If you are considering buying a used Vauxhall Mokka, these are the common problems worth knowing about first. Our garage database tracks 3 known faults for this model, 1 of them rated high severity. Every one below is a repair bill a seller has good reason not to mention.
Found a Vauxhall Mokka for sale?
Paste the advert and we read it against its known faults, its MOT history and the DVLA record, and tell you what the seller has not. Free, about a minute, no card.
Check a Vauxhall Mokka advert (free) →The Vauxhall Mokka has 3 known faults in our database, 1 of them rated high severity. The most serious are engine (timing chain wear on the 1.6 CDTi Whisper diesel) and cooling system (coolant expansion tank hairline cracking and pressure cap failure causing slow coolant). None of them makes the car a bad buy on its own; the risk is a seller who knows and says nothing.
That is a count of the faults we hold, not a reliability score. Popular cars get written about more, and a newer generation has had less time to show its faults.
No year is a write-off on its own. What matters is which serious faults a given year and engine can have, and whether the car in front of you has had them fixed.
Each one is set out in full below, with the symptoms, the typical mileage and a rough repair cost.
One owner each, in their own words rewritten as a line, and not counted in our risk scoring. A fault joins the list above once a second report or an editorial source backs it.
Sellers rarely admit these faults outright
We track 8 specific phrases sellers use in adverts to soft-pedal these exact issues. Paste any Vauxhall Mokka advert and we check it in seconds.
Check an advert now (free) →Recall work is done by the manufacturer, and GOV.UK says you will not usually have to pay for it. These are the 25 DVSA recalls for the Mokka, newest first. They do not tell you whether this particular car has had the work: for that, put the registration into the free GOV.UK MOT history check, which shows a recall status where the manufacturer shares it, or ask a franchised dealer to check the VIN.
Affected vehicles may have been assembled with contact or with a reduced clearance between the Gasoline Particulate Filter pipe and the pole protection cap of the 48V Belt Starter Generator. There is a possibility of contact between these components leading to water infiltration and an electrical arch which could trigger a thermal event.
Put right by: Replace the pole protection cap of the 48V Belt Starter Generator. Check the distance between the Gasoline Particulate Filter pipe and the pole protection cap of the 48V Belt Starter Generator and re-position or replace the pipe if required.
On affected vehicles the chemicals in the Takata airbag inflators may deteriorate over time. This may cause the inflators to rupture with too much force in a crash leading to serious injury or death in a worst-case scenario.
Put right by: Replace the driver airbag module.
Affected vehicles may have incorrect or missing tyre pressure messages displayed in the instrument cluster due to a software deviation.
Put right by: Update the Electric Stability Control calibration to ensure the correct tyre pressure warning messages are displayed
On affected vehicles the engine will run all the time and will not shut off in start/stop mode due to incorrect Body Control Module coding.
Put right by: Update the Body Control Module software.
On affected vehicles there there may be loose connections between a high-pressure fuel pipe and the engine fuel rail which potentially could lead to a leak and risk of fire.
Put right by: Retighten the affected connections.
Vehicles may be affected by premature wearing of the camshaft drive chain leading to abnormal noise or to a breakage of the chain in the worst case.
Put right by: Update the software to improve oil pressure and reduce wear. Check the engine noise and replace the chain if required. If no problem found change the oil to one with higher viscosity and special anti-wear additives.
On affected vehicles the Electronic Brake System Module is not according to specification which could potentially lead to light internal leakage of brake fluid.
Put right by: Replace the Electronic Brake System Module.
Affected vehicles may face an error in the Battery Monitoring Unit software.
Put right by: Update the Battery Monitoring Unit software.
Affected vehicles may experience an autonomous telematic box that cannot connect to the remote server making it not possible to make calls or use other connected services.
Put right by: Disconnect the 12V battery and reconnect it after 15 seconds then check for a trouble code.
Affected vehicles may not comply with test requirements in the matter of emissions test execution by competent authorities and energy consumption may be too high.
Put right by: Update the electrical Vehicle Control Unit (eVCU) software.
On affected vehicles the front tyres may have been damaged in the production process.
Put right by: Check the front tyres and change if necessary.
On affected vehicles the steering rack fitted may not conform to specification and result in an increased force to rotate the steering wheel.
Put right by: On the affected vehicles the steering rack will be replaced.
On affected vehicles below 12500 miles under certain conditions engine emissions may lead to a non-compliance to regulatory requirements.
Put right by: Check the mileage of the vehicle and update the ECU (Engine Control Unit) calibration on vehicles below 12500 miles.
A fuel pipe could develop a leak in the engine compartment which could lead to a risk of a vehicle fire.
Put right by: Check and replace the fuel pipe if necessary.
There is an error in the software calibration of the traction battery control unit which could result in a loss of propulsion when driving.
Put right by: Update the software of the traction battery control unit.
The vehicles may have the wrong VIN printed on the B pillar VIN sticker.
Put right by: Check and if necessary replace the B pillar VIN sticker.
The front suspension springs may not be correctly positioned in the strut assembly.
Put right by: Check the front suspension springs and correct the position of the spring if necessary.
The windscreen wipers might have a functionality issue at low ambient temperatures (below +3 degree Celsius)
Put right by: Program the Built-in System Interface (BSI) module with the latest software.
The bolts and nuts of both the control arms might be incorrectly tightened.
Put right by: Replace the bolts and nuts of both the control arms and tighten to the correct specifications.
The brake pedal may potentially stick as a result of high vehicle interior temperatures causing the brake lights to activate without brake pedal pressure.
Put right by: To reprogram the electronic brake control module (EBCM) to enable a warning message to display.
A front seat side air bag may not deploy as intended
Put right by: On affected vehicles replace the airbag module assembly
It has been identified on certain Mokka models produced between 2013 & 2017 equipped with a rear bicycle carrier that if the rear bicycle carrier is not folded back into its correct stowed position after use then the body control module will not recognise this and will not illuminate the vehicles rear/tail lights when required.
Put right by: Recall all affected vehicles to attach a sticker on the rear bicycle carrier instructing driver how to stow the rear bicycle carrier correctly.
Water may penetrate into the Electronic Brake Control Module (EBCM) connector. In the worst case water can enter the EBCM where a short circuit may lead to a risk of fire. Warning before the fire element could occur is: flashing warning lamp which will give sufficient warning for the vehicle to be parked safely or if nearby taken to the dealership for repair.
Put right by: Recall the vehicles that are likely to be affected and check if the water cowl fastening clip correctly seals the water channel and that proper sealing of the EBCM connector is ensured. If necessary the EBCM and/or the hydraulic modulator will be replaced.
The front seats are equipped with lap and shoulder belt pretentioners. In certain head on or rear end collisions the lap belt pretentioner will deploy but not lock in the loaded position. This can increase the risk of injury when the conditions are met. Parts for the recall will not be available until October 2015.
Put right by: Recall the vehicles that are likely to be affected and replace both front pretentioners with lap belt.
It is possible that the steering wheel securing bolt may not have been tightened to the correct specification. This should be identified to the driver by a loose steering wheel. However in extreme cases if the driver does not take notice of the looseness then the wheel could detach causing loss of control of the vehicle.
Put right by: Recall all the affected vehicle and re-secure the steering wheel securing bolt.
Recall data published by the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency under the Open Government Licence v3.0. A recall listed here may not apply to every car of this model: the build dates and the registration check are what decide it.
An overdue cambelt is the most expensive thing a seller can fail to mention on a used Mokka. These are the figures UK specialists work to.
The PSA 1.2 PureTech (sold by Vauxhall as the 1.2 Turbo and 1.2 petrol) has a wet belt that degrades and clogs the oil strainer, the belt material breaking down rather than simply wearing. The original schedule was 10 years / 175,000 km (about 109,000 miles); Stellantis cut it to 6 years / 100,000 km (62,000 miles) with the belt checked at every service, and independent specialists advise 5 years / 50,000 to 60,000 miles, so the shorter 5 years / 60,000 miles is recorded. Stellantis covers belt and oil consumption failures on these earlier-generation engines for 10 years / 112,000 miles when serviced to schedule. The Hybrid versions (from 2024) have a timing chain instead; see the separate row. This row is the second-generation Mokka (2021 on); the earlier Mokka X had GM engines.
The 48V mild hybrid versions of the 1.2 (badged Hybrid 100, 110, 136 or 145) use the third-generation engine, which swapped the wet belt for a timing chain running in oil with no replacement interval. Vauxhall added the Hybrid to the Corsa in January 2024 and fits it to the Astra, Mokka, new Grandland and Frontera. The row carries no fuel type because these cars can be registered as petrol or as hybrids. The plain petrol 1.2 was sold alongside the hybrid with the older wet belt engine for several years, so the badge matters more than the year: check the car says Hybrid, and with the oil filler cap off a wet belt engine shows its belt while a chain engine does not.
Always confirm against the vehicle handbook. Intervals vary by engine, and several manufacturers revised theirs after failures in service.
Three stand out. Engine: timing chain wear on the 1.6 CDTi Whisper diesel (typically 40000 to 90000 miles). Cooling system: coolant expansion tank hairline cracking and pressure cap failure causing slow coolant leaks (typically 40000 to 80000 miles). Engine: DPF blockage on short-journey cars, and the knock-on failure that makes it expensive (typically 40000 to 100000 miles). The full list above is grouped by generation, with typical mileage and a rough repair cost for each.
No Vauxhall Mokka year is a write-off, but the Mokka A (2012 to 2019) carries the most serious faults: engine. Year matters less than whether the specific car has had the known fixes, so check the history for them.
Ask the seller about the engine and cooling system faults on this page and whether they have been fixed, with invoices. On the test drive watch for metallic rattle for a few seconds on cold start, coolant level dropping and DPF warning light and limp mode, especially after town use. Read the MOT history for repeat advisories, then paste the advert into the free check, which reads it against all 3 known faults before you travel. Check a Vauxhall Mokka advert →
The DVSA lists 25 safety recalls for the Vauxhall Mokka issued between 2013 and 2026. The most recent, from March 2026, is "Alternator protection". Recall work is done by the manufacturer, and GOV.UK says you will not usually have to pay for it. This list is by model, so it cannot tell you whether one particular car has had the work: the free GOV.UK MOT history check shows a recall status from the registration where the manufacturer shares it, and a franchised dealer can check the VIN.
Owners report 43.7 mpg on average across the Vauxhall Mokka engines with data, about 87% of the official combined figure. The gap between official and real-world economy varies a lot by engine, so the Real MPG page lists every engine and generation separately, from 17 owner submissions. Vauxhall Mokka Real MPG by engine →
Looking at a Vauxhall Mokka right now? Check the advert before you go and see it.
If you used to check the Honest John “Good & Bad” section before the site closed in 2026, this page is where that information now lives. We rebuilt the Vauxhall Mokka owner-report history from the archived Honest John dataset, added our own research, specialist and owner-club sources and DVSA recall data, and we keep it free. Each fault above is badged with its source. The same data feeds our free advert check, which reads a listing against every known fault for the exact engine and year.
CarAdCheck is not affiliated with Honest John or Volkswagen Financial Services. What happened to Honest John, and where each feature lives now.
Knowing what a Vauxhall Mokka goes wrong with is half of it. The rest is reading the advert and checking the car's history before you hand any money over.