How reliable is the Chevrolet Cruze compared with other cars?

We do not publish a comparison for the Chevrolet Cruze, because the cars of this model that have been tested do not cover a wide enough range of ages and mileages. Its raw pass rate is 58.0% across 4,374 tests, but comparing a raw rate between models mostly ranks them by how new they are rather than how good they are. The failure and advisory patterns further down the page are still drawn from real tests and are worth reading.

What is the most common MOT failure on a Chevrolet Cruze?

The item recorded most often is "A spring or spring component fractured or seriously weakened", which appears in 30.3% of failed Chevrolet Cruze tests. Because one failed test can list several items, these shares do not add up to 100%.

What do testers most often warn about on a Chevrolet Cruze?

The most common advisory is "Fluid leaking excessively and likely to harm the environment or to pose a safety risk to other road users", noted on 24.0% of all Chevrolet Cruze tests. An advisory is not a failure: it flags something that will likely need attention before the next test.

What mileage does a Chevrolet Cruze usually have at its MOT?

The average odometer reading recorded at test is 86,819 miles. This is the mileage across all tested examples of every age, not an annual figure, so treat it as a description of the fleet rather than a target for one car.

Does a Chevrolet Cruze get harder to pass as it ages?

Yes. At 9 to 11 years old, 59.9% of Chevrolet Cruze tests pass. By fifteen years or more, that falls to 56.9%. Nearly every model follows this pattern, which is why comparing raw pass rates between models is misleading unless age is accounted for.

Are most Chevrolet Cruze models petrol or diesel?

Of the Chevrolet Cruze cars tested, 74% are petrol, 26% are diesel. Fuel type affects which items tend to fail, particularly emissions and exhaust components.

Model reliability file

Chevrolet Cruze MOT pass rate & common failures

From 4,374 recorded MOT tests of the Chevrolet Cruze, published by DVSA.

Data updated 29 July 2026

Quick answer

Across 4,374 MOT tests, 58.0% of Chevrolet Cruze tests ended in a pass. This figure is not adjusted for age or mileage, so it is not a reliability ranking: the Chevrolet Cruze fleet does not yet cover a wide enough spread of ages and distances to compare it fairly against other models. Its most commonly recorded failure is spring or spring component fractured or seriously weakened, which appears in 30.3% of failed tests. Cars of this model average 86,819 miles on the odometer when tested.

At a glance

Recorded pass rate

58.0%unadjusted, not comparable4,374 tests

We are not publishing a ranking for the Cruze. The examples tested do not cover a wide enough spread of ages and mileages to compare it fairly, and an unadjusted pass rate mostly sorts models by how recently they were bought rather than how well they were built. The failure and advisory patterns below come from the same 4,374 tests and are worth reading on their own terms.

DVSA recorded wording

Most common failure items

Share of failed Chevrolet Cruze tests in which each item was recorded. One failed test often lists several items, so these do not sum to 100%.

1.A spring or spring component fractured or seriously weakened30.3%
425 occurrencesRoad spring broken or fractured explained
2.A lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning17.4%
244 occurrencesLamp not working explained
3.Engine MIL illuminated indicating a malfunction10.7%
150 occurrencesEngine management light on, or not working explained
4.A brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm10.6%
149 occurrencesBrake drum or shoe worn or contaminated explained
5.Wiper blade missing or obviously not clearing the windscreen10.3%
145 occurrencesWiper or washer not working properly explained
6.Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements10.2%
143 occurrencesTyre worn close to the legal limit explained
7.Exhaust system leaking or insecure7.4%
104 occurrencesExhaust leaking or insecure explained
8.Parking brake efficiency below minimum requirement7.3%
102 occurrencesParking brake efficiency too low explained
9.A tyre seriously damaged7.1%
100 occurrencesTyre damaged or deteriorated explained
10.A headlamp or light source missing, inoperative or more than ½ not functioning in the case of LED7.1%
99 occurrencesHeadlamp not working explained

Warnings without a failure

Most common advisories

Share of all Chevrolet Cruze tests carrying each advisory. The denominator differs from the failure list above because an advisory can be issued on a car that passed.

1.Fluid leaking excessively and likely to harm the environment or to pose a safety risk to other road users24.0%
1,050 tests
2.Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements22.5%
983 testsTyre worn close to the legal limit explained
3.A tyre seriously damaged19.7%
863 testsTyre damaged or deteriorated explained
4.Brake disc or drum excessively weakened, insecure or fractured18.1%
790 testsBrake disc worn, pitted or scored explained
5.A spring or spring component fractured or seriously weakened12.8%
559 testsRoad spring broken or fractured explained
6.A brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm11.8%
514 testsBrake drum or shoe worn or contaminated explained
7.Exhaust system leaking or insecure8.3%
364 testsExhaust leaking or insecure explained
8.Number plate inscription missing or illegible6.5%
284 testsRegistration plate missing, insecure or illegible explained

How wear changes the picture

Pass rate by vehicle age

9–11 yrs60%

12–14 yrs58%

15+ yrs57%

Bands holding too few tests to be meaningful are omitted rather than shown as a rate.

What gets tested

The Cruze fleet

Average mileage recorded at test: 86,819
Fuel mix of tested cars: Petrol74.1%
Diesel25.7%

Check a specific Chevrolet Cruze

A model average tells you the pattern. Its own MOT record tells you the car.

Compare within the range

Other Chevrolet models

Chevrolet Spark — 54.5% unadjusted
Chevrolet Matiz — 50.2% unadjusted
Chevrolet Aveo — 50.3% unadjusted
Chevrolet Captiva — 53.3% unadjusted
Chevrolet Orlando — 58.4% unadjusted
Chevrolet Kalos — 47.5% unadjusted
All Chevrolet models

Common questions

How reliable is the Chevrolet Cruze compared with other cars?: We do not publish a comparison for the Chevrolet Cruze, because the cars of this model that have been tested do not cover a wide enough range of ages and mileages. Its raw pass rate is 58.0% across 4,374 tests, but comparing a raw rate between models mostly ranks them by how new they are rather than how good they are. The failure and advisory patterns further down the page are still drawn from real tests and are worth reading.
What is the most common MOT failure on a Chevrolet Cruze?: The item recorded most often is "A spring or spring component fractured or seriously weakened", which appears in 30.3% of failed Chevrolet Cruze tests. Because one failed test can list several items, these shares do not add up to 100%.
What do testers most often warn about on a Chevrolet Cruze?: The most common advisory is "Fluid leaking excessively and likely to harm the environment or to pose a safety risk to other road users", noted on 24.0% of all Chevrolet Cruze tests. An advisory is not a failure: it flags something that will likely need attention before the next test.
What mileage does a Chevrolet Cruze usually have at its MOT?: The average odometer reading recorded at test is 86,819 miles. This is the mileage across all tested examples of every age, not an annual figure, so treat it as a description of the fleet rather than a target for one car.
Does a Chevrolet Cruze get harder to pass as it ages?: Yes. At 9 to 11 years old, 59.9% of Chevrolet Cruze tests pass. By fifteen years or more, that falls to 56.9%. Nearly every model follows this pattern, which is why comparing raw pass rates between models is misleading unless age is accounted for.
Are most Chevrolet Cruze models petrol or diesel?: Of the Chevrolet Cruze cars tested, 74% are petrol, 26% are diesel. Fuel type affects which items tend to fail, particularly emissions and exhaust components.

How this was worked out

Method and limits

Figures come from the DVSA anonymised MOT testing dataset, published under the Open Government Licence. Only class 4 initial tests are counted: retests are excluded so a car appears once, and abandoned tests are excluded entirely. No adjusted rate is shown because this model's tested examples do not cover enough of the national age and mileage range for standardisation to mean anything.

An MOT measures whether a car met a legal standard on the day. It is not a breakdown record, a service history or a running-cost estimate, and a pass rate is a property of a fleet rather than a prediction about one car.