Alfa Romeo 147 MOT failures and reliability
In 2023 the Alfa Romeo 147 took 2,376 MOT tests in Britain and passed 55% of them first time, below the national average of 71% for all cars. The figures below come from the DVSA's record of every test, so they show what testers actually found on these cars rather than what owners report.
- MOT tests in 2023
- 2,376
- First-time pass rate
- 55%
- All cars
- 71%
What the 147 fails on
Share of tests with at least one failure in each area, against the figure for all cars.
- Suspension19.3% (all cars 9.0%)
- Lights and electrics18.9% (all cars 11.3%)
- Brakes14.3% (all cars 6.8%)
- Body and structure9.3% (all cars 3.5%)
- Visibility9.3% (all cars 4.8%)
- Tyres8.5% (all cars 6.4%)
- Exhaust and emissions6.3% (all cars 3.1%)
- Seat belts and airbags6.2% (all cars 1.0%)
Most common failure items
Share of tests on which each item was recorded.
- Suspension arms, pins and bushes: pin or bush excessively worn 6.5%
- Rbt (sp): efficiency below requirements 5.0%
- Position lamp: not working 4.8%
- Component mounting prescribed areas: prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength 4.5%
- Washers: provides insufficient washer liquid 4.2%
- Headlamp aim: projected beam image is obviously incorrect 3.6%
- Tread depth: tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm 3.5%
- Suspension arms, ball joint: ball joint excessively worn 3.3%
Most common advisories
- Tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge 20.1%
- Brake discs: worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened 15.3%
- Engine oil leaks: leak, but not excessive 11.4%
- Suspension arms, pins and bushes: pin or bush worn but not resulting in excessive movement 9.9%
- Tyres, condition: slightly damaged/cracking or perishing 9.3%
- Exhaust system: has a minor leak of exhaust gases 7.9%
- Coil spring: corroded 7.4%
- Sub-frame: corroded but not seriously weakened 6.9%
Pass rate by year of registration
Older cars fail more often whatever the model, so compare a car with others of the same age.
| First registered | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2007 | 395 | 52% |
| 2008 | 484 | 55% |
Typical mileage by age
Average odometer reading at the MOT, by the car's age in years at the test.
| Age at test | Average mileage |
|---|---|
| 14 years | 96,472 miles |
| 15 years | 100,118 miles |
| 16 years | 99,497 miles |
| 17 years | 95,923 miles |
| 18 years | 96,717 miles |
| 19 years | 93,204 miles |
| 20 years | 93,184 miles |
Check a particular 147
Model figures tell you what to look out for. To see one car's own MOT history, mileage and tax, enter its registration.
Other Alfa Romeo models
- Alfa Romeo Giulietta
- Alfa Romeo Mito
- Alfa Romeo Giulia
- Alfa Romeo 159
- Alfa Romeo Spider
- Alfa Romeo Stelvio
- Alfa Romeo GT
- Alfa Romeo Brera
- Alfa Romeo 156
- Alfa Romeo GTV
Source: Department for Transport, Anonymised MOT tests and results, 2023, cars and light vans, normal tests only. Pass rates are first-time passes; a pass after repair at the test station counts as a fail. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.