MOT fail rates

Suzuki Alto MOT fail rate by age

How often the Suzuki Alto fails its MOT at each age, compared with all cars of the same age, and what it fails on. From 196,008 DVSA MOT tests taken 2022 to 2025.

MOT data updated 22 September 2026

At 11 years, the most tested age

MOT fail rate at age 11 (n=33,919)32.1%

All cars at 11 years (n=8,087,514)33.3%

Median mileage at test53,872

All cars, median mileage81,778

147 of 298 model groups with enough tests fail less often at 11 years.

What stands out

At 7 years the Suzuki Alto fails 24.3% of MOTs (1,865 tests), 3.7 points above the 20.6% for all cars that age. At 21 years it fails 51.6% (1,121 tests), 9.5 points above the 42.1% average.
It moves from below to above the all-car rate between 16 and 17 years.
Its most common structural or mechanical fail item at 11 years: Rigid brake pipes: excessively corroded, at 6.2 per 100 MOTs.

MOT fail rate by age

Solid line: this model. Dashed line: all cars at the same age.

Suzuki Alto: share of MOT tests that failed, by age, against all cars. Ages with fewer than 1,000 tests are not shown.
Age	MOT fail rate	Tests (n)	All cars	Difference	Median mileage
7 years	24.3%	1,865	20.6%	+3.7 pts	35,295 miles
8 years	26.3%	14,903	23.8%	+2.5 pts	39,315 miles
9 years	28.1%	27,016	27.1%	+1.0 pts	44,815 miles
10 years	29.9%	31,436	30.3%	−0.4 pts	49,246 miles
11 years	32.1%	33,919	33.3%	−1.2 pts	53,872 miles
12 years	34.1%	25,472	36.0%	−1.9 pts	59,177 miles
13 years	35.2%	19,445	38.3%	−3.1 pts	63,170 miles
14 years	37.9%	14,291	40.3%	−2.3 pts	66,234 miles
15 years	39.0%	9,379	41.6%	−2.6 pts	68,999 miles
16 years	40.8%	5,711	42.6%	−1.7 pts	66,410 miles
17 years	52.1%	2,486	43.1%	+9.0 pts	53,413 miles
18 years	51.0%	3,402	43.3%	+7.7 pts	54,590 miles
19 years	51.5%	3,300	43.2%	+8.3 pts	53,943 miles
20 years	50.7%	2,262	42.8%	+8.0 pts	53,770 miles
21 years	51.6%	1,121	42.1%	+9.5 pts	53,166 miles

Most common fail items at 11 years

Split into structural or mechanical items and wear items. Wear items (tyres, brake pads, wipers, bulbs) say more about upkeep than about the design.

Structural and mechanical

Fail item	Per 100 MOTs
Rigid brake pipes: excessively corroded Major	6.2
Suspension arm bush worn Major	3
Wheel bearings: rough when rotated Major	1.4

Out of 33,919 MOTs. A test with two faults counts twice.

Wear and upkeep

Fail item	Per 100 MOTs
Brake light not working Major	7.1
Wipers not clearing screen Major	5.8
Side/position light not working Major	5.2
Tyre tread below 1.6 mm Dangerous	3.7
Washers: provides insufficient washer liquid Major	2.2
Horn: not working Major	1.8
Registration plate lamp(s): inoperative in the case of a single lamp or all lamps Major	1.5

Out of 33,919 MOTs. A test with two faults counts twice.

Other models at 11 years

Model	MOT fail rate	Tests (n)	All cars
Suzuki Swift	31.1%	34,750	33.3%
Suzuki SX4	34.1%	14,090	33.3%
Suzuki Splash	32.5%	11,897	33.3%

MOT fail rate by first-use year

Each year has its own page: the fail rate for cars first used that year at each MOT from 2022 to 2025 with at least 1,000 tests, the most common faults at that age, and the car tax and ULEZ rules for that year.

First-use year data updated 28 September 2026.

Latest MOT age with at least 1,000 tests for each first-use year.
First used	Age at test	MOT fail rate	Tests (n)	All cars
2004	19 years in 2023	52.5%	1,131	43.2%
2005	19 years in 2024	49.7%	1,016	43.2%
2009	16 years in 2025	38.7%	4,749	42.6%
2010	15 years in 2025	39.5%	4,136	41.6%
2011	14 years in 2025	36.6%	4,268	40.3%
2012	13 years in 2025	35.1%	4,444	38.3%
2013	12 years in 2025	33.1%	11,425	36.0%
2014	11 years in 2025	31.6%	12,543	33.3%
2015	10 years in 2025	31.2%	1,797	30.3%

More on the Suzuki Alto

Read this with care. A fail rate is not a measure of build quality. How far cars are driven, how they are used and how well owners maintain them all change it, and wear items such as tyres and brake pads are common fails. Compare a model only with cars of the same age. Methodology and limits.

Looking at one Suzuki Alto?

These are figures for the model, not for one car. The VetTheCar Buying Report looks at a single car: its MOT tests, defects, advisories and mileage readings.

See an example report Browse the car tools

Source

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data, class 4 normal MOT tests, 2022 to 2025. MOT data updated 22 September 2026.

Not affiliated with or endorsed by DVSA. How we calculate these figures · Data sources