Pass rate
74.5%
Below average — 1.4 pts ahead of the 73.1% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 7,564 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £46–£121
2008 Suzuki Grand Vitara MOT pass rate
- 2008
- typical 93,409 mi
Most common fault
Suspension
27.4% of faults · 21.0% nationally
mostly worn arm bushes, split ball-joint boots and broken coil springs.
Which year to buy
- Best 2014 89.8% pass
- Avoid 2002 71.4% pass
Across the 16 years on record, a spread of 18.4 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 68.1%
- Typical mileage
- 93k mi
The 2008 Suzuki Grand Vitara MOT pass rate is 74.5% of its MOT tests — 1.4 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. Suspension is the biggest single reason it fails, at 27.4% of what testers record.
Check your postcode
MOT pass rates are national — type your postcode to see how Suzuki Grand Vitara does in your corner of the country.
Expert verdict
Suspension: 1.3× the national share
Suspension accounts for 27.4% of everything recorded on the 2008 Suzuki Grand Vitara, against 21.0% nationally — 6.4 points above. Ask for the front and rear suspension to be checked on a ramp before you buy — worn bushes and broken springs are cheap to look at and expensive to discover at test time.
- Failures here tend to be cheap ones. 55% of the repairs this model fails on cost under £30 in parts. The pass rate matters less than what a bad afternoon at the test centre actually costs you.
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 Grand Vitara? Get an email when these numbers change .
How does the 2008 Suzuki Grand Vitara compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 73.1%, so this figure is 1.4 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 68.1%. The median 2008 Suzuki Grand Vitara in this dataset had covered 93,409 mi.
73% of the tests on this vehicle ran on Petrol, which passed 75.2% of the time. Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 74.1% of the time, April–September 75.0%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources", noted on 6.32% of tests.
- 7,564 recorded tests behind this page.
- 74.5% overall pass rate, 68.1% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the Suzuki Grand Vitara, the average is 75.4% — best year 2014 (89.8%), worst 2002 (71.4%).
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
- 7,564
- Typical mileage (median)
- 93,409 mi
- Make and model
- Suzuki Grand Vitara
- 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 Grand Vitara 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. Petrol is the most common here (73% of tests).
Regional pass rates for the Grand Vitara
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South West | 1,388 | 71.0% |
| South East | 1,250 | 81.0% |
| Yorkshire | 758 | 73.4% |
| East of England | 681 | 74.9% |
| West Midlands | 677 | 75.8% |
| North West | 659 | 74.2% |
| Scotland | 625 | 65.4% |
| Wales | 584 | 74.1% |
| East Midlands | 390 | 77.2% |
| North East | 331 | 71.3% |
| London | 221 | 85.1% |
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 2008 Grand Vitara
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 2008 Grand Vitara
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 6.3% 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 corrosion 4.3% 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 brake pipes 3.1% 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 2008 Grand Vitara through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £46–£121 — and 55% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £46–£121
- Cheapest common item: stop lamp not working
- £3–£12
- Dearest common item: component mounting prescribed areas…
- £180–£450
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 60%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 55%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 7,564 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 Grand Vitara, side by side
16 model years on record, from 2000 to 2015. Across them the pass rate runs from 71.4% to 89.8% — a spread of 18.4 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2000 72.5% joints constant velocity boot…
- 2001 73.1% joints constant velocity boot…
- 2002 71.4% joints constant velocity boot…
- 2003 72.4% joints constant velocity boot…
- 2004 71.6% joints constant velocity boot…
- 2005 71.8% joints constant velocity boot…
- 2006 72.1% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2007 74.2% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2008 74.5%registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2009 77.6% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2010 78.0% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2011 79.9% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2012 80.8% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2013 85.5% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2014 89.8% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2015 89.5% registration plate lamp(s)…
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 2008 Suzuki Grand Vitara 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 2008 cars with a similar record
- Chrysler Jeep 300 74.5%
- Volkswagen Scirocco 74.4%
- Land Rover Freelander 74.7%
- Volkswagen Passat 74.7%
- Toyota Rav-4 74.3%
- Volkswagen Jetta 74.3%
Closest pass rates among 2008 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 2008 Suzuki Grand Vitara 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 20,958 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 | 5,784 | 27.40% | 20.98% | +6.42 |
| Brakes | 4,365 | 20.70% | 20.89% | −0.19 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 2,674 | 12.70% | 12.21% | +0.49 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 2,160 | 10.20% | 5.57% | +4.63 |
| Tyres | 2,054 | 9.70% | 19.76% | −10.06 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 1,831 | 8.70% | 5.52% | +3.18 |
| Visibility | 861 | 4.10% | 4.97% | −0.87 |
| Non-component advisories | 845 | 4.00% | 4.18% | −0.18 |
| Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | 197 | 0.90% | 0.82% | +0.08 |
| Steering | 187 | 0.90% | 2.57% | −1.67 |
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 | 6.3% | £5–20 |
| Position lamp not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 4.5% | £5–25 |
| Component mounting prescribed areas prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength Suspension | Major | 4.3% | £180–450 |
| Rigid brake pipes excessively corroded Brakes | Major | 3.1% | £80–180 |
| Stop lamp not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 3.0% | £3–12 |
| Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view Visibility | Minor | 3.0% | £80–200 |
| Ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated Suspension | Minor | 2.8% | £18–45 |
| Headlamp lens slightly defective Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 2.7% | £5–25 |
| Wipers does not clear the windscreen effectively Visibility | Major | 2.2% | £8–22 |
| Joints constant velocity boot severely deteriorated Body, chassis, structure | Minor | 2.0% | £80–250 |
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 | 22.3% | £80–180 |
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Advisory | 15.0% | £45–95 |
| Pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn Suspension | Advisory | 14.3% | £40–150 |
| Sub-frame corroded and seriously weakened Suspension | Advisory | 13.7% | £180–450 |
| Engine oil leaks leaking excessively from engine Noise, emissions and leaks | Advisory | 13.2% | £200–700 |
| Brake discs in such a condition that it is seriously weakened Brakes | Advisory | 9.6% | £45–110 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 61 | 86.9% | 23,195 mi |
| 30-60k | 861 | 82.3% | 49,395 mi |
| 60-90k | 2,476 | 76.9% | 76,577 mi |
| 90-120k | 2,771 | 72.9% | 103,461 mi |
| 120k+ | 1,389 | 68.0% | 138,370 mi |
Source: 7,564 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.
2008 Grand Vitara MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2008 Suzuki Grand Vitara?
74.5% of the 7,564 2008 Suzuki Grand Vitara tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 73.1% for cars first used in 2008. First-attempt pass rate: 68.1%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2008 Suzuki Grand Vitara?
The three most recorded items are registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources (6.32%), position lamp not working (4.48%), component mounting prescribed areas prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength (4.27%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2008 Suzuki Grand Vitara MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 86.9% of the time, falling to 68.0% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2008 Suzuki Grand Vitara in this dataset had covered 93,409 mi.
Which fuel type is most reliable for a 2008 Suzuki Grand Vitara?
Petrol: 75.2% pass rate across 5,499 tests. Diesel: 72.5% pass rate across 2,061 tests. Shares are of the tests on this vehicle that recorded each fuel type.
Does the season affect the 2008 Suzuki Grand Vitara MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 74.1% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 75.0%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.