The picture
Mokka Passes 78% But Suspension Dust Covers Fail
Suspension joint dust cover failures — missing or severely deteriorated — take two of the top three MOT failure spots on the Vauxhall Mokka across 262,901 tests. At an average of 51,853 miles this is earlier than most rivals show similar wear. Snapped springs round out the top three. Owner reports flag a wiper motor replacement at 12,000 miles costing £435 (Vauxhall declined goodwill), and a 4x4 rear differential case rusting through on a 2013 model under six years old. Check all suspension dust covers carefully and inspect the underside for corrosion, particularly on all-wheel-drive variants.
Top ten reasons for rejection.
- 01
A suspension joint dust cover missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt etc
12,513 occurrences · 4.8% of tests
- 02
A suspension joint dust cover severely deteriorated
9,800 occurrences · 3.7% of tests
- 03
A spring or spring component fractured or seriously weakened
7,756 occurrences · 3.0% of tests
- 04
a brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm
6,819 occurrences · 2.6% of tests
- 05
Wiper blade missing or obviously not clearing the windscreen
6,514 occurrences · 2.5% of tests
- 06
Wiper blade defective
5,449 occurrences · 2.1% of tests
- 07
A rear registration plate lamp or light source missing or inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources
4,300 occurrences · 1.6% of tests
- 08
A lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning
4,128 occurrences · 1.6% of tests
- 09
Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements
3,962 occurrences · 1.5% of tests
- 10
Windscreen or window damaged or seriously discoloured but not adversely affecting driver's view
3,463 occurrences · 1.3% 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 5 failures
£340–£925
If every one of this Mokka'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 →
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Tools that pre-empt a retest.
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
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
Item 02 · Amazon UK
Bosch Aerotwin wiper blades
Cheap wipers fail the test on smear streaks. Bosch Aerotwins last a winter and clear a screen properly.
Search Amazon UK
Owner reports · Honest John
What owners actually report.
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
Not particularly quick or refined. Underwhelming cabin finish.
Where it falls short
The Vauxhall Mokka X was a sound idea in theory, but is let down by a mediocre drive and disappointing cabin quality compared with rivals.
Recent owner-reported faults
- 17 Dec 2019
Report of 2015 Vauxhall Mokka 1.4T reqauiring a new windscreen wiper motor at 12,000 miles at a cost of £435. Vauxhall turned down a claim for goodwill. HSA/FSA Eligible | PCA SKIN Total Strength Serum, 1 Fl. Oz | Dermstore HSA/FSA Eligible | PCA SKIN Total Strength Serum, 1 fl. oz | Dermstore Dermstore.com Sleep Experts: Why Melatonin Can Make Your Sleep Problems Worse!Health Report
- 4 Dec 2019
Vauxhall Mokka X dropped from Vauxhall range due to conflict with Crossland X, Peugeot 2008 and Citroen C3 Aircross.
- 2 Nov 2019
Report of rear differential case of 2013 Vauxhall Mokka 4x4 rusting through. Temporarily repaired with 'liquid metal', but, despite less than 6 years old, Vauxhall said not covered as out of warranty. Questionmark as to whether car has been standing in salty water for extended periods.
- 26 Oct 2019
Report of clutch and dual mass flywheel failure at 4,500 miles in 2018 Mokka X 1.4T, purchased in February 2019 at 2,500 miles. Dealer repaired at a cost of £1700. See 26-7-2015.
- 3 Oct 2019
Complaint that a 2017 Vauxhall Mokka had a fault that "almost caused it to catch fire." Owner was driving the car on the M25, a warning message came up on the dash to say oil engine low stop engine. Owner could not stop as was on the M25 and there was no hard shoulder. Within a few minutes the power in the car dropped from approx. 60-70 to 10 miles per hour. Owner managed to "crawl" for a couple of hundred yards into the nearest layby and called her insurance for roadside assistance. They sent out a driver to load the car on the back of a truck and bring it back to her home address. The breakdown man popped the bonnet and saw melted cable, burnt cables, loose wiring, etc., he told the owner she was lucky it didn't catch fire. She called her mechanic who advised her that it looked like a technical fault and that it would need to go to Vauxhall. She managed to get it booked in (about 10 days later). Various delays ensued. Mysteriously the Vauxhall dealership manager told her that she would have to raise a customer care case with Vauxhall. (Even though she bough the car from that dealer chain). Customer Care asked her to undergo a 20 minute questionnaire. She had to give a statement about what happened. She was told that they would contact the dealer and that a Vauxhall technician may have to go and see the car. No one would tell her if it could can be repaired will need to be replaced, or if the wiring fault is covered under warranty. Last update she was told she should hear from Vauxhall Customer Care by the end of the following week. (She told us nothing since.)
- 2 Oct 2019
Report of electric power steering motor failing on 7th September on recently purchased 29k miles 2014 Vaixhall Mokka. Owner in a courtesy car waiting for parts from Germany to repair it.
- 1 Jul 2019
Report of clutch pedal of 2014/64 Vauxhall Mokka "failing" at 37k miles due to hydraulic leak (presumed clutch slave cylinder leak onto clutch plates). Clutch needed to be replaced.
- 22 Mar 2019
Report of alloy wheels of 2016 Vauxhall Mokka 1.6 SE CTDI peeling on the inside and blistering around the rims. The car was bought used on Network Q at 7 months old with 9k miles; now has 22k miles.
- 6 Jan 2019
Report of failure of servo valve inside servo valve box of 6-speed torque converter auto of Vauxhall Mokka X. Apparently a 5 week wait for the replacement part.
- 5 Jul 2018
Mysterious fault reported with 2014 Vauxhall Mokka. Refused to start. AA looked at it. Local mechanic looked at it. Then sent to local Arnold Clark Vauxhall dealer. No one has been able to find out what is wrong with it. Arnold Clark is replacing the ECU and if that works it will cost £1500. (Might be nothing more then moisure in the connecting block between the ECU and the wiring loom.)
- 11 Dec 2017
Report of 28k mile 2014 Vauxhall Mokka CDTI randomly failing to start. Yellow Malfunction light comes one, but engine rattles as if firing on 2 or 3 clinders, them stops. Car run on mix of short and long journeys. Usually, after locking the car, removing the keys, waiting 15+ minutes, then re-trying it has started as normal. Dealer diagnosis shows no fault codes. Probably one or two glowplugs failing to glow.
- 22 Jul 2017
Report of anti skid/traction control light coming on in November 2016 Vauxhall Mokka 1.4T auto at 5500 miles. Dealer investigated and diagnosed a faulty wiring loom. Had to photograph the wiring details so that a new wiring loom could be made up. 24 hours later Vauxhall instructed dealer to take the car off the road as there was a possibility that the brakes might fail. Owner has now waited 11 weeks for the replacement part that has repeatedly not arrived when promised.
Source: honestjohn.co.uk · 17 reports indexed, top 12 shown
Buying or keeping a Mokka?
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 Mokka 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.