Pass rate
73.1%
Below average — 0.5 pts ahead of the 72.6% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 93 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £38–£106
2003 Chrysler Neon MOT pass rate
- 2003
- typical 64,607 mi
Only 93 tests of this exact model and year are in the DVSA data, below the 100 we ask for before a page goes in the index. The figures are still shown, because they are the only ones there are.
Check your postcode
Most common fault
Suspension
24.6% of faults · 21.0% nationally
mostly worn arm bushes, split ball-joint boots and broken coil springs.
Part only £35–£75 for Suspension pin or bush excessively worn. What fitting it takes →
Which year to buy
- Best 2001 81.8% pass
- Avoid 2002 73.0% pass
Across the 4 years on record, a spread of 8.8 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 66.2%
- Typical mileage
- 65k mi
The 2003 Chrysler Neon MOT pass rate is 73.1% of its MOT tests — about what its age and mileage predict. Suspension is the biggest single reason it fails, at 24.6% of what testers record.
Expert verdict
Fewer problems with tyres
Tyres are 8.8% of this car’s recorded faults, against 19.8% nationally — the mirror image of the usual story on a car of this age.
- Failures here tend to be cheap ones. 56% of the repairs this model fails on cost under £30 in parts. The pass rate matters less than what a bad afternoon at the test centre actually costs you.
- Based on a small sample. 93 tests back this page. That is enough to publish and to index, not enough to treat the decimal places as precise — read the pattern, not the second digit.
Written from this page's own figures: fault shares against the national composition, the like-for-like pass rate, and the priced repair list. How these are worked out
Watching a Chrysler Neon? Get an email when these numbers change .
How does the 2003 Chrysler Neon compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 72.6%, so this figure is 0.5 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 66.2%. The median 2003 Chrysler Neon in this dataset had covered 64,607 mi.
The single most recorded failure item is "Headlamp lens slightly defective", noted on 8.60% of tests.
- 93 recorded tests behind this page.
- 73.1% overall pass rate, 66.2% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the Chrysler Neon, the average is 76.2% — best year 2001 (81.8%), worst 2002 (73.0%).
Figures count every completed test on this vehicle-year in the dataset, including retests. See methodology for the exact definition.
This page's data
- Tests analysed
- 93
- Typical mileage (median)
- 64,607 mi
- Make and model
- Chrysler Neon
- Updated
- 2026-11-07
Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data (2023–2025), OGL v3.0.
Top part to budget for
Headlight Bulb
Usually a DIY or independent-garage job.
Does mileage affect the Neon MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 54% so small gaps stay visible.
Regional pass rates for the Neon
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South East | 36 | 69.4% |
Regions come from the postcode area recorded at the test station. Areas on region borders are assigned to the region with the majority of their population.
What fails a 2003 Neon
Everything a tester recorded on this vehicle, grouped into the inspection sections that produced it. The notch on each bar is the national share, so you can see at a glance whether this car is unusual or just ordinary.
A test can record several items, so these percentages do not add up to 100%. The exact strings, with prices, are in the full DVSA record at the bottom of this page.
Before your test
Three checks worth doing on a 2003 Neon
These are not generic tips — they are the faults recorded most often on this exact model, rewritten as things you can check yourself. All three take about ten minutes and cost nothing.
-
Check the lights 8.6% of tests
“headlamp lens slightly defective”
Switch everything on and walk round the car: both headlamps on dip and main, every indicator, both brake lights, reverse, fog and the two number-plate lamps. A bulb is a few pounds and a five-minute job.
-
Check corrosion 6.5% of tests
“component mounting prescribed areas prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength”
Look under the sills, around the jacking points and where the suspension mounts meet the body. Flaking, holed or crumbly metal fails; a brown stain on sound metal does not.
-
Check the suspension joints 5.4% of tests
“track rod end ball joint has excessive play”
With the car parked on level ground, rock the top of each front wheel in and out while someone watches the suspension arm. Clunks, or rubber boots split and greasy, are what testers record here.
Shares are the proportion of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item, so they overlap: one test can record several.
What it costs to get a 2003 Neon through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £38–£106 — and 56% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £38–£106
- Cheapest common item: malfunction indicator lamp inoperative or…
- £3–£12
- Dearest common item: component mounting prescribed areas…
- £180–£450
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 70%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 56%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 93 MOT tests on this vehicle. They exclude diagnostics, retest fees and garage labour where the part is a DIY fit, and they are not figures from the DVSA dataset. Older and higher-mileage examples cost more than the average. How these estimates are built → · All MOT repair costs → · Cheapest cars to put through a test →
Every year of the Neon, side by side
4 model years on record, from 2000 to 2003. Across them the pass rate runs from 73.0% to 81.8% — a spread of 8.8 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2000 76.1% headlamp lens slightly defective
- 2001 81.8% headlamp lens slightly defective
- 2002 73.0% prescribed areas prescribed area…
- 2003 73.1%headlamp lens slightly defective
Colour is the pass rate on a fixed scale, so a block means the same thing on any model. Each year links to its own page with the full fault breakdown.
Compare the 2003 Chrysler Neon with another year
The raw pass rate mostly measures age. The year comparison adds the like-for-like figure, the mileage bands and the repair bill.
Other 2003 cars with a similar record
- Volkswagen Passat 73.1%
- Suzuki Jimny 73.1%
- Toyota YARIS 73.0%
- Volkswagen Golf 72.8%
- Honda Jazz 72.6%
- Mazda Mx-5 73.6%
Closest pass rates among 2003 cars with at least 2,000 tests, so a small sample cannot flatter itself into the list. See the full rankings: best and worst MOT pass rates.
The full DVSA record for the 2003 Chrysler Neon 10 failure items · 6 advisories · 10 inspection categories · mileage brackets · all of it in the page, none of it above the fold
Every inspection category
Shares of the 278 individual items recorded on this vehicle, and the same share across all cars nationally. A single test can record several items, so a row is not a percentage of tests.
| Category | Items | This car | Nationally | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Suspension | 70 | 24.60% | 20.98% | +3.62 |
| Brakes | 49 | 17.20% | 20.89% | −3.69 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 34 | 11.90% | 12.21% | −0.31 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 28 | 9.80% | 5.57% | +4.23 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 26 | 9.10% | 5.52% | +3.58 |
| Tyres | 25 | 8.80% | 19.76% | −10.96 |
| Steering | 14 | 4.90% | 2.57% | +2.33 |
| Visibility | 13 | 4.60% | 4.97% | −0.37 |
| Identification of the vehicle | 12 | 4.20% | 1.76% | +2.44 |
| Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | 7 | 2.50% | 0.82% | +1.68 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Headlamp lens slightly defective Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 8.6% | £5–25 |
| Component mounting prescribed areas prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength Suspension | Major | 6.5% | £180–450 |
| Track rod end ball joint has excessive play Steering | Major | 5.4% | £18–45 |
| Malfunction indicator lamp inoperative or indicates a malfunction Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 4.3% | £3–12 |
| Pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn Suspension | Major | 4.3% | £40–150 |
| Mirrors slightly loose Visibility | Minor | 3.2% | £3–15 |
| Prescribed areas prescribed area strength or continuity significantly reduced Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | Major | 3.2% | £40–120 |
| Wipers blade defective Visibility | Minor | 3.2% | £8–22 |
| Wipers does not clear the windscreen effectively Visibility | Rectified | 3.2% | £8–22 |
| Anti-lock braking system warning lamp indicates an ABS fault Brakes | Major | 2.1% | £3–15 |
Severity is as recorded: Major and Dangerous fail the test outright; Minor and Advisory do not. Costs are estimates from typical UK parts prices — see how they are built.
What testers noted without failing the car
Advisories are the early warnings — the same parts a year or two before they fail. Reading them is how you tell a car that has been maintained from one that has been patched.
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn Suspension | Advisory | 32.3% | £40–150 |
| Brake discs in such a condition that it is seriously weakened Brakes | Advisory | 17.2% | £45–110 |
| Engine oil leaks leaking excessively from engine Noise, emissions and leaks | Advisory | 16.1% | £200–700 |
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Advisory | 15.1% | £45–95 |
| Registration plates inscription illegible Identification of the vehicle | Advisory | 12.9% | £20–80 |
| Has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Tyres | Advisory | 8.6% | £45–95 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 8 | 62.5% | 27,275 mi |
| 30-60k | 35 | 74.3% | 51,523 mi |
| 60-90k | 41 | 70.7% | 74,585 mi |
| 90-120k | 6 | 100.0% | 97,864 mi |
| 120k+ | 3 | 66.7% | 126,102 mi |
Source: 93 recorded tests on this vehicle-year. Every row above is recomputed from the same DVSA extract as the rest of the page — see the methodology.
2003 Neon MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2003 Chrysler Neon?
73.1% of the 93 2003 Chrysler Neon tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 72.6% for cars first used in 2003. First-attempt pass rate: 66.2%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2003 Chrysler Neon?
The three most recorded items are headlamp lens slightly defective (8.60%), component mounting prescribed areas prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength (6.45%), track rod end ball joint has excessive play (5.38%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2003 Chrysler Neon MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 62.5% of the time, falling to 66.7% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2003 Chrysler Neon in this dataset had covered 64,607 mi.