Pass rate
66.4%
Below average — 6.9 pts behind the 73.3% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 113 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £69–£188
2001 Suzuki Alto MOT pass rate
- 2001
- typical 54,691 mi
Most common fault
Brakes
28.7% of faults · 20.9% nationally
mostly worn pads and discs, corroded pipes and a handbrake that will not hold.
Which year to buy
- Best 2015 83.1% pass
- Avoid 2001 66.4% pass · this year
Across the 13 years on record, a spread of 16.7 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 54.8%
- Typical mileage
- 55k mi
The 2001 Suzuki Alto MOT pass rate is 66.4% of its MOT tests — 6.9 points behind what its age and mileage predict. Brakes is the biggest single reason it fails, at 28.7% of what testers record.
Check your postcode
MOT pass rates are national — type your postcode to see how Suzuki Alto does in your corner of the country.
Expert verdict
Brakes: 1.4× the national share
Brakes make up 28.7% of everything recorded on the 2001 Suzuki Alto, against 20.9% nationally — 7.8 points above. Have the discs and pads measured rather than glanced at, and ask whether the handbrake holds on a slope.
- Falls short of its own age and mileage. Like-for-like, cars this age and mileage expect about 73.3%; this one manages 66.4% — 6.9 points below. Age is a fair excuse; this is not age.
- When it fails, it costs. Only 7% 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 Suzuki Alto? Get an email when these numbers change .
How does the 2001 Suzuki Alto compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 73.3%, so this figure is 6.9 points behind what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 54.8%. The median 2001 Suzuki Alto in this dataset had covered 54,691 mi.
Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 67.6% of the time, April–September 64.4%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Joints constant velocity boot severely deteriorated", noted on 11.50% of tests.
- 113 recorded tests behind this page.
- 66.4% overall pass rate, 54.8% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the Suzuki Alto, the average is 79.4% — best year 2015 (83.1%), worst 2001 (66.4%).
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
- 113
- Typical mileage (median)
- 54,691 mi
- Make and model
- Suzuki Alto
- Updated
- 2026-11-05
Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data (2023–2025), OGL v3.0.
Top part to budget for
Body Panel Repair
Typically a garage job — get quotes before committing.
Does mileage affect the Alto MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 53% so small gaps stay visible.
Regional pass rates for the Alto
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South East | 35 | 74.3% |
| South West | 23 | 56.5% |
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 2001 Alto
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 2001 Alto
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 corrosion 7.1% of tests
“component mounting prescribed areas prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength”
Look under the sills, around the jacking points and where the suspension mounts meet the body. Flaking, holed or crumbly metal fails; a brown stain on sound metal does not.
-
Check the suspension joints 3.5% of tests
“ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated”
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 wipers and washers 3.5% of tests
“wipers does not clear the windscreen effectively”
Run the wipers with the screen wet: they should clear it in one sweep without smearing or juddering. Top the washer bottle up and check both jets hit the 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 2001 Alto through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £69–£188 — and 7% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £69–£188
- Cheapest common item: wipers does not clear the windscreen…
- £8–£22
- Dearest common item: component mounting prescribed areas…
- £180–£450
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 50%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 7%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 113 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 Alto, side by side
13 model years on record, from 2001 to 2015. Across them the pass rate runs from 66.4% to 83.1% — a spread of 16.7 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2001 66.4%joints constant velocity boot…
- 2002 68.1% service brake imbalance across an…
- 2003 67.5% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2004 67.4% joints constant velocity boot…
- 2005 67.7% joints constant velocity boot…
- 2006 68.1% service brake imbalance across an…
- 2009 76.9% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2010 77.1% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2011 79.1% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2012 79.4% joints constant velocity boot…
- 2013 81.1% joints constant velocity boot…
- 2014 82.6% joints constant velocity boot…
- 2015 83.1% joints constant velocity boot…
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 2001 Suzuki Alto 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 2001 cars with a similar record
- Volkswagen Beetle 67.8%
- Citroen Xsara 68.1%
- MINI Mini 68.2%
- Ford Fiesta 69.0%
- Vauxhall Corsa 69.1%
- Honda Accord 69.5%
Closest pass rates among 2001 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 2001 Suzuki Alto 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 315 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brakes | 92 | 28.70% | 20.89% | +7.81 |
| Suspension | 64 | 19.90% | 20.98% | −1.08 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 42 | 13.10% | 5.57% | +7.53 |
| Tyres | 35 | 10.90% | 19.76% | −8.86 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 27 | 8.40% | 12.21% | −3.81 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 16 | 5.00% | 5.52% | −0.52 |
| Steering | 12 | 3.70% | 2.57% | +1.13 |
| Visibility | 11 | 3.40% | 4.97% | −1.57 |
| Non-component advisories | 8 | 2.50% | 4.18% | −1.68 |
| Identification of the vehicle | 8 | 2.50% | 1.76% | +0.74 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Joints constant velocity boot severely deteriorated Body, chassis, structure | Minor | 11.5% | £80–250 |
| Service brake imbalance across an axle Brakes | Major | 8.8% | £45–110 |
| Component mounting prescribed areas prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength Suspension | Major | 7.1% | £180–450 |
| Joints constant velocity boot split or insecure, no longer prevents the ingress of dirt Body, chassis, structure | Major | 5.3% | £80–250 |
| Service brake performance efficiency below requirements Brakes | Major | 4.4% | £60–150 |
| Service brake performance excessively binding Brakes | Major | 4.4% | £60–150 |
| Ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated Suspension | Minor | 3.5% | £18–45 |
| Wipers does not clear the windscreen effectively Visibility | Rectified | 3.5% | £8–22 |
| Ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt Suspension | Major | 2.6% | £18–45 |
| Ball joint excessively worn Suspension | Major | 2.6% | £18–45 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rigid brake pipes excessively corroded Brakes | Advisory | 28.3% | £80–180 |
| Has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Tyres | Advisory | 13.3% | £45–95 |
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Advisory | 12.4% | £45–95 |
| Service brake performance excessively binding Brakes | Advisory | 9.7% | £60–150 |
| Pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn Suspension | Advisory | 8.0% | £40–150 |
| Component mounting prescribed areas prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength Suspension | Advisory | 7.1% | £180–450 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 17 | 70.6% | 22,872 mi |
| 30-60k | 49 | 63.3% | 46,020 mi |
| 60-90k | 34 | 70.6% | 74,313 mi |
| 90-120k | 13 | 61.5% | 100,619 mi |
Source: 113 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.
2001 Alto MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2001 Suzuki Alto?
66.4% of the 113 2001 Suzuki Alto tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 73.3% for cars first used in 2001. First-attempt pass rate: 54.8%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2001 Suzuki Alto?
The three most recorded items are joints constant velocity boot severely deteriorated (11.50%), service brake imbalance across an axle (8.85%), component mounting prescribed areas prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength (7.08%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2001 Suzuki Alto MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 70.6% of the time, falling to 61.5% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2001 Suzuki Alto in this dataset had covered 54,691 mi.
Does the season affect the 2001 Suzuki Alto MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 67.6% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 64.4%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.