Common problems

Alfa Romeo 159 common problems

What MOT testers find on the Alfa Romeo 159: the parts that fail or get advisories most often at each age, against all cars of the same age. From 14,049 DVSA MOT tests taken 2022 to 2025.

MOT data updated 28 September 2026

At 15 years, the most tested age

Suspension fails per 100 MOTs (n=3,246)21.2

All cars at 15 years (n=5,591,675)16.7

Suspension advisories and minor defects per 100 MOTs (n=3,246)32.0

All cars, same age (n=5,591,675)32.3

What stands out

Brakes fails show up on 16.1 of every 100 MOTs of a Alfa Romeo 159 at 15 years old (n=3,246), against 10.7 for all cars of that age (n=5,591,675).
Lights and electrics fails are less common: 13.6 per 100 MOTs against 19.5 for all cars at the same age.
The fail item testers record most often at 15 years: handbrake too weak, on 9.3 per 100 MOTs (all cars 2.3).
The most common advisory or minor defect: tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge, on 25.5 per 100 MOTs.

Problems by part at 15 years

How many of every 100 MOTs found a fail, or an advisory or minor defect, in each area. A test with faults in two areas counts in both.

Alfa Romeo 159 at 15 years (n=3,246) against all cars at 15 years (n=5,591,675). Per 100 MOTs.
Area	Fails	All cars	Advisories	All cars
Suspension	21.2	16.7	32.0	32.3
Brakes	16.1	10.7	24.7	27.8
Lights and electrics	13.6	19.5	10.4	13.7
Tyres	9.3	7.5	31.7	28.5
Exhaust, emissions and leaks	8.5	5.7	17.5	11.0
Body and structure	7.3	6.7	11.7	11.2
Windscreen, wipers and mirrors	5.4	6.5	4.9	5.4
Steering	3.6	3.3	4.5	4.3
Seat belts and airbags	2.0	1.7	0.7	1.0
Road wheels	0.6	0.6	0.7	1.5
Number plates and VIN	0.3	0.5	3.1	4.3

What testers fail most on the 159 at 15 years

Fail items on the Alfa Romeo 159 at 15 years (n=3,246), per 100 MOTs, with all cars at the same age (n=5,591,675).
Item	Area	Per 100 MOTs	All cars	Typical repair (estimate)
Handbrake too weak	Brakes	9.3	2.3
Coil spring broken	Suspension	6.8	4.1	£64 to £236 per spring (rough guide)
Component mounting prescribed areas: prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength	Suspension	4.9	1.1
Tyre tread below 1.6 mm	Tyres	3.8	3.1	£88 to £145 per tyre
Tyre with cords exposed	Tyres	3.7	1.8	£88 to £145 per tyre
Side/position light not working	Lights and electrics	3.5	5.8	£10 to £47 per lamp
Suspension ball joint worn	Suspension	3.3	2.5	£75 to £237 per side (rough guide)
Dipped headlight not working	Lights and electrics	2.4	2.4	£18 to £86 per lamp
Service brake performance: excessively binding	Brakes	2.3	1.4	£55 to £267 per wheel (rough guide)
Exhaust system: has a major leak of exhaust gases	Body and structure	2.3	1.6	£182 to £263 per section

Early warnings: advisories and minor defects at 15 years

Advisories and minor defects are recorded, but the car still passes. Across all cars, a part with an advisory or minor defect failed at the next MOT 5.5 times in 100 (n=88,666,940 pairs of consecutive MOTs), against 0.3 times in 100 when the same part had none (n=12,936,860,350).

Advisories and minor defects on the Alfa Romeo 159 at 15 years (n=3,246), per 100 MOTs, with all cars at the same age (n=5,591,675).
Item	Area	Per 100 MOTs	All cars	If it needs replacing (estimate)
Tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge	Tyres	25.5	18.4	£88 to £145 per tyre
Engine oil leaks: leak, but not excessive	Exhaust, emissions and leaks	16.2	9.8
Sub-frame: corroded but not seriously weakened	Suspension	10.9	5.0
Brake discs: worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened	Brakes	10.7	11.1	£148 to £376 per axle (rough guide)
Suspension arm pins and bushes: pin or bush worn but not resulting in excessive movement	Suspension	7.7	8.5	£92 to £237 per arm (rough guide)
Brake pads: wearing thin	Brakes	6.3	6.9	£72 to £174 per axle (rough guide)
Exhaust system: has a minor leak of exhaust gases	Body and structure	5.7	4.2	£182 to £263 per section
Suspension arm ball joint: ball joint has slight play	Suspension	5.5	2.3	£75 to £237 per side (rough guide)
Service brake performance: binding but not excessively	Brakes	5.1	2.3	£55 to £267 per wheel (rough guide)
Suspension arm: corroded but not seriously weakened	Suspension	4.8	2.6	£92 to £237 per arm (rough guide)

Repair estimates are a guide for an independent garage: labour at the national median local garage rate (median £78 an hour from 65 garages, ONS price quotes) times estimated labour hours, plus a parts band. Labour hours and most parts bands are estimates, not quotes, and prices vary by model, engine and region. A warning light fault shows the cost of the diagnosis only.

How problems change with age

Fails per 100 MOTs in the three most common areas at 15 years. Ages with fewer than 1,000 tests are not shown.
Age	Tests (n)	Suspension	Brakes	Lights and electrics
12 years	1,409	17.0	14.2	16.5
13 years	2,301	19.4	15.4	16.0
14 years	3,048	18.4	15.2	15.2
15 years	3,246	21.2	16.1	13.6
16 years	2,555	20.4	16.3	14.8
17 years	1,490	23.0	16.0	13.8

What to check on a viewing

On the Alfa Romeo 159, testers most often record handbrake too weak; coil spring broken; component mounting prescribed areas: prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength. Look at these first, then the areas below.

Suspension

Listen for knocks or clonks over speed bumps and rough roads on the test drive.
Push down hard on each corner: the car should settle at once rather than keep bouncing.
Look behind the wheels for broken or heavily rusted coil springs and split rubber bushes.
Check that the car sits level and that no tyre is worn on one edge only.

Brakes

On the test drive the car should stop in a straight line without pulling, juddering or grinding.
Look at the discs through the wheels for a deep lip, heavy rust or scoring.
Check that the handbrake or electronic parking brake holds the car on a slope.
Ask when the pads, discs and brake fluid were last changed, and for the receipts.

Lights and electrics

With someone outside, try every light: dipped and main beam, indicators, brake lights, fog lights and number plate lamps.
Check that the warning lights come on with the ignition and go out once the engine runs.
Look for misted, cracked or yellowed headlamp lenses.

Ask for the car's MOT history and service record: advisories that repeat from one year to the next show what has been left. GOV.UK MOT history.

Questions

What are the most common problems on the Alfa Romeo 159?

At 15 years, the age with the most MOT tests (3,246), the fail items testers record most often on the Alfa Romeo 159 are handbrake too weak (9.3 per 100 MOTs), coil spring broken (6.8 per 100 MOTs), component mounting prescribed areas: prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength (4.9 per 100 MOTs). The most common advisories or minor defects are tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge (25.5) and engine oil leaks: leak, but not excessive (16.2).

Which parts of the Alfa Romeo 159 fail more often than on other cars?

At 15 years: brakes (16.1 per 100 MOTs against 10.7 for all cars); suspension (21.2 per 100 MOTs against 16.7 for all cars); exhaust, emissions and leaks (8.5 per 100 MOTs against 5.7 for all cars). Compared with 5,591,675 MOTs of all cars the same age.

Alfa Romeo 159 problems by area

Other Alfa Romeo models

All Alfa Romeo models · Common problems by make

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.

The all cars figures cover all class 4 vehicles (cars and light vans) tested at the same age.

Looking at a Alfa Romeo 159?

These figures describe the model, not the car in front of you. Found one you might buy? See what the VetTheCar Buying Report covers, or use the tools that work without a registration.

See a sample report Car tools · MOT fail rates by model · Compare models by MOT record

Repair estimates: ONS consumer price quotes for local garage labour (09/2025 to 08/2026), the MOT inspection manual for defect wording, and estimated labour hours and parts bands. Not affiliated with or endorsed by ONS.

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 28 September 2026.

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