Model Reports 4 min read Updated 18 Oct 2026

Suzuki SX4 2012: reliability & common MOT faults

In 2025, 59 in every 100 first MOTs on a 2012 Suzuki SX4 were passes. Most common reason for a fail: Coil spring (front).

Summary

The 2012 Suzuki SX4 follows the pattern of the model years either side.

At a glance

How 1,826 first tests went in 2025.

Passed first time
59 in every 100
Did not pass first time
41 in every 100755 failed first-attempt tests
The typical car
13 yearsabout 76,516 miles
First tests counted
1,826

What failed most often

  1. Coil spring (front)23 in every 100 failed tests
  2. Suspension arm ball joint (front)19 in every 100 failed tests
  3. Individual sidelight or tail light (front)13 in every 100 failed tests

How we count this. Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Only Class 4 cars on their first MOT of the year are counted. A car that fails and is fixed at the test station still counts as a fail in the first-attempt rate. These are raw results, not adjusted for age, mileage, or peer mix. The MOT does not test engine or gearbox internals.

Note:

These are patterns across 2012 Suzuki SX4 vehicles in 2025, not a prediction that any one car will have them. Faults are grouped by part of the car. They come from MOT defect codes, not manufacturer bulletins, recalls or a diagnosis of any one car.

Brakes

Four faults. The strongest is the rigid brake pipes (front): 6.6 times as often as on similar cars.

Figures below are measured across the 754 of 755 failed first attempts (99.9%) that recorded an odometer reading in 2025. Mileage is needed to compare like with like.

We only list faults with at least 20 failures and a rate of about 2.0 times that of similar cars, which keeps one-off results out of the list.

Rigid brake pipes (front)

Failed on 39 first tests6.6 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

What it means

Chafing, corrosion or damage to a rigid brake pipe justifies rejection once its wall thickness is reduced by a set amount, although DVSA accepts this is not easy to determine. If a tester is not sure, the benefit of the doubt applies. A leaking pipe or connection is graded Dangerous on a hydraulic system and Major on an air system.

Also noted as an advisory

Testers also noted it as an advisory, worn but not yet failing, on 78 first tests, 4.2 times as often as on similar cars.

Rigid brake pipes (rear)

Failed on 46 first tests4.4 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

What it means

Chafing, corrosion or damage to a rigid brake pipe justifies rejection once its wall thickness is reduced by a set amount, although DVSA accepts this is not easy to determine. If a tester is not sure, the benefit of the doubt applies. A leaking pipe or connection is graded Dangerous on a hydraulic system and Major on an air system.

Also noted as an advisory

Testers also noted it as an advisory, worn but not yet failing, on 101 first tests, 3.5 times as often as on similar cars.

Brake performance (roller test, rear)

Failed on 51 first tests2.9 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

A wheel with no recorded braking effort on the roller test is graded Dangerous. Inadequate effort, a brake grabbing severely, abnormal lag and excessive fluctuation in effort are each Major. So is significant brake effort recorded with no brake applied, which indicates a binding brake.

Also noted as an advisory

Testers also noted it as an advisory, worn but not yet failing, on 52 first tests, 3.0 times as often as on similar cars.

Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test)

Failed on 72 first tests2.1 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

A parking brake with efficiency below the minimum requirement is Major, and graded Dangerous where efficiency is less than half of the required value. On a roller brake tester, the requirement counts as met if more than half of the wheels of a brake system lock. The check applies only to vehicles whose parking brake was not already tested as the secondary brake.

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage. Advisories count notes recorded on failed first tests only.

Suspension

Three faults. The strongest is the coil spring (front): 3.1 times as often as on similar cars.

Coil spring (front)

Failed on 172 first tests3.1 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

What it means

A missing bump stop rubber is not a reason to fail a coil spring. When the vehicle is jacked and lowered, a spring that does not correctly locate as the suspension returns to its normal running position is rejected as insecurely attached. A missing spring is Major, and graded Dangerous where directional control is affected.

Suspension arm ball joint (front)

Failed on 141 first tests2.8 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

A suspension arm ball joint is failed under the general suspension pin, bush or joint wording. Excessively worn is Major, and likely to become detached is graded Dangerous.

Coil spring (rear)

Failed on 66 first tests2.1 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

A missing bump stop rubber is not a reason to fail a coil spring. When the vehicle is jacked and lowered, a spring that does not correctly locate as the suspension returns to its normal running position is rejected as insecurely attached. A missing spring is Major, and graded Dangerous where directional control is affected.

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage.

Advisories

Other things testers noted as worn or close to failing, more often than on similar cars.

An advisory is a note from the tester about something that has not failed yet. It is an early warning, not a fail. Advisories for the faults above are shown with those faults.

Flexible brake hoses (front)

Noted on 29 first tests6.9 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Suspension mounting area (rear)

Noted on 25 first tests4.9 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Macpherson strut (front)

Noted on 22 first tests3.6 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Flexible brake hoses (rear)

Noted on 28 first tests3.1 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Shock absorbers (rear)

Noted on 73 first tests3.0 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Counts cover advisories recorded on failed first tests only, compared with cars of the same age and mileage.

MOT pass rates

How first tests ended, and how the pass rates are counted.

Passed first time
59in every 100
Passed on the first test.
Fixed at the station
5in every 100
Failed, then fixed at the test station the same day.
Failed
36in every 100
Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.

First-attempt pass 58.7% of 1,826 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 63.6%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 5 fixed and the 36 not fixed make the 41 in every 100 that did not pass first time.

Petrol and diesel

First testsPassed first time, as tested
Petrol1,46660
Diesel36054

Figures are in every 100 first tests.

Same model, other years

Passed first time in every 100, all tested in 2025.

406080100201220152020Older carsNewer cars
40608010020122020Older carsNewer cars

Newer cars are younger, so look for a jump rather than the climb. A year earlier (2024), when these cars were a year younger, 58 in every 100 passed first time.

YearPassed first timeFirst tests
200646 in every 100707
200748 in every 1001,904
200852 in every 1002,052
200952 in every 1001,642
201054 in every 1001,821
201155 in every 1002,040
2012 This car59 in every 1001,826
201365 in every 1003,158
201471 in every 1006,137
201577 in every 1003,600
201680 in every 1003,274
201783 in every 1003,119
201884 in every 1002,624
201987 in every 1001,935
202090 in every 100354

FAQs

Short answers about how to read this model-year guide.

The 2012 Suzuki SX4 follows the pattern of the model years either side. Its main cause of failure was Coil spring (front), about 23 in every 100 failed tests. In 2025, 58.7% of 1,826 first MOTs on the 2012 Suzuki SX4 passed first time (PRS: items fixed at the station the same day, counted as a fail). The official-style rate including PRS is 63.6%. Among 755 failed first-attempt MOT tests (test year 2025), Rigid brake pipes (front) appears more often than on similar cars (5.2% of those tests; 39 observed failures; about 6.6× more often than similar cars). There is no single reliability score here; this is a pre-purchase checklist built from DVSA open data, not a guarantee for any individual car.
Ranked by how often they were actually recorded, the items that most often failed a 2012 Suzuki SX4 at the first attempt were Coil spring (front) (22.8%), Suspension arm ball joint (front) (18.7%) and Individual sidelight or tail light (front) (12.6%), each as a share of the year's failed first attempts. That is what goes wrong most often on the car. The common faults table shows a different measure: faults that are unusual compared with similar cars.
Among failed first-attempt tests we highlight patterns that appear more often than on similar cars. Top example: Rigid brake pipes (front) (5.2% of those tests; 39 observed failures; about 6.6× more often than similar cars). These are statistical signals, not a diagnosis of any individual car.
Rigid brake pipes (front) shows up more often than on similar cars (5.2% of those tests; 39 observed failures; about 6.6× more often than similar cars). That does not prove a design fault. Age, mileage, and how the car was used still matter. Treat it as a pre-purchase checkpoint, not a manufacturer service bulletin.
Common MOT problem areas for the 2012 Suzuki SX4 include Rigid brake pipes (front), Coil spring (front), Brake performance (roller test, rear). These are the faults that stand out compared with similar cars, not a complete list of what can go wrong on any individual car.
Advisories flag issues noted at the test and are not a fail rate. We show advisory patterns that appear more often than on similar cars among failed first-attempt tests, separate from common failure rows. Use them as early-warning checks, not as a pass/fail score.
This page highlights MOT failure patterns for the 2012 Suzuki SX4 (registration year) using UK DVSA open data for the selected test year. Patterns are compared with cars of a similar age and mileage. It is a buyer checklist from MOT defect statistics, not a full service history or manufacturer service-bulletin list.
No. MOT tests do not cover engine internals, gearboxes, or many electronic modules. Patterns here come from MOT defect statistics only and should not be read as engine or gearbox reliability scores.

About this data

How this page is built and what it can (and can't) say.

These figures come from UK MOT open data for this model year. We surface common failure patterns against similar cars, not a full reliability score, and not a pass/fail verdict on any individual vehicle.

2024 2025

What we include

UK Class 4 cars only. Normal MOT tests (not retests); first test per vehicle per calendar year; results pass, PRS, or fail.

Same-day repairs

PRS means the car failed items that were fixed at the test station and then passed the same day. We count PRS as a first-attempt fail in headline rates so same-day repairs do not hide problems.

How we compare

We compare this model year with other Class 4 cars of similar age and mileage in the same test year. This model family is left out of the peer group so the car is not measured against itself.

What this does not cover

  • MOTs do not cover engine internals, gearboxes, or many electronics; this is not a full reliability score.
  • Common faults come from MOT defect stats, not manufacturer TSBs or recalls.
  • Age and mileage matching reduces, but does not remove, differences in how cars were used and maintained.
  • If the data for a car is too thin to say anything useful, we say so rather than guess.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

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