Alfa Romeo 156 MOT failures and reliability

In 2023 the Alfa Romeo 156 took 1,409 MOT tests in Britain and passed 58% 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

1,409

First-time pass rate

58%

All cars

71%

What the 156 fails on

Share of tests with at least one failure in each area, against the figure for all cars.

• Lights and electrics21.6% (all cars 11.3%)
• Suspension13.6% (all cars 9.0%)
• Brakes11.5% (all cars 6.8%)
• Body and structure10.9% (all cars 3.5%)
• Exhaust and emissions10.5% (all cars 3.1%)
• Visibility8.9% (all cars 4.8%)
• Seat belts and airbags6.5% (all cars 1.0%)
• Tyres6.0% (all cars 6.4%)

Most common failure items

Share of tests on which each item was recorded.

1. Headlamp aim: projected beam image is obviously incorrect 6.1%
2. Position lamp: not working 5.9%
3. Malfunction indicator lamp: inoperative or indicates a malfunction 4.3%
4. Suspension arms, pins and bushes: pin or bush excessively worn 3.7%
5. SRS malfunction indicator lamp: warning lamp indicates a fault 3.7%
6. Component mounting prescribed areas: prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength 3.4%
7. Washers: provides insufficient washer liquid 3.0%
8. Joints: constant velocity boot split or insecure, no longer prevents the ingress of dirt 3.0%

Most common advisories

1. Engine oil leaks: leak, but not excessive 13.4%
2. Tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge 13.1%
3. Brake discs: worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened 10.4%
4. Coil spring: corroded 10.1%
5. Suspension arms, pins and bushes: pin or bush worn but not resulting in excessive movement 8.9%
6. Exhaust system: has a minor leak of exhaust gases 7.7%
7. Tyres, condition: slightly damaged/cracking or perishing 6.5%
8. Rigid brake pipes: corroded, covered in grease or other material 5.5%

Typical mileage by age

Average odometer reading at the MOT, by the car's age in years at the test.

Check a particular 156

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 147
• Alfa Romeo GT
• Alfa Romeo Brera
• 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.