Pass rate
69.7%
Below average — 2.5 pts behind the 72.2% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 356 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £60–£181
2004 Suzuki Vitara MOT pass rate
- 2004
- typical 103,452 mi
Check your postcode
Most common fault
Suspension
20.9% of faults · 21.0% nationally
mostly worn arm bushes, split ball-joint boots and broken coil springs.
Which year to buy
- Best 2023 96.5% pass
- Avoid 2002 67.9% pass
Across the 22 years on record, a spread of 28.6 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 61.2%
- Typical mileage
- 103k mi
The 2004 Suzuki Vitara MOT pass rate is 69.7% of its MOT tests — 2.5 points behind what its age and mileage predict. Suspension is the biggest single reason it fails, at 20.9% of what testers record.
Expert verdict
Body & chassis: 3.6× the national share
Body & chassis accounts for 20.0% of everything recorded on the 2004 Suzuki Vitara, against 5.6% nationally — 14.4 points above. Suspension is still the single largest share at 20.9%, 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.
- When it fails, it costs. Only 23% 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.
- Based on a small sample. 356 tests back this page. That is enough to publish and to index, not enough to treat the decimal places as precise — read the pattern, not the second digit.
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 Vitara? Get an email when these numbers change .
How does the 2004 Suzuki Vitara compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 72.2%, so this figure is 2.5 points behind what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 61.2%. The median 2004 Suzuki Vitara in this dataset had covered 103,452 mi.
The most common fuel recorded here is Petrol — 85% of tests, with a 69.0% pass rate. Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 70.9% of the time, April–September 67.6%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Joints constant velocity boot severely deteriorated", noted on 11.24% of tests.
- 356 recorded tests behind this page.
- 69.7% overall pass rate, 61.2% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the Suzuki Vitara, the average is 90.9% — best year 2023 (96.5%), worst 2002 (67.9%).
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
- 356
- Typical mileage (median)
- 103,452 mi
- Make and model
- Suzuki Vitara
- Updated
- 2026-11-07
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 Vitara MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 57% so small gaps stay visible.
Fuel type and reliability
Pass rate by fuel type. Petrol is the most common here (85% of tests).
Where the Suzuki Vitara is most common
Across all Vitara model years on record (2000–2023): 92,705 Suzuki Vitara cars tested in a recordable postcode area, across 206,994 tests. Newcastle upon Tyne (NE) has the most, with 2,380 cars tested there. Cars are counted by the postcode area of the MOT station, so this is where they were tested, not necessarily where their owners live.
| # | Postcode area | Cars | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Newcastle upon Tyne (NE) | 2,380 | 91.9% |
| 2 | Sheffield (S) | 2,270 | 92.5% |
| 3 | Glasgow (G) | 1,800 | 90.3% |
| 4 | Exeter (EX) | 1,779 | 92.0% |
| 5 | Peterborough (PE) | 1,736 | 92.6% |
| 6 | Birmingham (B) | 1,686 | 90.9% |
| 7 | Cardiff (CF) | 1,664 | 88.2% |
| 8 | Brighton (BN) | 1,590 | 90.8% |
| 9 | Newport (NP) | 1,578 | 91.4% |
| 10 | Bradford (BD) | 1,529 | 91.4% |
| 11 | Portsmouth (PO) | 1,466 | 89.9% |
| 12 | Aberdeen (AB) | 1,449 | 88.4% |
| 13 | Gloucester (GL) | 1,418 | 90.7% |
| 14 | Leeds (LS) | 1,417 | 89.6% |
| 15 | Nottingham (NG) | 1,390 | 90.9% |
| 16 | Southampton (SO) | 1,382 | 92.5% |
| 17 | Edinburgh (EH) | 1,339 | 88.7% |
| 18 | Doncaster (DN) | 1,266 | 91.6% |
| 19 | Northampton (NN) | 1,251 | 89.1% |
| 20 | Swansea (SA) | 1,239 | 88.6% |
The twenty areas with the most Suzuki Vitara cars in the record, sorted by car count — sort the columns for a different question. Cars tested at a station whose postcode area could not be resolved are counted in the model's total but in no area, so the shares add up to slightly under 100% even across every area, and an area's cars are a subset of the model's. Pass rate is blank below 30 tests in an area, where a percentage is noise rather than a finding. How this model's pass rate varies by postcode →
Regional pass rates for the Vitara
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South West | 93 | 69.9% |
| South East | 64 | 73.4% |
| East of England | 50 | 70.0% |
| West Midlands | 41 | 70.7% |
| Wales | 26 | 73.1% |
| Yorkshire | 21 | 61.9% |
| North West | 21 | 61.9% |
| East Midlands | 16 | 68.8% |
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 2004 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 2004 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 4.8% of tests
“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.
-
Check the windscreen 4.8% of tests
“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.
-
Check the coil springs 3.4% 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.
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 2004 Vitara through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £60–£181 — and 23% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £60–£181
- Cheapest common item: wipers does not clear the windscreen…
- £8–£22
- Dearest common item: chassis condition or chassis has excessive…
- £180–£450
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 40%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 23%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 356 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 Vitara, side by side
22 model years on record, from 2000 to 2023. Across them the pass rate runs from 67.9% to 96.5% — a spread of 28.6 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2000 68.6% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2001 72.7% joints constant velocity boot…
- 2002 67.9% joints constant velocity boot…
- 2003 71.0% joints constant velocity boot…
- 2004 69.7%joints constant velocity boot…
- 2005 68.6% joints constant velocity boot…
- 2006 75.2% component mounting prescribed…
- 2007 70.4% component mounting prescribed…
- 2008 79.0% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2009 78.2% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2010 78.9% stop lamp not working
- 2011 74.0% position lamp not working
- 2012 83.3% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2015 87.9% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2016 88.7% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2017 89.6% tread depth below requirements of…
- 2018 90.9% tread depth below requirements of…
- 2019 93.2% wipers blade defective
- 2020 95.1% wipers blade defective
- 2021 96.0% wipers blade defective
- 2022 95.6% wipers blade defective
- 2023 96.5% 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 2004 Suzuki 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 2004 cars with a similar record
- Land Rover Freelander 69.7%
- Vauxhall Vectra 69.7%
- Citroen Xsara 69.5%
- Volvo V50 69.5%
- Honda Cr-V 70.0%
- Ford Mondeo 70.1%
Closest pass rates among 2004 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 2004 Suzuki 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 1,070 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 | 228 | 20.90% | 20.98% | −0.08 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 218 | 20.00% | 5.57% | +14.43 |
| Brakes | 193 | 17.70% | 20.89% | −3.19 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 122 | 11.20% | 5.52% | +5.68 |
| Tyres | 101 | 9.30% | 19.76% | −10.46 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 99 | 9.10% | 12.21% | −3.11 |
| Visibility | 44 | 4.00% | 4.97% | −0.97 |
| Non-component advisories | 26 | 2.40% | 4.18% | −1.78 |
| Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | 23 | 2.10% | 0.82% | +1.28 |
| Steering | 16 | 1.50% | 2.57% | −1.07 |
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 | 11.2% | £80–250 |
| Joints constant velocity boot split or insecure, no longer prevents the ingress of dirt Body, chassis, structure | Major | 8.4% | £80–250 |
| Position lamp not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 4.8% | £5–25 |
| Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view Visibility | Minor | 4.8% | £80–200 |
| Coil spring fractured or broken Suspension | Major | 3.4% | £25–65 |
| Emissions not tested unable to be completed Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 3.4% | £60–250 |
| Headlamp lens slightly defective Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 3.4% | £5–25 |
| Exhaust system has a major leak of exhaust gases Body, chassis, structure | Major | 3.1% | £45–120 |
| Wipers does not clear the windscreen effectively Visibility | Major | 3.1% | £8–22 |
| Chassis condition or chassis has excessive corrosion, seriously affecting its strength within 30cm of a body mounting Body, chassis, structure | Major | 2.5% | £180–450 |
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 | 19.4% | £80–180 |
| Engine oil leaks leaking excessively from engine Noise, emissions and leaks | Advisory | 18.8% | £200–700 |
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Advisory | 12.4% | £45–95 |
| Has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Tyres | Advisory | 10.4% | £45–95 |
| Exhaust system has a major leak of exhaust gases Body, chassis, structure | Advisory | 9.0% | £45–120 |
| Linkage pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn Suspension | Advisory | 8.4% | £40–150 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 4 | 75.0% | 21,732 mi |
| 30-60k | 33 | 75.8% | 49,672 mi |
| 60-90k | 91 | 69.2% | 77,123 mi |
| 90-120k | 115 | 72.2% | 105,471 mi |
| 120k+ | 112 | 65.2% | 143,631 mi |
Source: 356 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.
2004 Vitara MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2004 Suzuki Vitara?
69.7% of the 356 2004 Suzuki Vitara tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 72.2% for cars first used in 2004. First-attempt pass rate: 61.2%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2004 Suzuki Vitara?
The three most recorded items are joints constant velocity boot severely deteriorated (11.24%), joints constant velocity boot split or insecure, no longer prevents the ingress of dirt (8.43%), position lamp not working (4.78%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2004 Suzuki Vitara MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 75.0% of the time, falling to 65.2% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2004 Suzuki Vitara in this dataset had covered 103,452 mi.
Which fuel type is most reliable for a 2004 Suzuki Vitara?
Petrol: 69.0% pass rate across 303 tests. Diesel: 73.6% pass rate across 53 tests. Shares are of the tests on this vehicle that recorded each fuel type.
Does the season affect the 2004 Suzuki Vitara MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 70.9% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 67.6%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.