All generations and engines together · 72,238 MOT tests in the 2025 data · typical mileage at age 7: 55k
Computed from DVSA MOT results, all of Great Britain, 2025. Nothing here is opinion.
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.
The rows that judge the model rather than its keeper. 42,646 tests in this band.
Tyres, pads and stone chips say more about how the car was driven and maintained than about how it was built.
Owner folklore from forums and the motoring press. Most of it never shows up in an MOT, which is why this section exists at all.
On early cars the forward-facing radar for the Radar Brake Support (autonomous emergency braking) system could be mis-programmed at the factory, applying the brakes hard for no obvious reason. Suzuki recalled around 1,163 UK cars to reflash the system, so a car with the work logged should be fine, but it is worth checking the history if the recall was never carried out. No cost to the owner where it was done under recall.
A recurring owner complaint: persistent brake squeal that survives a full pad and disc swap, plus front discs corroding and pitting on the inner edge well before the pads are worn out. The measured MOT data backs the general shape of this, brakes are this model's most common test-time failure point, though the squeal itself rarely fails a test on its own. Budget £150-£300 for a proper set of discs and pads if you want it quiet.
Suzuki recalled AllGrip four-wheel-drive Vitaras built with rear axle bolts missing the correct anti-friction coating, which could work loose over time. Separately, some AllGrip owners have reported unusually fast wear on the outer edge of the rear tyres. Confirm the recall was carried out and check rear tyre wear on a test drive.
Screen freezes, dropped Android Auto or Apple CarPlay connections, and occasional false warnings from the reversing camera or safety radar come up repeatedly in owner reviews, most often on 2018-2022 cars. It reads as a nuisance rather than a safety issue in most reports, usually cured by a reset or a software update at a dealer, and there is no specific TSB for it. It can show up from new, with no clear mileage pattern.
Some owners and independent garages report blocked DPFs, cracked DPF pipes and warning lights on the 1.9 DDiS diesel, mostly on pre-2015 Grand Vitara cars, with cleaning around £250-£300 and replacement nearer £550-£600. Honest John's own experts say they have not seen a widespread pattern and rate the DPF as generally durable. The split makes sense: it shows up on cars that have done mostly short town journeys and stays quiet on ones with regular motorway runs.
The automatic gearbox, and especially the hybrid's automated-manual transmission, can shunt and hesitate when pulling away or shifting at low speed, described by reviewers as a pronounced jerk. It is a trait of the transmission design rather than something that develops with age, but it catches out buyers used to a conventional torque-converter automatic or CVT. No fix beyond getting used to it has been reported.
Built from the two sections above.
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