Suzuki Celerio MOT pass rate & common failures
147,312 MOT tests on the Suzuki Celerio (2014–2021) give it a 91.8% pass rate. Against city cars of a similar age (12.8% fail rate), the Celerio comes out 4.6pp better. Its most common failure areas are visibility, lighting & signalling and brakes.
Best and worst Celerio years
Ranked across Celerio years with at least 1,000 tests. Older cars fail more simply because they are older — compare years close together in age before drawing conclusions.
What the MOT record shows
Build year matters more than the headline suggests: 2019 cars pass 94.7% of the time while 2015 cars manage 90.0%, a 4.7-point spread.
No single area dominates — visibility (5.4%) and lighting & signalling (3.5%) are close, so failures are spread across several systems rather than one weak point.
At component level the recurring items are wipers, tread depth and stop lamp — wipers alone was recorded 8,274 times.
Mileage is the strongest signal on the record: 5.2% of 0-30k cars fail, rising to 20.9% once past 150k — 4.1× the risk.
Tyres is the most common advisory, noted on 22.6% of tests — work that passed today but is likely due soon.
The trend is worsening — 6.2% of tests failed in 2021 against 10.3% in 2025, the usual pattern as a fleet ages.
How it compares
By model year
Every Celerio model year with a usable sample. Years with their own detailed report are linked.
| Year | Tests | Pass rate | Fail rate | Most common failure |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 178 | 88.2% | 11.8% | Lighting & signalling |
| 2015 | 39,770 | 90.0% | 10.0% | Lighting & signalling |
| 2016 | 42,487 | 91.7% | 8.3% | Visibility |
| 2017 | 34,201 | 92.5% | 7.5% | Visibility |
| 2018 | 21,864 | 93.4% | 6.6% | Visibility |
| 2019 | 8,808 | 94.7% | 5.3% | Visibility |
Most common failures (all years)
| # | Category | % of tests affected | Tests |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Visibility | 5.4% | 8,012 |
| 2 | Lighting & signalling | 3.5% | 5,094 |
| 3 | Brakes | 3.1% | 4,529 |
| 4 | Tyres | 3.0% | 4,493 |
| 5 | Suspension | 0.7% | 969 |
| 6 | Seat belts & restraints | 0.4% | 631 |
| 7 | Body, structure & corrosion | 0.3% | 410 |
| 8 | Emissions & environmental | 0.2% | 354 |
Most common specific failures
The exact components most often recorded as failures — more specific than the categories above.
| # | Failure item | Times recorded |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wipers | 8,274 |
| 2 | Tread depth | 2,636 |
| 3 | Stop lamp | 2,303 |
| 4 | Headlamp aim | 2,044 |
| 5 | Washers | 1,993 |
| 6 | Rigid brake pipes | 1,940 |
| 7 | Service brake performance | 1,187 |
| 8 | Brake pads | 1,177 |
Top advisory categories
Advisories aren't failures, but they flag work likely needed soon — useful when budgeting.
| # | Category | % of tests with advisory | Tests |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tyres | 22.6% | 33,325 |
| 2 | Brakes | 13.4% | 19,720 |
| 3 | Other defects | 4.5% | 6,597 |
| 4 | Suspension | 3.8% | 5,535 |
| 5 | Visibility | 3.4% | 5,052 |
| 6 | Lighting & signalling | 1.4% | 2,088 |
Failure rate by mileage
Higher-mileage cars tend to fail more — often the most useful guide to real condition.
| Mileage band | Tests | Fail rate |
|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 72,783 | 5.2% |
| 30-60k | 55,197 | 9.8% |
| 60-90k | 15,025 | 13.7% |
| 90-120k | 3,248 | 17.4% |
| 120-150k | 731 | 20.5% |
| 150k+ | 244 | 20.9% |
Failure rate by age
Trend over time
| Dataset year | Tests | Fail rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 27,637 | 6.2% |
| 2022 | 29,833 | 7.1% |
| 2023 | 30,007 | 7.9% |
| 2024 | 29,674 | 9.0% |
| 2025 | 30,161 | 10.3% |
What to check before buying a Suzuki Celerio
- Visibility (5.4% of tests): Wipers, washers, mirrors and screen damage — usually inexpensive, but check for chips in the driver's line of sight. Typical repair: £15–£150.
- Lighting & signalling (3.5% of tests): Often a cheap bulb, but persistent issues can mean wiring or corrosion in the units. Typical repair: £10–£150.
- Brakes (3.1% of tests): Pads/discs are routine wear; binding, imbalance or corroded pipes are more serious — test for pulling under braking. Typical repair: £100–£350 per axle.
Repair costs are rough UK ballpark ranges to set expectations, not quotes — actual prices vary widely by car, parts and garage.
Frequently asked questions
What is the MOT pass rate for the Suzuki Celerio?
91.8% of the 147,312 Suzuki Celerio MOT tests in this dataset passed, an 8.2% fail rate, across model years 2014–2021.
What does the Suzuki Celerio most often fail its MOT on?
Visibility, recorded in 5.4% of tests, then lighting & signalling (3.5%).
Which Celerio years are best and worst for MOT results?
2019 has the best pass rate at 94.7% and 2015 the weakest at 90.0%, from 8,808 and 39,770 tests respectively.
How much does mileage affect Celerio MOT results?
Fail rates run at 5.2% for cars in the 0-30k band and 20.9% for 150k+, a 15.7-point difference.
Methodology & source. Based on 147,312 MOT tests. Dataset: DVSA MOT testing data (2021,2022,2023,2024,2025). Data last updated 2026-07-27. Figures reflect MOT-testable defects only — read the methodology for how these are calculated and what they don't measure.