1%
Fail
13.1%
PRS
3.4%
Avg mileage at test
46,843 mi
Cohort = vehicle's first-registration year band. Same model, different generations of build.
Generations on file · 3
Vauxhall Zafira · UK market
1999–2005
2005–2011
2011–2019
Photos: Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA / CC BY / public domain.
The picture
69.13% first-time pass across 294,623 tests is one of the lower figures in this batch, and the Zafira arrives at the MOT centre with an average 92,081 miles on the clock. Fractured springs sit at the top of the failure list, followed by rear number-plate lamps and tyre tread — the classic cluster of deferred maintenance on a high-mileage family car. Owner reports fill in the gaps: a 2016 Tourer CDTI that needed a new AdBlue module and pump at £1,400 (which Vauxhall disputed covering), and a 2012 Elite Auto whose LED running-light cluster developed an intermittent fault that the car failed on because the individual LED bulbs are sealed and non-replaceable. At this mileage, factor spring replacement and AdBlue system condition into the purchase check before the MOT does it for you.
ABI Insurance Group
Below the fleet average — generally reasonable to insure. Lower groups cost less to insure; UK fleet average is around Group 22.
Source: ABI Group Rating Panel · administered by Thatcham Research · groups cover standard variants; performance trims may sit higher. Browse all insurance groups →
15–24
out of 50
Filter failures:
Hide categories
Tick a category to hide it from rankings sitewide. Saved in this browser only.
A rear registration plate lamp or light source missing or inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources
14,095 occurrences · 3.9% of tests
A spring or spring component fractured or seriously weakened
11,715 occurrences · 3.2% of tests
Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements
9,177 occurrences · 2.5% of tests
a brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm
8,952 occurrences · 2.5% of tests
Windscreen or window damaged or seriously discoloured but not adversely affecting driver's view
8,797 occurrences · 2.4% of tests
A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn
7,849 occurrences · 2.2% of tests
A tyre cords visible or damaged
7,412 occurrences · 2.0% of tests
Engine MIL illuminated indicating a malfunction
7,291 occurrences · 2.0% of tests
A lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning
6,752 occurrences · 1.9% of tests
Exhaust system leaking or insecure
6,108 occurrences · 1.7% 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
£228–£530
If every one of this Zafira'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 →
Try the calculator
Build your own retest budget.
Year-band analysis
First-time MOT pass rate split by registration band. A 13.9-point gap between bands means the year you buy Vauxhall Zafira has a real effect on what turns up at the garage.
Best band to buy
83.1%
2018–2020 registration
the 2018–2020 band climbs to 83.1% — a 13.9-point improvement. Tests in this band average 46,843 miles — roughly 50K miles fewer on the clock than the older band. Failures here are mostly wear items: less than 1.5 mm thick, tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm — the structural issues that drag down older examples don't appear in the top-10 for this band. The stricter post-2018 MOT test rules meant manufacturers had to tighten up emissions and electrical checks, but this band still shows far fewer major failures on suspension and bodywork than the older fleet.
Band to be cautious about
69.2%
Pre-2018 registration
On the older band (pre-2018), the data shows a 69.2% pass rate against a fleet average of 83.1% on the newer band. The main culprits logged at test: inoperative in the case of multiple lamps…, fractured or broken, and tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm. Average mileage on test for this band is 96,656 miles — high-mileage wear items are a recurring theme. Honest John records: "Report of 2012 Zafira Tourer Elite Auto with 23,000 miles fitted with LED DRLs within a cluster as assemblies. The LED bulbs cannot be replaced. One Running light in an…"
Best band to buy: 2018-2020 (83.1% first-time pass). Worst band to avoid: pre-2018 (69.2% pass). That's a 13.9-point spread across 360,342 older tests and 2,966 newer ones — year of build makes a material difference on this model.
Picked against this car's top failure patterns. Affiliate links to Amazon UK — we earn a small cut at no cost to you. Disclosed up-front, doesn't shape the data.
Item 01 · Amazon UK
H7 / W21W bulb pack
A spare-bulb kit lives in the boot. Test morning is not the time to find your stop-lamp's gone.
Search Amazon UK
Item 02 · Amazon UK
Digital tyre-tread depth gauge
Five quid for a gauge beats £150 for a retest. UK MOT minimum is 1.6mm — most testers fail anything below 2mm to be safe.
Search Amazon UK
Item 03 · Amazon UK
Brake pad measurement gauge
Testers fail pads under 1.5mm. A wear gauge tells you if you've got two months left or two weeks.
Search Amazon UK
My Motor World · affiliate
Affiliate links — small commission, no extra cost to you.
Summit
Summit ADRG-13 Vauxhall Replacement Stick-On Tinted Mirror Glass RHS
£9.89
View at My Motor World →
Summit
Summit ADRG-25 Vauxhall Replacement Stick-On Tinted Mirror Glass LHS
£10.99
View at My Motor World →
Summit
Summit ADRG-32 Vauxhall Replacement Stick-On Tinted Mirror Glass LHS
£12.09
View at My Motor World →
Summit
Summit ADRG-43 Vauxhall Replacement Stick-On Tinted Mirror Glass RHS
£12.09
View at My Motor World →
Click Mechanic · affiliate
Affiliate links — small commission, no extra cost to you.
Mobile mechanic · UK-wide
Book a mechanic at your door.
Fixed-price quotes upfront. No garage needed. Click Mechanic sends a vetted local mechanic to you — home, work, or roadside.
Owner reports · Honest John
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
Enjoyable and comfortable to drive, some really good engine choices, does a decent job on practicality.
Report of engine problem with 2015 Vauxhall Zafira Tourer 1.4 1.4T 140 Auto SE, owned from new. Just before service due in 2019 it indicated oil change needed. Owner took it to independent for service and oil change, no problems until New Year’s Eve driving home on A1 and lost power, car didn’t want to accelerate. Driver put foot to the floor. Eventually it picked up through the gears but very slowly. There was a slight rattle coming from one side of the engine. Decided to pull over, checked the oil and it was almost empty. Car indicating 19% oil, topped it up, rattle eased off, drove a further 100 yards noise got worse power dipped again then white smoke and car died. Waiting for Vauxhall garage diagnostics. Seems to be the engine problem for which there was a manufacturer recall on 21-2-2018.
Report of engine management light and service warning message on 48k mile February 2016 Vauxhall Zafira Tourer SRI CDTI 1.6. Always dealer serviced on time. AdBlue always added when light came on. Dealer diagnosed need for new AdBlue module and pump at a cost of £1,400. Vauxhall refused to contribute.
Report of 2012 Zafira Tourer Elite Auto with 23,000 miles fitted with LED DRLs within a cluster as assemblies. The LED bulbs cannot be replaced. One Running light in an assembly has an intermittent fault and sometimes is not lit. The car failed its MoT because of this fault. Vauxhall eventually refunded the whole cost of the replacement Light Assambly as a Goodwill gesture.
Another Vauxhall Zafira Tourer 1.4T owner reported the same symptions as 11-1-2018.
Report of electric rear hatch lock of 2014 Vauxhall Zafira Tourer unlocking intermittently whil driving. Owner worries that it is a safety issue that could mean a load deck of heavy items being ejected onto the road. Probably moisture in the hatch lock servo, but too worrying to suggest that a squirt of WD40 might fix it.
Report of exhaust sensor failing 9 days after used purchase on 2015 Vauxhall Zafira Tourer 2.0CDTI. Sensor replaced, but then failed again a further 8 days later and after being fixed failed 3 days adfter that. Dealer has agreed to swop the car but has muttered things like “there is a known recall on these sensors, can we fix it?”
Report of December 2016 Vauxhall Zafira Tourer suffering an intermitten misfire with water dripping from the middle of the engine area. Possible fracture sending coolant onto the coil packs?
Report of glowplug no 4 failing in engine of 2015 Vauxhaull Zafira Tourer 2.0CDTI at 36,000 miles. Car had been serviced at 33.500 miles, but service light came on at 36,000 miles. Two fault codes found relating to engine overboost and cylinder 4 glow plug malfunction control circuit. Required replacement of cylinder 4 plug. Quoted £180-£200 to replace, but this should be under warranty.
Report of EGR cooler failing on 2014/64 Vauxhall Zafira Tourer 2.0CDTI, leaving oil in the coolant and a mess on the owner's driveway. Repaired under warranty with instructions to bring back in a month to re-flush the cooling system. Owner thinks the heater is not as effective as before.
Source: honestjohn.co.uk · 9 reports indexed
Recall history
The Zafira has 9 official UK vehicle recalls covering defect details, remedies, and affected build dates.
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 Zafira 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.
