Does the Vauxhall Meriva fail the MOT on seat belts and airbags more than it should?
The Vauxhall Meriva records 0.79 seat belts and airbags failure items per 100 initial MOT tests (2019–2024), against 1.19 expected for a car of the same age mix: about as expected for its class and age (the difference is within its interval or under 0.5 items per 100 tests) (−0.40, 95% interval −0.42 to −0.37). It ranks 436 of 627 models on seat belts and airbags (1 = most failures above expected).
Data release dvsa-2024-v2 (24 Sep 2026) · page updated 30 Sep 2026 · all models on seat belts and airbags · check a Vauxhall Meriva by registration
What exactly fails on seat belts and airbags?
The most frequent DVSA defect wording in this group on the Vauxhall Meriva is “Seat belt buckle missing, damaged or not functioning as intended”, recorded 2,481 times in 2019–2024.
| DVSA defect wording | Items | Per 100 tests |
|---|---|---|
| Seat belt buckle missing, damaged or not functioning as intended | 2,481 | 0.36 |
| An SRS malfunction indicator lamp (MIL) indicates a system malfunction | 1,115 | 0.16 |
| Seat belt not functioning as intended or of an incorrect type | 410 | 0.06 |
| A seat belt or flexible stalk damaged | 367 | 0.05 |
| The strength or continuity of the load bearing structure within 30cm of any seat belt anchorage (a 'prescribed area') is significantly reduced or inadequately repaired | 329 | 0.05 |
Source: DVSA MOT bulk data (OGL v3.0) · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 687,721 (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 Meriva gets a seat belts and airbags advisory, how often does it fail next time?
4.5% of Vauxhall Meriva MOTs with a seat belts and airbags advisory were followed by a fail in the same group at the next MOT, typically 12 months and 5,227 miles later (3,327 advisories followed).
Source: DVSA MOT bulk data (OGL v3.0) · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 3,327 (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 Meriva 2003 · Vauxhall Meriva 2004 · Vauxhall Meriva 2005 · Vauxhall Meriva 2006 · Vauxhall Meriva 2007 · Vauxhall Meriva 2008 · Vauxhall Meriva 2009 · Vauxhall Meriva 2010 · Vauxhall Meriva 2011 · Vauxhall Meriva 2012 · Vauxhall Meriva 2013 · Vauxhall Meriva 2014 · Vauxhall Meriva 2015 · Vauxhall Meriva 2016 · Vauxhall Meriva 2017 · Vauxhall Meriva in Norway · Vauxhall Meriva in Finland · Vauxhall Meriva in the Netherlands · Vauxhall Meriva by postcode area · Vauxhall Meriva body, chassis and structure failures · Vauxhall Meriva brakes failures · Vauxhall Meriva vehicle identification failures · Vauxhall Meriva lamps, reflectors and electrics failures · Vauxhall Meriva noise, emissions and leaks failures · Vauxhall Meriva road wheels failures · Vauxhall Meriva steering failures · Vauxhall Meriva suspension failures · Vauxhall Meriva tyres failures · Vauxhall Meriva visibility failures