All generations and engines together · 458,840 MOT tests in the 2025 data · typical mileage at age 7: 63k
Worse than most family hatchbacks, by age and by mileage. Watch emissions/leaks and suspension. A used buy worth some caution. Check the MOT history for repeating emissions/leaks advisories before you go.
Split by first-registration year. Cars registered in a changeover year can belong to either generation.
Owner folklore from forums and the motoring press, with how well each report stands up. Most of it never shows up in an MOT, which is why this section exists at all.
Owners of 1.6 and 1.7 CDTi Astras repeatedly report a diesel/exhaust smell getting into the cabin, especially on start-up or under load. The usual cause is the clamp joining the DPF to the turbo downpipe being fitted slightly out of position, letting exhaust gas seep out before it reaches the cabin filter intake; cracked manifolds and worn turbo gaskets get blamed too. It's exactly the kind of small emissions-system leak the measured MOT data flags for this class, just caught here before the test rather than at it. A refit or clamp replacement is usually £80-£200, not a DPF replacement.
A well-known one on the 1.6 CDTi diesel: a rattle for a second or two on cold start-up, caused by the original tensioner design letting oil drain back overnight so the chain isn't under pressure straight away. Owners and independent garages report it appearing from around 70,000 miles onwards. Vauxhall dealers have quietly talked about a fix but there's no confirmed factory recall, and if it's ignored the chain can eventually snap, turning a roughly £1,700 tensioner job into a full engine rebuild costing £3,000-plus.
The dual mass flywheel fitted to diesel Astras to smooth out engine vibration wears from the inside, showing up as a rattle at idle, a juddery clutch pedal, or a graunch selecting first or reverse. It's a known wear item rather than a fault as such, but when it lets go it usually takes the clutch with it because the gearbox has to come out either way. Replacing both together typically runs £1,400-£3,200 depending on the garage.
Petrol Astras, particularly the 1.4 and 1.6 units, are known for weeping oil from the rocker cover gasket, and separately from the rear crankshaft seal behind the flywheel. The giveaway is an oily film round the top of the engine or a burning-oil smell, sometimes with a drop in oil level between services. Rocker cover gaskets are a cheap fix at £100-£200; the crank seal is worse because the gearbox has to come out to reach it, pushing the bill toward £300-£500.
On Astra J and K models the IntelliLink infotainment screen is prone to freezing, going blank, or losing touch response while the radio audio keeps playing in the background. It's intermittent and often clears itself if you lock the car and leave it for half an hour, or by pulling the radio fuse to force a reset, but some owners end up needing the screen unit itself replaced. It's an annoyance rather than a safety issue, but it's a recurring complaint across several model years.
Diesel Astras can suffer an EGR valve gumming up with soot and carbon, throwing an engine management light and fault code for insufficient EGR flow, with a flat spot or hesitation under about 2,000rpm. Left unaddressed it can push extra soot into the DPF and cause blockages there too. A clean or valve replacement is a few hundred pounds; owners sometimes have the EGR blanked off, but that risks other running and emissions problems if not done properly.
Ranked from this model’s own MOT record, then from what owners report.
Saveable checklistThe physical checks its own defect data says are worth your time, most telling first.
These judge the seller’s upkeep rather than the model, and they are where the haggling money is.
The physical checks its own defect data says are worth your time, most telling first.
These judge the seller’s upkeep rather than the model, and they are where the haggling money is.
The physical checks its own defect data says are worth your time, most telling first.
These judge the seller’s upkeep rather than the model, and they are where the haggling money is.
The physical checks its own defect data says are worth your time, most telling first.
These judge the seller’s upkeep rather than the model, and they are where the haggling money is.
Drawn from the reports above rather than the MOT data. These are the model-specific ones.
Computed from DVSA MOT results, all of Great Britain, 2025. Nothing here is opinion.
Share of tests where each item was recorded. The dark tick is the class average across all tracked models; bars are scaled within each group.
The rows that judge the model rather than its keeper. 163,096 tests in this band.
Tyres, pads and stone chips say more about how the car was driven and maintained than about how it was built.
Same segment (Family hatchbacks), best MOT record first. Compare before you shortlist.
Head to head with the other popular cars in its class on reliability and common faults.