Pass rate
83.3%
Around average — 6.1 pts ahead of the 77.2% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 102 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £17–£48
2012 Suzuki Vitara MOT pass rate
- 2012
- typical 77,617 mi
Check your postcode
Most common fault
Brakes
28.4% of faults · 20.9% nationally
mostly worn pads and discs, corroded pipes and a handbrake that will not hold.
Part only £25–£55 for Rigid brake pipes excessively corroded. What fitting it takes →
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
- 80.2%
- Typical mileage
- 78k mi
The 2012 Suzuki Vitara MOT pass rate is 83.3% of its MOT tests — 6.1 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. Brakes is the biggest single reason it fails, at 28.4% of what testers record.
Expert verdict
Brakes: 1.4× the national share
Brakes make up 28.4% of everything recorded on the 2012 Suzuki Vitara, against 20.9% nationally — 7.5 points above. Have the discs and pads measured rather than glanced at, and ask whether the handbrake holds on a slope.
- Beats its own age and mileage. Once you allow for how old and how far these cars have been driven, the expected pass rate is 77.2% and this one manages 83.3% — 6.1 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict.
- Failures here tend to be cheap ones. 69% 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 Vitara? Get an email when these numbers change .
How does the 2012 Suzuki Vitara compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 77.2%, so this figure is 6.1 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 80.2%. The median 2012 Suzuki Vitara in this dataset had covered 77,617 mi.
52% of the tests on this vehicle ran on Diesel, which passed 83.0% of the time. Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 85.5% of the time, April–September 80.0%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources", noted on 5.88% of tests.
- 102 recorded tests behind this page.
- 83.3% overall pass rate, 80.2% 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
- 102
- Typical mileage (median)
- 77,617 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
Number Plate Lamp
Usually a DIY or independent-garage job.
Does mileage affect the Vitara MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 67% so small gaps stay visible.
Fuel type and reliability
Pass rate by fuel type. Diesel is the most common here (52% 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 | 26 | 69.2% |
| Scotland | 17 | 76.5% |
| Wales | 15 | 93.3% |
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 2012 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 2012 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 5.9% 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 brake pipes 2.9% 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.
-
Check the brakes 2.0% of tests
“brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick”
Look through the spokes of each wheel at the pad — less than 3mm of friction material, or a lip on the disc edge, is the usual failure. Check the handbrake holds on a slope with a few clicks, not at the top of its travel.
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 2012 Vitara through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £17–£48 — and 69% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £17–£48
- Cheapest common item: side repeaters lens defective
- £3–£15
- Dearest common item: rigid brake pipes excessively corroded
- £80–£180
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 70%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 69%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 102 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 2012 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 2012 cars with a similar record
- MINI Mini 83.3%
- Ford Fusion 83.3%
- Volkswagen Touareg 83.1%
- BMW 530 83.5%
- Audi Q5 83.0%
- Land Rover Range Rover 82.9%
Closest pass rates among 2012 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 2012 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 196 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 | 56 | 28.40% | 20.89% | +7.51 |
| Suspension | 32 | 16.20% | 20.98% | −4.78 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 32 | 16.20% | 12.21% | +3.99 |
| Tyres | 22 | 11.20% | 19.76% | −8.56 |
| Non-component advisories | 21 | 10.70% | 4.18% | +6.52 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 9 | 4.60% | 5.57% | −0.97 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 8 | 4.10% | 5.52% | −1.42 |
| Identification of the vehicle | 8 | 4.10% | 1.76% | +2.34 |
| Visibility | 7 | 3.60% | 4.97% | −1.37 |
| Steering | 1 | 0.50% | 2.57% | −2.07 |
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 | 5.9% | £5–20 |
| Headlamp lens slightly defective Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 2.9% | £5–25 |
| Position lamp not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 2.9% | £5–25 |
| Rigid brake pipes excessively corroded Brakes | Major | 2.9% | £80–180 |
| Side repeaters lens defective which has no effect on emitted light Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 2.9% | £3–15 |
| Side repeaters not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 2.9% | £5–25 |
| Brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick Brakes | Major | 2.0% | £18–45 |
| Headlamp aim projected beam image is obviously incorrect Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 2.0% | £30–80 |
| Headlamp aim too low Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 2.0% | £30–80 |
| Headlamp lens seriously defective Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 2.0% | £5–25 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brake discs in such a condition that it is seriously weakened Brakes | Advisory | 15.7% | £45–110 |
| Service brake performance excessively binding Brakes | Advisory | 10.8% | £60–150 |
| Rigid brake pipes excessively corroded Brakes | Advisory | 9.8% | £80–180 |
| Pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn Suspension | Advisory | 8.8% | £40–150 |
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Advisory | 7.8% | £45–95 |
| Brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick Brakes | Advisory | 6.9% | £18–45 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 2 | 100.0% | 28,866 mi |
| 30-60k | 24 | 87.5% | 46,927 mi |
| 60-90k | 41 | 80.5% | 73,522 mi |
| 90-120k | 24 | 75.0% | 101,716 mi |
| 120k+ | 11 | 100.0% | 138,030 mi |
Source: 102 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.
2012 Vitara MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2012 Suzuki Vitara?
83.3% of the 102 2012 Suzuki Vitara tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 77.2% for cars first used in 2012. First-attempt pass rate: 80.2%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2012 Suzuki Vitara?
The three most recorded items are registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources (5.88%), headlamp lens slightly defective (2.94%), position lamp not working (2.94%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2012 Suzuki Vitara MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 100.0% of the time, falling to 100.0% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2012 Suzuki Vitara in this dataset had covered 77,617 mi.
Which fuel type is most reliable for a 2012 Suzuki Vitara?
Diesel: 83.0% pass rate across 53 tests. Petrol: 83.7% pass rate across 49 tests. Shares are of the tests on this vehicle that recorded each fuel type.
Does the season affect the 2012 Suzuki Vitara MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 85.5% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 80.0%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.