FIGURE 1 // WHERE IT WEARSVauxhall Vivaro-E
Top three failure systems, annotated from 125 failed first-time tests. Arrows point to where the defect is found on the car.
What fails a Vauxhall Vivaro-E: wiper blade missing or obviously not clearing the windscreen, 32 times in a year
921 inspections in a single year make the VIVARO-E a modestly documented electric car in the data. Tyres cause 23.0% of its failures; visibility take 1.8× the share they take on petrol and diesel cars of the same age.
First-time test findings
The three-year vs four-year picture
AT THREE YEARS OLD13.5%
VIVARO-E failure rate. Petrol cars of the same age fail 8.2%.
AT FOUR YEARS OLD22.4%
VIVARO-E failure rate, against 8.9% for petrol.
At three years old the Vauxhall Vivaro-E fails 13.5% of the time, over the 8.2% of a petrol car the same age. By 4 years that reaches 22.4%. Tyres cause 23.0% of its failures.
FIGURE 2 // WINDSCREEN AND WIPER32 certificates in 2024
The cheapest failure on the list
Visibility take 21.1% of the defects that fail this car, 1.8× the share seen on petrol and diesel cars of the same age. The most common item in that group is "Wiper blade missing or obviously not clearing the windscreen", recorded 32 times in 2024.
SECTION // VISIBILITY CONCENTRATIONYear 3 crossover
Where the curve bends
The crossover with petrol happens around year 3. From there the VIVARO-E's failure rate climbs faster than the petrol fleet, and the defect list explains why.
Source: DVSA MOT defect items, 2024 test year.
What to check
Trivial to fix, but a car advertised with worn wipers and a fresh failure certificate tells you how it was maintained. Check tyre age and tread across the full width, inner edge included. Electric cars wear tyres faster; a cheap mismatched set on a used car tells you how it was run. Ask when the brakes were last stripped and cleaned. Regenerative braking barely wears the pads, so discs and calipers corrode and seize instead. Ask for the full MOT history by registration on the free DVSA service: advisories are next year's failures.
3 inspection points:
✓ Wipers and washers
✓ Tyre inner-edge wear and age
✓ Rear caliper drag and disc lip
FIGURE 3 // FAILURE RATE BY AGEvs petrol, diesel and all electric cars
Points hidden where fewer than 50 cars of that age were tested. Dashed lines are the same-age petrol and diesel fleets.
Data sheet
- Inspections
- 921
- Passed
- 742
- Failed
- 125
- Passed after repair
- 54
- Failure rate
- 13.6% (all EV 12.0%)
- Average age
- 3.1 years
- Best year
- 3 yrs · 13.5%
- Worst year
- 4 yrs · 22.4%
- Top cause
- Tyres 23.0%
TABLE 1 // WHAT FAILS, BY SYSTEMshare of failing defects
| System | This car (mark = petrol/diesel) | Share | vs petrol/diesel |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tyres | 23.0% | in line | |
| Suspension | 3.5% | 3.9× less | |
| Brakes | 19.5% | in line | |
| Visibility | 21.1% | 1.8× more | |
| Lighting | 22.7% | 1.4× more | |
| Steering | 1.2% | 2.6× less | |
| Body | 6.6% | 1.6× more |
TABLE 2 // TOP DEFECTS ON THE CERTIFICATE
- Wiper blade missing or obviously not clearing the windscreen32
- A tyre seriously damaged31
- Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements15
- a brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm14
- Stop lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning12
- A transmission shaft constant velocity joint boot missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt etc10
Wording as printed by the tester, from the DVSA inspection manual.
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Where it holds up
- Suspension fail less often than on petrol and diesel cars (3.5% of defects vs 13.6%)
- Steering fail less often than on petrol and diesel cars (1.2% of defects vs 3.1%)
Where it fails
- Visibility take a bigger share of failures than on petrol and diesel cars of the same age (21.1% vs 11.9%)
- Lighting take a bigger share of failures than on petrol and diesel cars of the same age (22.7% vs 16.5%)
- Body take a bigger share of failures than on petrol and diesel cars of the same age (6.6% vs 4.1%)
- At three years old it fails 13.5% of the time, above the 8.2% of petrol cars the same age
VERSIONS SEEN IN THE TESTSas recorded
- VIVARO-E 3100 DYNAMIC457
- VIVARO-E LIFE ELITE188
- VIVARO-E LIFE COMBI144
- VIVARO-E LIFE EDITION101
- VIVARO-E 3100 ELITE31
OWNER REPORTS // MATCHED TO RECORDED DEFECTS0 read · 0 matched
No owner discussion has been matched to this car's recorded defects yet. Reports are re-collected every quarter; the figures on this page do not depend on them.
Summaries written by us, never quotes; every entry links to its source. Owner reports have no denominator and never feed the failure rate.
SIMILAR CARS IN THE DATAclosest rate and age, other brands
Peugeot 20813.4% fail · 7,252 testsCitroen e-C414.2% fail · 1,413 testsMercedes-Benz EQV12.6% fail · 898 testsFiat 500E12.6% fail · 2,577 tests
OTHER VAUXHALL ELECTRIC CARS
Three things the data shows
- 921 inspections in 2024 make this one of the adequately-documented electric cars in the data.
- Visibility take 1.8× the share of failures they take on petrol and diesel cars of the same age.
- Failure rate rises from 13.5% at 3 years to 22.4% at 4: a gentle ageing curve.
LIMITS // WHAT THE INSPECTION DOES NOT TELL YOU
No battery health, no motor, no charging performance. The test covers brakes, suspension, steering, tyres, lights, visibility and structure. A car with a badly degraded battery passes as long as it stops and steers. Read this page as evidence about the chassis, not the powertrain. Cars are tested from their third year, so the newest model years are missing; every figure carries its sample size for that reason. Full methodology.
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