Suzuki Ignis MOT pass rate & common failures
Across 25 model years and 155,551 tests, the Suzuki Ignis passes its MOT 85.5% of the time. That is 1.2 percentage points better than city cars of a similar age, which fail at 15.7%. Its most common failure areas are suspension, lighting & signalling and visibility.
Best and worst Ignis years
Ranked across Ignis 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: 2022 cars pass 96.9% of the time while 2005 cars manage 71.1%, a 25.8-point spread.
No single area dominates — suspension (7.0%) and lighting & signalling (5.6%) are close, so failures are spread across several systems rather than one weak point.
At component level the recurring items are wipers, coil spring and headlamp aim — wipers alone was recorded 7,072 times.
A 150k+ example is materially riskier than a 0-30k one: 31.6% versus 6.2%.
Split by fuel, petrol examples fail 10.3pp more often than hybrid ones (17.2% vs 6.9%) — worth weighing if you have a choice.
Advisories point at the next bill rather than this one: tyres was flagged on 23.5% of tests without failing them.
The trend is improving — the fail rate fell from 16.3% in 2021 to 13.1% in 2025, as the worst-kept examples leave the fleet.
How it compares
By model year
Every Ignis model year with a usable sample. Years with their own detailed report are linked.
| Year | Tests | Pass rate | Fail rate | Most common failure |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 441 | 68.9% | 31.1% | Lighting & signalling |
| 2001 | 3,364 | 71.9% | 28.1% | Lighting & signalling |
| 2002 | 4,663 | 72.0% | 28.0% | Lighting & signalling |
| 2003 | 6,731 | 72.8% | 27.2% | Lighting & signalling |
| 2004 | 9,182 | 72.8% | 27.2% | Lighting & signalling |
| 2005 | 9,140 | 71.1% | 28.9% | Suspension |
| 2006 | 6,722 | 72.9% | 27.1% | Suspension |
| 2007 | 7,706 | 73.9% | 26.1% | Suspension |
| 2008 | 142 | 72.5% | 27.5% | Brakes |
| 2016 | 1,484 | 85.4% | 14.6% | Suspension |
| 2017 | 34,405 | 87.9% | 12.1% | Suspension |
| 2018 | 32,180 | 91.2% | 8.8% | Visibility |
| 2019 | 15,854 | 93.1% | 6.9% | Visibility |
| 2020 | 12,522 | 95.3% | 4.7% | Visibility |
| 2021 | 8,094 | 96.5% | 3.5% | Visibility |
| 2022 | 2,787 | 96.9% | 3.1% | Visibility |
| 2023 | 111 | 99.1% | 0.9% | Tyres |
Most common failures (all years)
| # | Category | % of tests affected | Tests |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Suspension | 7.0% | 10,900 |
| 2 | Lighting & signalling | 5.6% | 8,732 |
| 3 | Visibility | 4.6% | 7,204 |
| 4 | Brakes | 4.2% | 6,496 |
| 5 | Tyres | 3.5% | 5,431 |
| 6 | Body, structure & corrosion | 1.9% | 2,893 |
| 7 | Emissions & environmental | 1.3% | 2,026 |
| 8 | Steering | 1.0% | 1,540 |
Most common specific failures
The exact components most often recorded as failures — more specific than the categories above.
| # | Failure item | Times recorded |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wipers | 7,072 |
| 2 | Coil spring | 5,264 |
| 3 | Headlamp aim | 4,336 |
| 4 | Tread depth | 3,775 |
| 5 | Rigid brake pipes | 3,439 |
| 6 | Ball joint | 2,524 |
| 7 | Service brake performance | 2,195 |
| 8 | Position lamp | 2,060 |
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 | 23.5% | 36,523 |
| 2 | Brakes | 17.0% | 26,390 |
| 3 | Suspension | 15.0% | 23,379 |
| 4 | Other defects | 10.4% | 16,216 |
| 5 | Lighting & signalling | 5.2% | 8,107 |
| 6 | Body, structure & corrosion | 5.0% | 7,776 |
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 | 71,649 | 6.2% |
| 30-60k | 41,491 | 14.9% |
| 60-90k | 21,522 | 25.2% |
| 90-120k | 14,226 | 29.9% |
| 120-150k | 5,215 | 32.7% |
| 150k+ | 1,421 | 31.6% |
Failure rate by age
By fuel type
| Fuel | Tests | Fail rate |
|---|---|---|
| Petrol | 114,162 | 17.2% |
| Hybrid | 41,365 | 6.9% |
Trend over time
| Dataset year | Tests | Fail rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 26,160 | 16.3% |
| 2022 | 28,417 | 15.3% |
| 2023 | 31,487 | 14.3% |
| 2024 | 33,854 | 13.8% |
| 2025 | 35,633 | 13.1% |
What to check before buying a Suzuki Ignis
- Suspension (7.0% of tests): Worn drop links, bushes, springs or shocks — listen for knocks over bumps and check for uneven tyre wear. Typical repair: £150–£450 per corner.
- Lighting & signalling (5.6% of tests): Often a cheap bulb, but persistent issues can mean wiring or corrosion in the units. Typical repair: £10–£150.
- Visibility (4.6% 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.
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 Ignis?
85.5% of the 155,551 Suzuki Ignis MOT tests in this dataset passed, a 14.4% fail rate, across model years 2000–2024.
What does the Suzuki Ignis most often fail its MOT on?
Suspension, recorded in 7.0% of tests, then lighting & signalling (5.6%).
Which Ignis years are best and worst for MOT results?
2022 has the best pass rate at 96.9% and 2005 the weakest at 71.1%, from 2,787 and 9,140 tests respectively.
How much does mileage affect Ignis MOT results?
Fail rates run at 6.2% for cars in the 0-30k band and 31.6% for 150k+, a 25.4-point difference.
Is the hybrid or petrol Ignis more reliable at MOT time?
On MOT-testable defects the hybrid fails 6.9% of the time against 17.2% for the petrol. This covers testable items only, not engine or gearbox reliability.
Methodology & source. Based on 155,551 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.