Suzuki Jimny: MOT pass rate and reliability data

The Suzuki Jimny fails its first MOT more often than the average UK car, by 3.8 percentage points. These figures come from the DVSA's full year of anonymised MOT results, covering 23,976 individual Suzuki Jimny tests. Nothing here is an estimate or a survey.

The numbers

What this means if you are buying one

A 72.9% first-time pass rate means roughly 27 in every 100 Suzuki Jimnies 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 Jimny tested had covered 66,940 miles and was built around 2009.

What this means at salvage auction

Pass rate is a proxy for what a car costs to keep on the road. On a Suzuki Jimny 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 Jimny 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 Jimnies actually sold for at UK salvage auction.

Most common MOT failures on a Suzuki Jimny

1. Body, cab or chassis excessively corroded at a mounting point, 7.7% of tests (38.28x 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, 3.2% of tests (14.02x the national rate for this defect)
3. Vehicle structure corroded to the extent that the rigidity of the assembly is seriously reduced, 3.7% of tests (10.29x the national rate for this defect)
4. Service brake efficiency below minimum requirement, 1.4% of tests (8.53x the national rate for this defect)
5. Brakes imbalance across an axle such that the braking effort from any wheel is less than 70% of the maximum effort recorded from the other wheel on the same axle., 2.6% of tests (6.48x the national rate for this defect)
6. Emissions levels exceed default limits, 1.5% of tests (4.97x the national rate for this defect)
7. 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, 3.7% of tests (4.42x the national rate for this defect)
8. Lambda coefficient outside the default limits or the range specified by the manufacturer, 1.6% of tests (4.1x the national rate for this defect)
9. Brake pipe damaged or excessively corroded, 3% of tests (3.62x the national rate for this defect)
10. Exhaust system leaking or insecure, 1.9% of tests (2.44x the national rate for this defect)

From 35,639 DVSA-tracked Suzuki Jimny tests, 2024. DVSA testers marked 3.37% of these flagged Suzuki Jimny defects as "dangerous", meaning the tester judged the car unsafe to drive away, against 4.97% nationally.

Suzuki Jimny 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 Jimny year:

• 1999 Suzuki Jimny - 64.4% first-time pass, 309 tests
• 2000 Suzuki Jimny - 65.7% first-time pass, 662 tests
• 2001 Suzuki Jimny - 66.7% first-time pass, 876 tests
• 2002 Suzuki Jimny - 67% first-time pass, 1,343 tests
• 2003 Suzuki Jimny - 66.9% first-time pass, 1,717 tests
• 2004 Suzuki Jimny - 65% first-time pass, 2,043 tests
• 2005 Suzuki Jimny - 65.3% first-time pass, 1,721 tests
• 2006 Suzuki Jimny - 65% first-time pass, 1,565 tests
• 2007 Suzuki Jimny - 67.8% first-time pass, 1,651 tests
• 2008 Suzuki Jimny - 71.3% first-time pass, 1,171 tests
• 2009 Suzuki Jimny - 74.9% first-time pass, 839 tests
• 2010 Suzuki Jimny - 72.2% first-time pass, 677 tests
• 2011 Suzuki Jimny - 73.9% first-time pass, 779 tests
• 2012 Suzuki Jimny - 78.1% first-time pass, 915 tests
• 2013 Suzuki Jimny - 80.5% first-time pass, 909 tests
• 2014 Suzuki Jimny - 81.5% first-time pass, 859 tests
• 2015 Suzuki Jimny - 78.6% first-time pass, 978 tests
• 2016 Suzuki Jimny - 85% first-time pass, 1,042 tests
• 2017 Suzuki Jimny - 84.6% first-time pass, 959 tests
• 2018 Suzuki Jimny - 85.3% first-time pass, 497 tests
• 2019 Suzuki Jimny - 95.6% first-time pass, 1,198 tests
• 2020 Suzuki Jimny - 95.4% first-time pass, 883 tests

Other Suzuki models

• Suzuki Swift - 77.3%
• Suzuki Vitara - 88.6%
• Suzuki Alto - 74%
• Suzuki Sx4 - 75%
• Suzuki Celerio - 90%
• Suzuki Ignis - 79.8%
• Suzuki Grand Vitara - 68.2%
• Suzuki Splash - 68.4%

Models with a similar pass rate

• Peugeot 5008 - 73%
• Daihatsu Materia - 73%
• Nissan Navara - 72.9%
• Alfa Romeo Spider - 72.9%
• Nissan Unclassified - 72.9%
• Nissan Pixo - 72.8%

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