Pass rate
85.3%
Above average — 12.7 pts ahead of the 72.6% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 197 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £27–£73
2003 Ford F150 MOT pass rate
- 2003
- typical 86,895 mi
Most common fault
Suspension
28.5% of faults · 21.0% nationally
mostly worn arm bushes, split ball-joint boots and broken coil springs.
Which year to buy
- Best 2019 94.1% pass
- Avoid 2002 79.9% pass
Across the 19 years on record, a spread of 14.2 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 83.6%
- Typical mileage
- 87k mi
The 2003 Ford F150 MOT pass rate is 85.3% of its MOT tests — 12.7 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. Suspension is the biggest single reason it fails, at 28.5% of what testers record.
Check your postcode
MOT pass rates are national — type your postcode to see how Ford F150 does in your corner of the country.
Expert verdict
Suspension: 1.4× the national share
Suspension accounts for 28.5% of everything recorded on the 2003 Ford F150, against 21.0% nationally — 7.5 points above. Ask for the front and rear suspension to be checked on a ramp before you buy — worn bushes and broken springs are cheap to look at and expensive to discover at test time.
- Beats its own age and mileage. Once you allow for how old and how far these cars have been driven, the expected pass rate is 72.6% and this one manages 85.3% — 12.7 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict.
- When it fails, it costs. Only 23% of this model’s typical repairs come in under £30 in parts — the failures here tend to be the kind that need a garage rather than a bulb.
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 Ford F150? Get an email when these numbers change .
How does the 2003 Ford F150 compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 72.6%, so this figure is 12.7 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 83.6%. The median 2003 Ford F150 in this dataset had covered 86,895 mi.
The most common fuel recorded here is Petrol — 83% of tests, with a 86.6% pass rate. Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 82.5% of the time, April–September 89.2%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated", noted on 8.63% of tests.
- 197 recorded tests behind this page.
- 85.3% overall pass rate, 83.6% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the Ford F150, the average is 85.4% — best year 2019 (94.1%), worst 2002 (79.9%).
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
- 197
- Typical mileage (median)
- 86,895 mi
- Make and model
- Ford F150
- Updated
- 2026-11-05
Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data (2023–2025), OGL v3.0.
Top part to budget for
Ball Joint
Usually a DIY or independent-garage job.
Does mileage affect the F150 MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 66% so small gaps stay visible.
Fuel type and reliability
Pass rate by fuel type. Petrol is the most common here (83% of tests).
Regional pass rates for the F150
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South East | 66 | 92.4% |
| East of England | 30 | 86.7% |
| North West | 21 | 71.4% |
| South West | 19 | 78.9% |
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 F150
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 F150
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 suspension joints 8.6% of tests
“ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated”
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.
-
Check the lights 4.1% of tests
“rear fog lamp not working”
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 the battery 2.0% of tests
“battery(ies) insecure”
Check the battery is secure and its terminals are clean and tight — a loose battery is a fail on its own, and a weak one shows up as slow cranking on a cold morning.
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 F150 through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £27–£73 — and 23% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £27–£73
- Cheapest common item: rear fog lamp not working
- £3–£15
- Dearest common item: catalyst emissions carbon monoxide content…
- £60–£250
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 70%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 23%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 197 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 F150, side by side
19 model years on record, from 2000 to 2019. Across them the pass rate runs from 79.9% to 94.1% — a spread of 14.2 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2000 85.6% anti-lock braking system warning…
- 2001 83.3% ball joint dust cover severely…
- 2002 79.9% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2003 85.3%ball joint dust cover severely…
- 2004 83.7% battery(ies) insecure but not…
- 2005 84.8% chassis condition corroded to the…
- 2006 86.1% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2007 80.3% battery(ies) insecure but not…
- 2008 82.7% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2010 81.5% battery(ies) insecure but not…
- 2011 88.9% rear fog lamp not working
- 2012 84.9% ball joint dust cover severely…
- 2013 84.7% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2014 84.2% headlamp aim too high
- 2015 91.5% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2016 90.8% joints constant velocity boot…
- 2017 89.7% wipers does not clear the…
- 2018 90.5% rear fog lamp missing
- 2019 94.1% position lamp not working
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 Ford F150 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
- Mercedes-Benz Sl 85.2%
- Porsche 911 85.5%
- Honda S2000 83.5%
- BMW M3 87.7%
- Mercedes-Benz S-Class 81.7%
- Porsche Boxster 80.4%
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 Ford F150 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 279 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 | 80 | 28.50% | 20.98% | +7.52 |
| Brakes | 69 | 24.60% | 20.89% | +3.71 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 37 | 13.20% | 12.21% | +0.99 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 22 | 7.80% | 5.57% | +2.23 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 20 | 7.10% | 5.52% | +1.58 |
| Tyres | 19 | 6.80% | 19.76% | −12.96 |
| Steering | 15 | 5.30% | 2.57% | +2.73 |
| Visibility | 7 | 2.50% | 4.97% | −2.47 |
| Identification of the vehicle | 6 | 2.10% | 1.76% | +0.34 |
| Road Wheels | 4 | 1.40% | 0.75% | +0.65 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated Suspension | Minor | 8.6% | £18–45 |
| Rear fog lamp not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 4.1% | £3–15 |
| Battery(ies) insecure but not likely to fall from carrier Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 2.0% | £60–140 |
| Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view Visibility | Minor | 2.0% | £80–200 |
| Ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt Suspension | Major | 1.5% | £18–45 |
| Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 1.5% | £5–20 |
| Ball joint excessively worn Suspension | Major | 1.0% | £18–45 |
| Brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick Brakes | Major | 1.0% | £18–45 |
| Brake performance not tested unable to be tested Brakes | Major | 1.0% | £60–150 |
| Catalyst emissions carbon monoxide content after 2nd fast idle exceeds default limits Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 1.0% | £60–250 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rigid brake pipes excessively corroded Brakes | Advisory | 8.1% | £80–180 |
| Ball joint excessively worn Suspension | Advisory | 7.1% | £18–45 |
| Wheel bearings has excessive play Suspension | Advisory | 7.1% | £20–55 |
| Engine oil leaks leaking excessively from engine Noise, emissions and leaks | Advisory | 5.1% | £200–700 |
| Pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn Suspension | Advisory | 4.6% | £40–150 |
| Service brake performance excessively binding Brakes | Advisory | 4.6% | £60–150 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 3 | 100.0% | 22,415 mi |
| 30-60k | 36 | 97.2% | 46,554 mi |
| 60-90k | 66 | 92.4% | 77,727 mi |
| 90-120k | 50 | 74.0% | 103,584 mi |
| 120k+ | 38 | 76.3% | 163,472 mi |
Source: 197 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 F150 MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2003 Ford F150?
85.3% of the 197 2003 Ford F150 tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 72.6% for cars first used in 2003. First-attempt pass rate: 83.6%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2003 Ford F150?
The three most recorded items are ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated (8.63%), rear fog lamp not working (4.06%), battery(ies) insecure but not likely to fall from carrier (2.03%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2003 Ford F150 MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 100.0% of the time, falling to 76.3% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2003 Ford F150 in this dataset had covered 86,895 mi.
Which fuel type is most reliable for a 2003 Ford F150?
Petrol: 86.6% pass rate across 164 tests. LPG: 76.7% pass rate across 30 tests. Shares are of the tests on this vehicle that recorded each fuel type.
Does the season affect the 2003 Ford F150 MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 82.5% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 89.2%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.