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All models / All cars / Family & large SUVs / Alfa Romeo Stelvio

Alfa Romeo Stelvio

All generations and engines together · 3,957 MOT tests in the 2025 data · typical mileage at age 7: 65k

Reliability verdict
CBy age
BBy miles

Graded against its peers

Middling for its age among SUVs, and better than most per mile driven. Watch suspension and corrosion. A fair used buy, provided its MOT history has no repeating suspension advisories.

First-time failure at age 7
15.2%
Across 653 tests. The average for SUVs is 16.4%.
First-time failure at 50-60k miles
12.7%
Across 608 tests. The average for SUVs is 15.1%.
Rank in its class
15 of 38
1 = lowest failure rate among the 38 SUVs we can rank.
Typical mileage at age 7
65k miles
How far the average car has gone by seven years old. Low-mileage models can look better by age than they are.

What owners report

Reported

Owner folklore from forums and the motoring press, with how well each report stands up. Most of it never shows up in an MOT, which is why this section exists at all.

Rear tailgate can pop open on its own

Confirmed pattern

Water can get into the electrics around the rear liftgate on early cars, and Alfa Romeo confirmed it could cause the tailgate to unlatch and swing open unexpectedly at low speed, dropping unsecured cargo into the road. It's a genuine safety recall, not a rumour, covering cars built between December 2016 and April 2018. The fix is free at a dealer and involves re-sealing the affected wiring.

Recall R/2018/124, cars built Dec 2016 to Apr 2018 · sources: DVSA vehicle recalls database, Honest John

Cruise control could add unwanted acceleration

Confirmed pattern

On cars with active cruise control, a software bug in the brake system module could let the car accelerate by itself while cruise was engaged. Alfa Romeo recalled just under 500 UK cars in 2019, built between 2016 and mid-2019, for a free software update. Check the service history shows the update was actually done rather than just booked in.

Recall R/2019/191, cars built 2016 to Jun 2019 · sources: DVSA vehicle recalls database

Brake pedal oddities and early wear

Emerging

The Stelvio uses a brake-by-wire setup that owners and reviewers describe as inconsistent to modulate, especially on early cars. Separately, one 2018 car reported to Honest John suffered total brake failure at 11,000 miles, put down to a vacuum pump fault, and the engine wouldn't switch off afterwards until the battery was disconnected. Another owner needed new rear discs and pads at 22,000 miles due to rust and lipping. Not officially acknowledged as a pattern, but worth taking seriously on a test drive.

Reported 11k-22k miles · sources: Honest John reader reports

Electrical gremlins on first-year cars

Emerging

Several early (2018-2019) cars have shown a cluster of niggling electrical faults within the first 1,000 miles of ownership: an injection/EOBD warning light, an auxiliary water pump fault in the cooling system, air conditioning that won't blow cold, and an alarm that falsely logs a 'break-in attempt' and sounds off on its own. None of these are recall items, but they turn up often enough on early UK cars to be worth checking rather than assuming they're one-offs.

Reported within first 1,000 miles, 2018-2019 cars · sources: Honest John reader reports

Carbon-ceramic brake recalls

Confirmed patternQuadrifoglio / optional carbon-ceramic brakes only

Cars fitted with the optional carbon-ceramic brake package picked up two separate recalls: rear discs that could develop micro-cracks (2021, mostly Quadrifoglio) and a control unit fault that could send the wrong signal and risk a disc rupturing under braking (2023). Fixes are free new discs or a software reflash of the braking module. Doesn't apply to cars on standard steel brakes.

Recalls R/2021/053 and R/2023/205, cars built 2017-2020 · sources: DVSA vehicle recalls database

What to check on this car

Ranked from this model’s own MOT record, then from what owners report.

Saveable checklist

From this model’s MOT record

The physical checks its own defect data says are worth your time, most telling first.

Bushes and ball jointsRuns high on this model Drive slowly over broken tarmac with the windows down and listen for clonks from either end. Back at the car, have someone rock the steering wheel while you rest a hand on each front wheel; play you can feel through the tyre is a worn joint.Recorded on 4.9% of tests at age 6-9 · class average 0.8%
Brake pipes underneath Follow the metal brake lines with a torch where they run along the sills and over the rear axle. White crust or flaking metal means they are corroding, and the online MOT history usually shows the same advisory creeping up for years before the fail.Recorded on 1.5% of tests at age 6-9 · class average 1.9%
Lights and horn walkround With a helper, run every light: dipped, main beam, indicators, brake lights including the high-level one, reverse, fog, and the horn. On newer cars a dead LED section can mean replacing the whole lamp unit rather than a bulb.Recorded on 1.2% of tests at age 6-9 · class average 1.2%
Rubber boots and gaiters On full steering lock, look in behind each front wheel at the concertina rubber boots on the driveshafts and steering rack. Splits, or grease flung around the arch, mean dirt is getting into a joint that costs far more than the boot protecting it.Recorded on 0.8% of tests at age 6-9 · class average 0.6%
Leaks Look at the ground where the car usually stands, then glance under the engine after your test drive. Fresh drips of oil or coolant are the cheapest warning you will ever get about a car.Recorded on 0.7% of tests at age 6-9 · class average 2.0%

Worth doing on any used car

These judge the seller’s upkeep rather than the model, and they are where the haggling money is.

Tyres, all four Check the tread across the full width of each tyre, inner edge included, and look for cracking and mismatched brands. A set of decent tyres is £500 or more on most cars, which makes this the easiest money to take off a price. If the pressure warning light is on, budget for sensors too.Recorded on 28.7% of tests at age 6-9 · class average 20.1%
Pads and discsRuns high on this model Look through the wheel spokes at the brake disc. A pronounced lip on its outer edge, or a rusty and scored face, means discs and pads are due all round, a few hundred pounds on most cars. A haggling point rather than a reason to walk away.Recorded on 18.8% of tests at age 6-9 · class average 10.1%
Windscreen and wipers Scan the glass in daylight for chips, especially in the driver's line of sight where even a small one can fail the MOT. Run the washers and check the wipers clear without smearing.Recorded on 1.9% of tests at age 6-9 · class average 2.0%

Because of what owners report

Drawn from the reports above rather than the MOT data. These are the model-specific ones.

Work the tailgate release a few times and check the seals and wiring around the rear light clusters for dampness or corrosion. Water getting in there caused the 2018 recall for tailgates popping open on their own; check the history shows the re-seal fix was done.
If it has adaptive cruise control, check the service history for the 2019 brake-module software recall. An unfixed car could accelerate on its own while cruise is engaged.
Brake hard from low speed, then hold light pressure at a standstill. A vague or inconsistent pedal feel is normal for this brake-by-wire system, but total unresponsiveness or warning lights need investigating there and then; it's failed completely on at least one low-mileage car.
Look at the rear discs and pads through the wheel spokes for rust ridges or lipping. Owners have reported needing rear discs and pads as early as 22,000 miles.
Run the air con on max cold and watch the dash for an injection or EOBD warning light. Both faults showed up within the first 1,000 miles on at least one reported car, so don't write off a warning light as just old age.
Lock up and walk away, then listen for the alarm triggering on its own. Some early cars randomly log a false 'break-in attempt' and sound off for no reason.
On a Quadrifoglio, ask if it has the optional carbon-ceramic brakes and check for the two related recalls. An unaddressed car risks disc cracking or, in the worst case, rupture under braking.

Open the saveable checklist, tick it off at the car

The MOT data

Measured

Computed from DVSA MOT results, all of Great Britain, 2025. Nothing here is opinion.

How this model wears

Alfa Romeo StelvioClass average, all tracked models

What testers flag

Share of tests where each item was recorded. The dark tick is the class average across all tracked models; bars are scaled within each group.

Faults with the car itself

The rows that judge the model rather than its keeper. 1,771 tests in this band.

A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn
Advisory
6.3%class 1.7%
Brake pipe damaged or excessively corroded
Advisory
1.5%class 1.9%
A transmission shaft constant velocity joint boot missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt etc
Fail
0.8%class 0.6%
A transmission shaft flexible coupling excessively deteriorated
Advisory
0.8%class 0.1%
A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn
Fail
0.8%class 0.3%
Fluid leaking excessively and likely to harm the environment or to pose a safety risk to other road users
Advisory
0.7%class 2.0%

Wear, upkeep and luck

Tyres, pads and stone chips say more about how the car was driven and maintained than about how it was built.

Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements
Advisory
31.6%class 22.9%
Brake disc or drum excessively weakened, insecure or fractured
Advisory
18.8%class 10.1%
A brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm
Advisory
14.9%class 8.7%
A tyre seriously damaged
Advisory
5.6%class 12.7%
Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements
Fail
3.0%class 2.3%
Brake disc or drum significantly and obviously worn
Advisory
3.0%class 3.4%
Child Seat fitted not allowing full inspection of adult belt
Advisory
2.6%class 2.2%
A brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm
Fail
2.6%class 1.6%

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