84.5%
Suzuki Vitara
Suzuki Vitara MOT pass rate and common problems
The Suzuki Vitara passed 84.5% of its initial MOT tests in 2025, 12.2 percentage points above the 72.3% UK average. The item testers recorded most often was tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm.
Checking a specific car? Its own results, advisories and recorded mileages are in a free MOT history check.
How the Vitara compares
Initial MOT tests in 2025, retests excluded. A car that failed and was repaired at the test station counts as a fail.
73.6%
Suzuki average
72.3%
UK average, all cars
The Vitara runs 10.9 points ahead of the Suzuki average. It is 3rd of the 14 Suzuki models in the data. The average Vitara arrived at its test 7.1 years old with 49,666 miles recorded.
A pass rate records whether cars met the roadworthiness standard on test day. It is not a reliability score, and part of any gap reflects how old the tested cars were.
Vitara MOT pass rate by age
The same 2025 tests split by the car's age at test.
Suzuki Vitara cars aged 3 to 5 years passed 90.8% of MOT tests. For cars aged 11 years and over that fell to 59.2%, a drop of 31.6 percentage points.
| Age at test | Tests | Pass rate | vs UK average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 to 5 years | 21,348 | 90.8% | 18.5 pts above |
| 6 to 10 years | 44,167 | 81.3% | 9 pts above |
| 11 years and over | 1,392 | 59.2% | 13.1 pts below |
That is a steep decline with age, so the headline rate flatters older examples. The UK average of 72.3% covers cars of every age, so compare like with like.
Where Vitara failures cluster
Every failure item recorded on Suzuki Vitara cars in 2025, grouped into the DVSA's test areas.
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment and tyres together account for 53% of recorded failure items. These are recorded failures across the model, not faults every car has.
The 10 most common Vitara MOT failures
Specific items recorded on Suzuki Vitara cars that failed their 2025 MOT, as a share of all recorded failure items.
Together these 10 items make up 59.9% of everything testers recorded against failed Suzuki Vitara cars. The rest is spread across many smaller items, and one failed test often records several at once.
What to look at on a Vitara
The recorded failures above, grouped by area, biggest first.
1
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment
Recorded most often: position lamp not working, stop lamp not working and headlamp aim too high. 21.9% of failure items.
2
Tyres
Recorded most often: tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm and condition has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords. 17.5% of failure items.
3
Visibility
Recorded most often: wipers does not clear the windscreen effectively and washers provides insufficient washer liquid. 10.7% of failure items.
4
Brakes
Recorded most often: brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick, rigid brake pipes excessively corroded and service brake performance excessively binding. 9.8% of failure items.
The car's own MOT history matters more than any model average. A free MOT history check shows whether a specific Vitara has failed on these items before, or had them noted as advisories. Buying one? See the used Suzuki Vitara buying guide.
Already found one?
Check its finance, write-off, theft, mileage and keeper history with a £15 vehicle history report.
Suzuki Vitara MOT FAQs
What is the Suzuki Vitara MOT pass rate?
84.5% of Suzuki Vitara cars passed their initial MOT first time in 2025, from 72,087 tests. That is 12.2 percentage points above the 72.3% average for all cars, and ranks 127th of 575 models.
What does a Suzuki Vitara most commonly fail its MOT on?
The item testers recorded most often on Suzuki Vitara cars failing their 2025 MOT was tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm, on 13.6% of failure items. Next were position lamp not working (10.3%) and wipers does not clear the windscreen effectively (8.4%).
Which area causes the most Suzuki Vitara MOT failures?
Across every recorded failure item, the largest area was lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment at 30.7%, followed by tyres at 22.3%.
Do older Suzuki Vitara cars fail their MOT more often?
Suzuki Vitara cars aged 3 to 5 years passed 90.8% of MOT tests in 2025, against 59.2% for cars aged 11 years and over.
Does this mean every Suzuki Vitara has these problems?
No. These are the items testers recorded across every Suzuki Vitara that failed in 2025. They show where the model most often needs attention, not the condition of any individual car.
How do I see a specific Suzuki Vitara's MOT history?
Enter its registration on the free Carpeep MOT history check to see that car's own test results, failures, advisories and recorded mileages.
MOT figures are aggregated from the DVSA MOT Anonymised data set for 2025: class 4 initial tests, retests excluded, with failure items from failed tests (advisories and minor defects excluded), licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. MOT results describe roadworthiness at test, not mechanical reliability.