Pass rate
70.7%
Below average — 3.3 pts behind the 74.0% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 7,568 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £28–£80
2009 Suzuki SX4 MOT pass rate
- 2009
- typical 87,914 mi
Most common fault
Suspension
30.5% of faults · 21.0% nationally
mostly worn arm bushes, split ball-joint boots and broken coil springs.
Part only £35–£75 for Suspension pin or bush excessively worn. What fitting it takes →
6.8 pts down across model years — 7.4% in 2006, 0.6% in 2016.
Which year to buy
- Best 2020 95.4% pass
- Avoid 2006 68.7% pass
Across the 15 years on record, a spread of 26.7 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 60.6%
- Typical mileage
- 88k mi
The 2009 Suzuki SX4 MOT pass rate is 70.7% of its MOT tests — 3.3 points behind what its age and mileage predict. Suspension is the biggest single reason it fails, at 30.5% of what testers record.
Check your postcode
MOT pass rates are national — type your postcode to see how Suzuki SX4 does in your corner of the country.
Expert verdict
Suspension: 1.5× the national share
Suspension accounts for 30.5% of everything recorded on the 2009 Suzuki Sx4, against 21.0% nationally — 9.5 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.
- Falls short of its own age and mileage. Like-for-like, cars this age and mileage expect about 74.0%; this one manages 70.7% — 3.3 points below. Age is a fair excuse; this is not age.
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 SX4? Get an email when these numbers change .
How does the 2009 Suzuki SX4 compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 74.0%, so this figure is 3.3 points behind what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 60.6%. The median 2009 Suzuki SX4 in this dataset had covered 87,914 mi.
78% of the tests on this vehicle ran on Petrol, which passed 71.3% of the time. Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 70.5% of the time, April–September 70.9%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Coil spring fractured or broken", noted on 6.75% of tests.
- 7,568 recorded tests behind this page.
- 70.7% overall pass rate, 60.6% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the Suzuki SX4, the average is 79.8% — best year 2020 (95.4%), worst 2006 (68.7%).
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
- 7,568
- Typical mileage (median)
- 87,914 mi
- Make and model
- Suzuki SX4
- Updated
- 2026-11-05
Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data (2023–2025), OGL v3.0.
Top part to budget for
Coil Spring
Usually a DIY or independent-garage job.
Does mileage affect the SX4 MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 58% so small gaps stay visible.
Fuel type and reliability
Pass rate by fuel type. Petrol is the most common here (78% of tests).
Regional pass rates for the SX4
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South East | 1,154 | 73.1% |
| Yorkshire | 976 | 69.6% |
| Scotland | 829 | 64.8% |
| South West | 817 | 69.5% |
| North West | 755 | 69.1% |
| East of England | 683 | 74.4% |
| West Midlands | 664 | 73.5% |
| Wales | 616 | 69.3% |
| East Midlands | 444 | 72.5% |
| North East | 432 | 69.0% |
| London | 198 | 79.3% |
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 SX4
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 SX4
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 6.8% 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 6.6% 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 lights 4.6% 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.
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 SX4 through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £28–£80 — and 39% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £28–£80
- Cheapest common item: stop lamp not working
- £3–£12
- Dearest common item: joints constant velocity boot severely…
- £80–£250
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 60%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 39%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 7,568 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 SX4, side by side
15 model years on record, from 2006 to 2020. Across them the pass rate runs from 68.7% to 95.4% — a spread of 26.7 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2006 68.7% coil spring fractured or broken
- 2007 69.5% ball joint excessively worn
- 2008 71.5% ball joint excessively worn
- 2009 70.7%coil spring fractured or broken
- 2010 71.4% joints constant velocity boot…
- 2011 72.1% coil spring fractured or broken
- 2012 72.7% coil spring fractured or broken
- 2013 76.7% coil spring fractured or broken
- 2014 82.3% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2015 85.7% tread depth below requirements of…
- 2016 87.2% tread depth below requirements of…
- 2017 88.8% tread depth below requirements of…
- 2018 90.9% tread depth below requirements of…
- 2019 93.4% wipers blade defective
- 2020 95.4% headlamp aim too high
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 Suzuki SX4 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
- Vauxhall Zafira 70.7%
- Volkswagen Fox 70.7%
- Chevrolet Matiz 70.7%
- Kia Carens 70.7%
- Renault Scenic 70.8%
- 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 Suzuki SX4 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 22,448 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 | 6,892 | 30.50% | 20.98% | +9.52 |
| Brakes | 5,345 | 23.70% | 20.89% | +2.81 |
| Tyres | 2,855 | 12.60% | 19.76% | −7.16 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 2,437 | 10.80% | 12.21% | −1.41 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 1,560 | 6.90% | 5.57% | +1.33 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 1,302 | 5.80% | 5.52% | +0.28 |
| Non-component advisories | 813 | 3.60% | 4.18% | −0.58 |
| Visibility | 759 | 3.40% | 4.97% | −1.57 |
| Identification of the vehicle | 322 | 1.40% | 1.76% | −0.36 |
| Steering | 163 | 0.70% | 2.57% | −1.87 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coil spring fractured or broken Suspension | Major | 6.8% | £25–65 |
| Ball joint excessively worn Suspension | Major | 6.6% | £18–45 |
| Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 4.6% | £5–20 |
| Headlamp lens slightly defective Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 4.5% | £5–25 |
| Position lamp not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 4.2% | £5–25 |
| Joints constant velocity boot severely deteriorated Body, chassis, structure | Minor | 3.4% | £80–250 |
| Rigid brake pipes excessively corroded Brakes | Major | 3.2% | £80–180 |
| Service brake performance excessively binding Brakes | Major | 3.0% | £60–150 |
| Stop lamp not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 2.9% | £3–12 |
| Pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn Suspension | Major | 2.8% | £40–150 |
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 | 20.4% | £80–180 |
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Advisory | 18.3% | £45–95 |
| Pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn Suspension | Advisory | 15.9% | £40–150 |
| Has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Tyres | Advisory | 12.1% | £45–95 |
| Coil spring corroded so that its cross sectional area is reduced and seriously weakened Suspension | Advisory | 10.7% | £25–65 |
| Sub-frame corroded and seriously weakened Suspension | Advisory | 8.7% | £180–450 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 117 | 84.6% | 20,253 mi |
| 30-60k | 1,151 | 76.5% | 48,889 mi |
| 60-90k | 2,759 | 70.7% | 75,839 mi |
| 90-120k | 2,322 | 69.6% | 103,452 mi |
| 120k+ | 1,210 | 66.3% | 138,995 mi |
Source: 7,568 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 SX4 MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2009 Suzuki SX4?
70.7% of the 7,568 2009 Suzuki SX4 tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 74.0% for cars first used in 2009. First-attempt pass rate: 60.6%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2009 Suzuki SX4?
The three most recorded items are coil spring fractured or broken (6.75%), ball joint excessively worn (6.63%), registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources (4.56%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2009 Suzuki SX4 MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 84.6% of the time, falling to 66.3% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2009 Suzuki SX4 in this dataset had covered 87,914 mi.
Which fuel type is most reliable for a 2009 Suzuki SX4?
Petrol: 71.3% pass rate across 5,901 tests. Diesel: 68.6% pass rate across 1,667 tests. Shares are of the tests on this vehicle that recorded each fuel type.
Does the season affect the 2009 Suzuki SX4 MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 70.5% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 70.9%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.