Does the Vauxhall Frontera fail the MOT on brakes more than it should?
The Vauxhall Frontera records 36.60 brakes failure items per 100 initial MOT tests (2019–2024), against 24.31 expected for a car of the same age mix: more than expected for its class and age (+12.29, 95% interval +11.07 to +13.51). It ranks 47 of 712 models on brakes (1 = most failures above expected).
Data release dvsa-2024-v2 (24 Sep 2026) · page updated 30 Sep 2026 · all models on brakes · check a Vauxhall Frontera by registration
What exactly fails on brakes?
The most frequent DVSA defect wording in this group on the Vauxhall Frontera is “Brake pipe damaged or excessively corroded”, recorded 882 times in 2019–2024.
| DVSA defect wording | Items | Per 100 tests |
|---|---|---|
| Brake pipe damaged or excessively corroded | 882 | 9.32 |
| Service brake efficiency below minimum requirement | 330 | 3.49 |
| Significant brake effort recorded with no brake applied indicating a binding brake | 298 | 3.15 |
| Brakes imbalance across an axle such that the braking effort from any wheel is less than 70% of the maximum effort recorded from the other wheel on the same axle. | 222 | 2.35 |
| Warning device shows system malfunction | 153 | 1.62 |
Source: DVSA MOT bulk data (OGL v3.0) · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 9,460 (initial tests) · Method: failure items (major and minor) grouped by DVSA's defect tree; wordings with 30+ items · Updated: 30 Sep 2026 · Release: dvsa-2024-v2 · CSV
If a Vauxhall Frontera gets a brakes advisory, how often does it fail next time?
21.5% of Vauxhall Frontera MOTs with a brakes advisory were followed by a fail in the same group at the next MOT, typically 12.1 months and 2,164 miles later (2,249 advisories followed).
Source: DVSA MOT bulk data (OGL v3.0) · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 2,249 (advisories followed) · Method: the same vehicles followed to their next ordinary MOT · Updated: 30 Sep 2026 · Release: dvsa-2024-v2 · CSV
Other pages for this model
Vauxhall Frontera 2003 · Vauxhall Frontera 2004 · Vauxhall Frontera by postcode area · Vauxhall Frontera body, chassis and structure failures · Vauxhall Frontera vehicle identification failures · Vauxhall Frontera lamps, reflectors and electrics failures · Vauxhall Frontera noise, emissions and leaks failures · Vauxhall Frontera road wheels failures · Vauxhall Frontera seat belts and airbags failures · Vauxhall Frontera steering failures · Vauxhall Frontera suspension failures · Vauxhall Frontera tyres failures · Vauxhall Frontera visibility failures