Suzuki Grand Vitara: MOT pass rate and reliability data

The Suzuki Grand Vitara fails its first MOT more often than the average UK car, by 8.5 percentage points. These figures come from the DVSA's full year of anonymised MOT results, covering 21,340 individual Suzuki Grand Vitara tests. Nothing here is an estimate or a survey.

The numbers

What this means if you are buying one

A 68.2% first-time pass rate means roughly 32 in every 100 Suzuki Grand Vitaras presented for MOT fail on the first attempt. That is worse than average, so budget for remedial work and treat a fresh 12-month MOT as a genuine selling point rather than a given. The average Suzuki Grand Vitara tested had covered 91,279 miles and was built around 2007.

What this means at salvage auction

Pass rate is a proxy for what a car costs to keep on the road. On a Suzuki Grand Vitara bought as a repairable salvage, assume the mechanical side needs more than the visible accident damage, and pad your repair estimate accordingly.

Before you bid: run the lot through the analyzer, check the car's own record, check the mileage, decode the VIN, and if it carries a marker use the write-off value calculator. Or compare it against another model.

Looking at a specific Suzuki Grand Vitara rather than the model in general? The free check covers its MOT and mileage history, and the full HPI report confirms the insurance write-off category, outstanding finance and whether it is recorded stolen, from licensed data for 5 credits. Already own one that has been damaged? Work out whether fixing it beats selling it with the repair or scrap calculator, and see what damaged Suzuki Grand Vitaras actually sold for at UK salvage auction.

Most common MOT failures on a Suzuki Grand Vitara

1. Body, cab or chassis excessively corroded at a mounting point, 2.7% of tests (13.27x the national rate for this defect)
2. The strength or continuity of the load bearing structure within 30cm of any seat belt anchorage (a 'prescribed area') is significantly reduced or inadequately repaired, 2.2% of tests (9.46x the national rate for this defect)
3. Vehicle structure corroded to the extent that the rigidity of the assembly is seriously reduced, 2.4% of tests (6.66x the national rate for this defect)
4. The strength or continuity of the load bearing structure within 30cm of any sub-frame, spring or suspension component mounting (a 'prescribed area') is significantly reduced or inadequately repaired, 5.3% of tests (6.44x the national rate for this defect)
5. Brake pipe damaged or excessively corroded, 3.8% of tests (4.59x the national rate for this defect)
6. Significant brake effort recorded with no brake applied indicating a binding brake, 2.6% of tests (3.4x the national rate for this defect)
7. A transmission shaft constant velocity joint boot missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt etc, 3.7% of tests (3.28x the national rate for this defect)
8. Exhaust system leaking or insecure, 2.3% of tests (3.05x the national rate for this defect)
9. A lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning, 3.9% of tests (2.37x the national rate for this defect)
10. Wiper blade missing or obviously not clearing the windscreen, 2.8% of tests (2.02x the national rate for this defect)

From 31,004 DVSA-tracked Suzuki Grand Vitara tests, 2024. DVSA testers marked 2.84% of these flagged Suzuki Grand Vitara defects as "dangerous", meaning the tester judged the car unsafe to drive away, against 4.97% nationally.

Suzuki Grand Vitara pass rate by model year

Pass rates fall steadily as cars age, so the model year matters as much as the model. First-time pass rate for each Suzuki Grand Vitara year:

• 2000 Suzuki Grand Vitara - 66.7% first-time pass, 204 tests
• 2001 Suzuki Grand Vitara - 64.9% first-time pass, 493 tests
• 2002 Suzuki Grand Vitara - 62.7% first-time pass, 906 tests
• 2003 Suzuki Grand Vitara - 63.9% first-time pass, 1,339 tests
• 2004 Suzuki Grand Vitara - 62.9% first-time pass, 1,945 tests
• 2005 Suzuki Grand Vitara - 63.5% first-time pass, 2,164 tests
• 2006 Suzuki Grand Vitara - 63.9% first-time pass, 1,865 tests
• 2007 Suzuki Grand Vitara - 68.9% first-time pass, 2,235 tests
• 2008 Suzuki Grand Vitara - 67% first-time pass, 2,023 tests
• 2009 Suzuki Grand Vitara - 70.6% first-time pass, 1,788 tests
• 2010 Suzuki Grand Vitara - 72.8% first-time pass, 1,741 tests
• 2011 Suzuki Grand Vitara - 73.3% first-time pass, 1,441 tests
• 2012 Suzuki Grand Vitara - 77.6% first-time pass, 1,092 tests
• 2013 Suzuki Grand Vitara - 82% first-time pass, 1,135 tests
• 2014 Suzuki Grand Vitara - 89.4% first-time pass, 508 tests

Suzuki Grand Vitara by fuel type

Diesel and petrol versions of the same car fail on different things, so the fuel type moves the number:

• Petrol Suzuki Grand Vitara - 70% first-time pass, 15,755 tests
• Diesel Suzuki Grand Vitara - 65.6% first-time pass, 5,348 tests

Other Suzuki models

• Suzuki Swift - 77.3%
• Suzuki Vitara - 88.6%
• Suzuki Alto - 74%
• Suzuki Sx4 - 75%
• Suzuki Celerio - 90%
• Suzuki Jimny - 72.9%
• Suzuki Ignis - 79.8%
• Suzuki Splash - 68.4%

Models with a similar pass rate

• Suzuki Splash - 68.4%
• Citroen Berlingo - 68.3%
• Volkswagen Eos - 68.3%
• Citroen Relay - 68.2%
• Saab 9-3 - 68.1%
• Fiat Qubo - 68.1%

If this car is a salvage or write-off

• What does Cat N mean? Category N explained
• What does Cat S mean? Category S explained
• Cat S vs Cat N: the real differences

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All 2,005 models ranked by MOT pass rate