Pass rate
67.5%
Below average — 5.1 pts behind the 72.6% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 1,616 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £40–£112
2003 Suzuki Alto MOT pass rate
- 2003
- typical 53,645 mi
Most common fault
Suspension
26.7% of faults · 21.0% nationally
mostly worn arm bushes, split ball-joint boots and broken coil springs.
Which year to buy
- Best 2015 83.1% pass
- Avoid 2001 66.4% pass
Across the 13 years on record, a spread of 16.7 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 56.3%
- Typical mileage
- 54k mi
The 2003 Suzuki Alto MOT pass rate is 67.5% of its MOT tests — 5.1 points behind what its age and mileage predict. Suspension is the biggest single reason it fails, at 26.7% 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
Body & chassis: 2.2× the national share
Body & chassis accounts for 12.1% of everything recorded on the 2003 Suzuki Alto, against 5.6% nationally — 6.5 points above. Suspension is still the single largest share at 26.7%, but at 21.0% nationally that one is ordinary. Look underneath for corrosion near the jacking points and suspension mounts; surface rust is normal, flaking metal is not.
- Falls short of its own age and mileage. Like-for-like, cars this age and mileage expect about 72.6%; this one manages 67.5% — 5.1 points below. Age is a fair excuse; this is not age.
- When it fails, it costs. Only 29% 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 2003 Suzuki Alto compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 72.6%, so this figure is 5.1 points behind what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 56.3%. The median 2003 Suzuki Alto in this dataset had covered 53,645 mi.
Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 67.7% of the time, April–September 67.2%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources", noted on 7.55% of tests.
- 1,616 recorded tests behind this page.
- 67.5% overall pass rate, 56.3% 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
- 1,616
- Typical mileage (median)
- 53,645 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
Number Plate Lamp
Usually a DIY or independent-garage job.
Does mileage affect the Alto MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 55% so small gaps stay visible.
Regional pass rates for the Alto
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South East | 415 | 69.9% |
| South West | 300 | 62.3% |
| East of England | 219 | 65.3% |
| North West | 158 | 67.7% |
| West Midlands | 153 | 68.6% |
| Yorkshire | 122 | 64.8% |
| East Midlands | 91 | 68.1% |
| London | 57 | 77.2% |
| Wales | 56 | 69.6% |
| Scotland | 25 | 72.0% |
| North East | 20 | 80.0% |
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 2003 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 2003 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 the lights 7.5% of tests
“registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources”
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.
-
Check the suspension joints 5.3% 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 brake pipes 4.0% of tests
“rigid brake pipes excessively corroded”
Brake pipes run under the car, usually in front of the rear wheels. Flaking or crusty metal is what fails; a light dusting of surface rust does not. Worth asking a garage to look while it is on a ramp.
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 2003 Alto through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £40–£112 — and 29% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £40–£112
- Cheapest common item: stop lamp not working
- £3–£12
- Dearest common item: joints constant velocity boot split or…
- £80–£250
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 60%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 29%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 1,616 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 2003 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 2003 cars with a similar record
- Volvo V40 67.3%
- Volkswagen Beetle 67.1%
- Ford Ka 68.0%
- Ford Galaxy 68.0%
- Citroen C3 68.2%
- Volkswagen Polo 68.3%
Closest pass rates among 2003 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 2003 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 5,610 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 | 1,522 | 26.70% | 20.98% | +5.72 |
| Brakes | 1,401 | 24.50% | 20.89% | +3.61 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 689 | 12.10% | 5.57% | +6.53 |
| Tyres | 559 | 9.80% | 19.76% | −9.96 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 487 | 8.50% | 12.21% | −3.71 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 345 | 6.00% | 5.52% | +0.48 |
| Steering | 198 | 3.50% | 2.57% | +0.93 |
| Non-component advisories | 167 | 2.90% | 4.18% | −1.28 |
| Visibility | 163 | 2.90% | 4.97% | −2.07 |
| Identification of the vehicle | 79 | 1.40% | 1.76% | −0.36 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 7.5% | £5–20 |
| Service brake imbalance across an axle Brakes | Major | 6.7% | £45–110 |
| Joints constant velocity boot split or insecure, no longer prevents the ingress of dirt Body, chassis, structure | Major | 6.4% | £80–250 |
| Joints constant velocity boot severely deteriorated Body, chassis, structure | Minor | 6.3% | £80–250 |
| Ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated Suspension | Minor | 5.3% | £18–45 |
| Ball joint excessively worn Suspension | Major | 5.1% | £18–45 |
| Rigid brake pipes excessively corroded Brakes | Major | 4.0% | £80–180 |
| Stop lamp not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 3.9% | £3–12 |
| Malfunction indicator lamp inoperative or indicates a malfunction Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 3.7% | £3–12 |
| Service brake performance excessively binding Brakes | Major | 3.5% | £60–150 |
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 | 30.4% | £80–180 |
| Coil spring corroded so that its cross sectional area is reduced and seriously weakened Suspension | Advisory | 20.4% | £25–65 |
| Has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Tyres | Advisory | 13.4% | £45–95 |
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Advisory | 13.4% | £45–95 |
| Engine oil leaks leaking excessively from engine Noise, emissions and leaks | Advisory | 10.4% | £200–700 |
| Brake discs in such a condition that it is seriously weakened Brakes | Advisory | 9.0% | £45–110 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 200 | 72.0% | 22,885 mi |
| 30-60k | 761 | 69.1% | 45,284 mi |
| 60-90k | 517 | 63.6% | 72,455 mi |
| 90-120k | 120 | 65.0% | 101,433 mi |
| 120k+ | 17 | 70.6% | 133,874 mi |
Source: 1,616 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.
2003 Alto MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2003 Suzuki Alto?
67.5% of the 1,616 2003 Suzuki Alto tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 72.6% for cars first used in 2003. First-attempt pass rate: 56.3%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2003 Suzuki Alto?
The three most recorded items are registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources (7.55%), service brake imbalance across an axle (6.68%), joints constant velocity boot split or insecure, no longer prevents the ingress of dirt (6.44%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2003 Suzuki Alto MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 72.0% of the time, falling to 70.6% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2003 Suzuki Alto in this dataset had covered 53,645 mi.
Does the season affect the 2003 Suzuki Alto MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 67.7% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 67.2%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.