Common problems

Alfa Romeo MiTo common problems

What MOT testers find on the Alfa Romeo MiTo: the parts that fail or get advisories most often at each age, against all cars of the same age. From 78,902 DVSA MOT tests taken 2022 to 2025.

MOT data updated 28 September 2026

At 13 years, the most tested age

Suspension fails per 100 MOTs (n=12,808)15.4

All cars at 13 years (n=6,612,160)14.9

Suspension advisories and minor defects per 100 MOTs (n=12,808)31.0

All cars, same age (n=6,612,160)27.9

What stands out

Brakes fails show up on 13.2 of every 100 MOTs of a Alfa Romeo MiTo at 13 years old (n=12,808), against 9.1 for all cars of that age (n=6,612,160).
Lights and electrics fails are less common: 13.3 per 100 MOTs against 17.0 for all cars at the same age.
The fail item testers record most often at 13 years: coil spring broken, on 6.8 per 100 MOTs (all cars 4.1).
The most common advisory or minor defect: tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge, on 19.0 per 100 MOTs.

Problems by part at 13 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 MiTo at 13 years (n=12,808) against all cars at 13 years (n=6,612,160). Per 100 MOTs.
Area	Fails	All cars	Advisories	All cars
Suspension	15.4	14.9	31.0	27.9
Lights and electrics	13.3	17.0	11.5	10.8
Brakes	13.2	9.1	29.4	25.0
Tyres	7.9	7.3	30.3	28.1
Body and structure	6.3	5.0	12.6	8.0
Exhaust, emissions and leaks	6.2	4.3	12.3	8.2
Windscreen, wipers and mirrors	5.7	5.6	3.8	4.7
Steering	2.2	2.9	1.7	3.5
Seat belts and airbags	1.4	1.2	0.4	0.7
Number plates and VIN	0.4	0.4	2.7	3.4
Road wheels	0.4	0.5	1.1	1.3

What testers fail most on the MiTo at 13 years

Fail items on the Alfa Romeo MiTo at 13 years (n=12,808), per 100 MOTs, with all cars at the same age (n=6,612,160).
Item	Area	Per 100 MOTs	All cars	Typical repair (estimate)
Coil spring broken	Suspension	6.8	4.1	£64 to £236 per spring (rough guide)
Handbrake too weak	Brakes	5.0	1.7
Dipped headlight not working	Lights and electrics	4.1	2.2	£18 to £86 per lamp
Brake pads under 1.5 mm	Brakes	3.2	2.1	£72 to £174 per axle (rough guide)
Exhaust system: has a major leak of exhaust gases	Body and structure	3.2	1.2	£182 to £263 per section
Tyre tread below 1.6 mm	Tyres	2.8	3.0	£88 to £145 per tyre
Catalyst emissions: Lambda reading after 2nd fast idle outside specified limits	Exhaust, emissions and leaks	2.5	0.7
Washers: provides insufficient washer liquid	Windscreen, wipers and mirrors	2.4	2.0	£2 to £14 per car (rough guide)
Parking brake performance: inoperative on one side	Brakes	2.1	0.8
Wipers not clearing screen	Windscreen, wipers and mirrors	1.9	2.1	£15 to £30 per blade

Early warnings: advisories and minor defects at 13 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 MiTo at 13 years (n=12,808), per 100 MOTs, with all cars at the same age (n=6,612,160).
Item	Area	Per 100 MOTs	All cars	If it needs replacing (estimate)
Tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge	Tyres	19.0	18.2	£88 to £145 per tyre
Brake discs: worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened	Brakes	16.3	10.6	£148 to £376 per axle (rough guide)
Coil spring: corroded	Suspension	15.7	5.6
Tyre condition: slightly damaged/cracking or perishing	Tyres	10.5	9.1	£88 to £145 per tyre
Engine oil leaks: leak, but not excessive	Exhaust, emissions and leaks	8.4	7.2
Brake pads: wearing thin	Brakes	8.2	7.3	£72 to £174 per axle (rough guide)
Exhaust system: has a minor leak of exhaust gases	Body and structure	7.8	3.1	£182 to £263 per section
Registration plate lamp(s): inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources	Lights and electrics	6.0	5.2
Sub-frame: corroded but not seriously weakened	Suspension	5.6	3.8
Suspension arm pins and bushes: pin or bush worn but not resulting in excessive movement	Suspension	4.6	8.0	£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 13 years. Ages with fewer than 1,000 tests are not shown.
Age	Tests (n)	Suspension	Lights and electrics	Brakes
5 years	1,190	10.3	3.5	4.6
6 years	2,680	7.9	5.5	5.5
7 years	4,288	10.5	6.0	6.3
8 years	5,599	12.4	6.9	6.3
9 years	6,598	12.5	8.5	7.4
10 years	7,440	15.0	10.1	7.9
11 years	8,797	14.1	11.3	9.0
12 years	10,586	14.9	13.4	10.9
13 years	12,808	15.4	13.3	13.2
14 years	9,702	16.2	15.4	14.5
15 years	6,280	16.4	16.0	14.8
16 years	2,934	17.3	15.4	16.7

Mileage

At 13 years, Alfa Romeo MiTo cars showing 30,000 to 60,000 miles failed 30.9% of MOTs (n=1,910); the band that failed most, 120,000 to 150,000 miles, failed 45.3% (n=1,140). For pass and fail rates by age, see Alfa Romeo MiTo MOT fail rates.

What to check on a viewing

On the Alfa Romeo MiTo, testers most often record coil spring broken; handbrake too weak; dipped headlight not working. 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.

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.

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.

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 MiTo?

At 13 years, the age with the most MOT tests (12,808), the fail items testers record most often on the Alfa Romeo MiTo are coil spring broken (6.8 per 100 MOTs), handbrake too weak (5.0 per 100 MOTs), dipped headlight not working (4.1 per 100 MOTs). The most common advisories or minor defects are tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge (19.0) and brake discs: worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened (16.3).

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

At 13 years: brakes (13.2 per 100 MOTs against 9.1 for all cars); exhaust, emissions and leaks (6.2 per 100 MOTs against 4.3 for all cars); body and structure (6.3 per 100 MOTs against 5.0 for all cars). Compared with 6,612,160 MOTs of all cars the same age.

Alfa Romeo MiTo 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 MiTo?

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