Alfa Romeo 166 MOT Pass Rate & Official DVSA Failure Statistics

Alfa Romeo 166 MOT History and Failure Rates vs UK National Average

The Alfa Romeo 166 passed on its first attempt in 63.9%, and its overall record sits −9.8 percentage points below the national average for all cars. These figures come from every recorded DVSA MOT test for the Alfa Romeo 166 in the 2023–2025 data: 628 tests across 6 model years (2000–2005). A test still carries exactly one pass or fail verdict.

Figures are computed from every recorded DVSA test for this model in the 2023–2025 data.

Most Common Alfa Romeo 166 MOT Problems by Failure Category

Every MOT failure a tester records belongs to one inspection section of the DVSA manual. For the Alfa Romeo 166, the Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment section leads the record — the breakdown below shows where the recorded failures cluster, then the exact strings behind the three biggest sections.

Shares are over the Alfa Romeo 166's recorded defect strings, merged across its year pages.

Top Recorded Alfa Romeo 166 DVSA MOT Test Statistics & Defect Descriptions

The descriptions below are the exact DVSA failure strings testers recorded most often for the Alfa Romeo 166, each with how many of the model's 628 tests it was noted on.

• "Position lamp not working" (Major) — noted on about 32 Alfa Romeo 166 tests, 5.1% of the model's MOT record.
• "Joints constant velocity boot severely deteriorated" (Minor) — noted on about 26 Alfa Romeo 166 tests, 4.1% of the model's MOT record.
• "Rbt (sp) efficiency below requirements" (Major) — noted on about 24 Alfa Romeo 166 tests, 3.8% of the model's MOT record.
• "Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view" (Minor) — noted on about 19 Alfa Romeo 166 tests, 3.0% of the model's MOT record.
• "Coil spring fractured or broken" (Major) — noted on about 19 Alfa Romeo 166 tests, 3.0% of the model's MOT record.
• "Pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn" (Major) — noted on about 18 Alfa Romeo 166 tests, 2.9% of the model's MOT record.

Best and Worst Alfa Romeo 166 Model Years by Pass Rate

The strongest Alfa Romeo 166 model year on record is 2001 (74.8% across 111 tests), and the weakest is 2003 (66.7%). The gap between them is 8.1 points. Years with fewer than 50 recorded tests are excluded, so these are the years with enough MOT history to mean something.

Newest model year first. Only years with at least 50 recorded tests are listed.

Pre-MOT Inspection Checklist for Alfa Romeo 166 Owners

These checks follow this Alfa Romeo 166's own most-recorded failure strings, starting with what a tester is most likely to flag on a Alfa Romeo 166.

• the lights — “position lamp not working”

  Switch everything on and walk round the car: both headlamps on dip and main, every indicator, both brake lights, reverse, fog and the two number-plate lamps. A bulb is a few pounds and a five-minute job.

• the windscreen — “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.

• the coil springs — “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.

Derived from the DVSA failure strings testers recorded for the Alfa Romeo 166. A check that finds nothing means the item is likely fine, not that the test is guaranteed.

Frequently Asked Questions: Alfa Romeo 166 MOT & Reliability