Does the Suzuki Alto fail the MOT on brakes more than it should?
The Suzuki Alto records 15.51 brakes failure items per 100 initial MOT tests (2019–2024), against 11.85 expected for a car of the same age mix: more than expected for its class and age (+3.66, 95% interval +3.52 to +3.79). It ranks 157 of 712 models on brakes (1 = most failures above expected).
Data release dvsa-2024-v2 (24 Sep 2026) · page updated 30 Sep 2026 · all models on brakes · check a Suzuki Alto by registration
What exactly fails on brakes?
The most frequent DVSA defect wording in this group on the Suzuki Alto is “Brake pipe damaged or excessively corroded”, recorded 18,333 times in 2019–2024.
| DVSA defect wording | Items | Per 100 tests |
|---|---|---|
| Brake pipe damaged or excessively corroded | 18,333 | 5.74 |
| Brakes imbalance across an axle such that the braking effort from any wheel is less than 70% of the maximum effort recorded from the other wheel on the same axle. | 5,287 | 1.65 |
| Significant brake effort recorded with no brake applied indicating a binding brake | 5,129 | 1.61 |
| a brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm | 3,711 | 1.16 |
| Brake disc or drum significantly and obviously worn | 1,777 | 0.56 |
Source: DVSA MOT bulk data (OGL v3.0) · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 319,545 (initial tests) · Method: failure items (major and minor) grouped by DVSA's defect tree; wordings with 30+ items · Updated: 30 Sep 2026 · Release: dvsa-2024-v2 · CSV
If a Suzuki Alto gets a brakes advisory, how often does it fail next time?
15.8% of Suzuki Alto MOTs with a brakes advisory were followed by a fail in the same group at the next MOT, typically 12 months and 3,670 miles later (59,026 advisories followed).
Source: DVSA MOT bulk data (OGL v3.0) · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 59,026 (advisories followed) · Method: the same vehicles followed to their next ordinary MOT · Updated: 30 Sep 2026 · Release: dvsa-2024-v2 · CSV
Other pages for this model
Suzuki Alto 2001 · Suzuki Alto 2002 · Suzuki Alto 2003 · Suzuki Alto 2004 · Suzuki Alto 2005 · Suzuki Alto 2006 · Suzuki Alto 2009 · Suzuki Alto 2010 · Suzuki Alto 2011 · Suzuki Alto 2012 · Suzuki Alto 2013 · Suzuki Alto 2014 · Suzuki Alto 2015 · Suzuki Alto in Finland · Suzuki Alto in the Netherlands · Suzuki Alto by postcode area · Suzuki Alto body, chassis and structure failures · Suzuki Alto vehicle identification failures · Suzuki Alto lamps, reflectors and electrics failures · Suzuki Alto noise, emissions and leaks failures · Suzuki Alto road wheels failures · Suzuki Alto seat belts and airbags failures · Suzuki Alto steering failures · Suzuki Alto suspension failures · Suzuki Alto tyres failures · Suzuki Alto visibility failures