Pass rate
70.3%
Below average — 3.7 pts behind the 74.0% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 2,811 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £46–£124
2009 Alfa Romeo 159 MOT pass rate
- 2009
- typical 119,199 mi
Most common fault
Suspension
26.2% of faults · 21.0% nationally
mostly worn arm bushes, split ball-joint boots and broken coil springs.
Which year to buy
- Best 2012 74.8% pass
- Avoid 2006 67.6% pass
Across the 7 years on record, a spread of 7.2 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 62.0%
- Typical mileage
- 119k mi
The 2009 Alfa Romeo 159 MOT pass rate is 70.3% of its MOT tests — 3.7 points behind what its age and mileage predict. Suspension is the biggest single reason it fails, at 26.2% of what testers record.
Check your postcode
MOT pass rates are national — type your postcode to see how Alfa Romeo 159 does in your corner of the country.
Expert verdict
Falls short of its own age and mileage
Like-for-like, cars this age and mileage expect about 74.0%; this one manages 70.3% — 3.7 points below. Age is a fair excuse; this is not age.
- When it fails, it costs. Only 20% of this model’s typical repairs come in under £30 in parts — the failures here tend to be the kind that need a garage rather than a bulb.
Written from this page's own figures: fault shares against the national composition, the like-for-like pass rate, and the priced repair list. How these are worked out
Watching a Alfa Romeo 159? Get an email when these numbers change .
How does the 2009 Alfa Romeo 159 compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 74.0%, so this figure is 3.7 points behind what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 62.0%. The median 2009 Alfa Romeo 159 in this dataset had covered 119,199 mi.
84% of the tests on this vehicle ran on Diesel, which passed 69.1% of the time. Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 70.8% of the time, April–September 69.6%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Rbt (sp) efficiency below requirements", noted on 7.86% of tests.
- 2,811 recorded tests behind this page.
- 70.3% overall pass rate, 62.0% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the Alfa Romeo 159, the average is 69.9% — best year 2012 (74.8%), worst 2006 (67.6%).
Figures count every completed test on this vehicle-year in the dataset, including retests. See methodology for the exact definition.
This page's data
- Tests analysed
- 2,811
- Typical mileage (median)
- 119,199 mi
- Make and model
- Alfa Romeo 159
- Updated
- 2026-11-05
Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data (2023–2025), OGL v3.0.
Top part to budget for
Brake Discs and Pads Set
Usually a DIY or independent-garage job.
Does mileage affect the 159 MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 60% so small gaps stay visible.
Fuel type and reliability
Pass rate by fuel type. Diesel is the most common here (84% of tests).
Regional pass rates for the 159
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South East | 469 | 74.2% |
| East of England | 401 | 70.8% |
| South West | 343 | 61.8% |
| North West | 332 | 72.3% |
| West Midlands | 312 | 72.8% |
| Yorkshire | 265 | 69.1% |
| East Midlands | 192 | 71.4% |
| Scotland | 172 | 66.3% |
| North East | 137 | 72.3% |
| Wales | 135 | 64.4% |
| London | 53 | 83.0% |
Regions come from the postcode area recorded at the test station. Areas on region borders are assigned to the region with the majority of their population.
What fails a 2009 159
Everything a tester recorded on this vehicle, grouped into the inspection sections that produced it. The notch on each bar is the national share, so you can see at a glance whether this car is unusual or just ordinary.
A test can record several items, so these percentages do not add up to 100%. The exact strings, with prices, are in the full DVSA record at the bottom of this page.
Before your test
Three checks worth doing on a 2009 159
These are not generic tips — they are the faults recorded most often on this exact model, rewritten as things you can check yourself. All three take about ten minutes and cost nothing.
-
Check the coil springs 5.5% of tests
“coil spring fractured or broken”
Look up inside each wheel arch with a torch, all the way round the spring. A snapped spring usually breaks at the very bottom coil, where a quick glance will not reach.
-
Check the suspension joints 2.9% of tests
“ball joint excessively worn”
With the car parked on level ground, rock the top of each front wheel in and out while someone watches the suspension arm. Clunks, or rubber boots split and greasy, are what testers record here.
-
Check the windscreen 2.9% of tests
“windscreen damaged”
Check the driver’s side of the screen within the swept area for chips and cracks; anything larger than 10mm in the driver’s central view is a fail. Most chips can be resin-repaired for far less than a new screen.
Shares are the proportion of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item, so they overlap: one test can record several.
What it costs to get a 2009 159 through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £46–£124 — and 20% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £46–£124
- Cheapest common item: malfunction indicator lamp inoperative or…
- £3–£12
- Dearest common item: component mounting prescribed areas…
- £180–£450
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 70%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 20%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 2,811 MOT tests on this vehicle. They exclude diagnostics, retest fees and garage labour where the part is a DIY fit, and they are not figures from the DVSA dataset. Older and higher-mileage examples cost more than the average. How these estimates are built → · All MOT repair costs → · Cheapest cars to put through a test →
Every year of the 159, side by side
7 model years on record, from 2006 to 2012. Across them the pass rate runs from 67.6% to 74.8% — a spread of 7.2 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2006 67.6% rbt (sp) efficiency below…
- 2007 68.9% rbt (sp) efficiency below…
- 2008 68.6% rbt (sp) efficiency below…
- 2009 70.3%rbt (sp) efficiency below…
- 2010 70.3% rbt (sp) efficiency below…
- 2011 72.1% rbt (sp) efficiency below…
- 2012 74.8% coil spring fractured or broken
Colour is the pass rate on a fixed scale, so a block means the same thing on any model. Each year links to its own page with the full fault breakdown.
Compare the 2009 Alfa Romeo 159 with another year
The raw pass rate mostly measures age. The year comparison adds the like-for-like figure, the mileage bands and the repair bill.
Other 2009 cars with a similar record
- Citroen C2 70.3%
- Mitsubishi L200 70.2%
- Volkswagen Beetle 70.2%
- Vauxhall Meriva 70.1%
- Nissan Navara 70.1%
- Citroen C3 70.6%
Closest pass rates among 2009 cars with at least 2,000 tests, so a small sample cannot flatter itself into the list. See the full rankings: best and worst MOT pass rates.
The full DVSA record for the 2009 Alfa Romeo 159 10 failure items · 6 advisories · 10 inspection categories · mileage brackets · all of it in the page, none of it above the fold
Every inspection category
Shares of the 7,287 individual items recorded on this vehicle, and the same share across all cars nationally. A single test can record several items, so a row is not a percentage of tests.
| Category | Items | This car | Nationally | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Suspension | 1,934 | 26.20% | 20.98% | +5.22 |
| Brakes | 1,441 | 19.50% | 20.89% | −1.39 |
| Tyres | 1,221 | 16.50% | 19.76% | −3.26 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 766 | 10.40% | 12.21% | −1.81 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 686 | 9.30% | 5.52% | +3.78 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 534 | 7.20% | 5.57% | +1.63 |
| Visibility | 258 | 3.50% | 4.97% | −1.47 |
| Non-component advisories | 175 | 2.40% | 4.18% | −1.78 |
| Steering | 173 | 2.30% | 2.57% | −0.27 |
| Identification of the vehicle | 99 | 1.30% | 1.76% | −0.46 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rbt (sp) efficiency below requirements Brakes | Major | 7.9% | £45–110 |
| Coil spring fractured or broken Suspension | Major | 5.5% | £25–65 |
| Ball joint excessively worn Suspension | Major | 2.9% | £18–45 |
| Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view Visibility | Minor | 2.9% | £80–200 |
| Component mounting prescribed areas prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength Suspension | Major | 2.7% | £180–450 |
| On or after 01/07/2008 emissions exceed manufacturer's specified limit Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 2.6% | £60–250 |
| Malfunction indicator lamp inoperative or indicates a malfunction Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 2.4% | £3–12 |
| Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 2.2% | £5–20 |
| Position lamp not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 2.1% | £5–25 |
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Major | 2.0% | £45–95 |
Severity is as recorded: Major and Dangerous fail the test outright; Minor and Advisory do not. Costs are estimates from typical UK parts prices — see how they are built.
What testers noted without failing the car
Advisories are the early warnings — the same parts a year or two before they fail. Reading them is how you tell a car that has been maintained from one that has been patched.
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Advisory | 25.9% | £45–95 |
| Engine oil leaks leaking excessively from engine Noise, emissions and leaks | Advisory | 14.9% | £200–700 |
| Sub-frame corroded and seriously weakened Suspension | Advisory | 11.2% | £180–450 |
| Brake discs in such a condition that it is seriously weakened Brakes | Advisory | 11.1% | £45–110 |
| Pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn Suspension | Advisory | 8.6% | £40–150 |
| Brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick Brakes | Advisory | 6.8% | £18–45 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 6 | 83.3% | 17,408 mi |
| 30-60k | 125 | 75.2% | 49,570 mi |
| 60-90k | 407 | 76.7% | 78,091 mi |
| 90-120k | 899 | 70.1% | 105,793 mi |
| 120k+ | 1,372 | 68.0% | 150,712 mi |
Source: 2,811 recorded tests on this vehicle-year. Every row above is recomputed from the same DVSA extract as the rest of the page — see the methodology.
2009 159 MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2009 Alfa Romeo 159?
70.3% of the 2,811 2009 Alfa Romeo 159 tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 74.0% for cars first used in 2009. First-attempt pass rate: 62.0%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2009 Alfa Romeo 159?
The three most recorded items are rbt (sp) efficiency below requirements (7.86%), coil spring fractured or broken (5.55%), ball joint excessively worn (2.92%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2009 Alfa Romeo 159 MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 83.3% of the time, falling to 68.0% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2009 Alfa Romeo 159 in this dataset had covered 119,199 mi.
Which fuel type is most reliable for a 2009 Alfa Romeo 159?
Diesel: 69.1% pass rate across 2,366 tests. Petrol: 76.2% pass rate across 445 tests. Shares are of the tests on this vehicle that recorded each fuel type.
Does the season affect the 2009 Alfa Romeo 159 MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 70.8% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 69.6%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.