Pass rate
72.4%
Below average — 0.2 pts behind the 72.6% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 59,871 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £26–£66
2003 Ford Fiesta MOT pass rate
- 2003
- 2 trims combined
- typical 93,172 mi
Most common fault
Brakes
22.2% of faults · 20.9% nationally
mostly worn pads and discs, corroded pipes and a handbrake that will not hold.
Part only £25–£55 for Rigid brake pipes excessively corroded. What fitting it takes →
8.1 pts down across model years — 8.7% in 2000, 0.6% in 2014.
Which year to buy
- Best 2023 94.6% pass
- Avoid 2000 68.3% pass
Across the 24 years on record, a spread of 26.3 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 64.4%
- Typical mileage
- 93k mi
The 2003 Ford Fiesta MOT pass rate is 72.4% of its MOT tests — about what its age and mileage predict. Brakes is the biggest single reason it fails, at 22.2% of what testers record.
Check your postcode
MOT pass rates are national — type your postcode to see how Ford Fiesta does in your corner of the country.
Expert verdict
Fewer problems with tyres
Tyres are 12.0% of this car’s recorded faults, against 19.8% nationally — the mirror image of the usual story on a car of this age.
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 Fiesta? Get an email when these numbers change .
Every Ford Fiesta first registered in 2003 is combined here — 2 trim and body variants in total — so the sample is as large as the DVSA data allows.
How does the 2003 Ford Fiesta compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 72.6%, so this figure is 0.2 points behind what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 64.4%. The median 2003 Ford Fiesta in this dataset had covered 93,172 mi.
The most common fuel recorded here is Petrol — 91% of tests, with a 72.5% pass rate. Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 72.1% of the time, April–September 72.9%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated", noted on 6.73% of tests.
- 59,871 recorded tests behind this page.
- 72.4% overall pass rate, 64.4% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the Ford Fiesta, the average is 78.4% — best year 2023 (94.6%), worst 2000 (68.3%).
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
- 59,871
- Typical mileage (median)
- 93,172 mi
- Make and model
- Ford Fiesta
- 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 Fiesta MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 60% so small gaps stay visible.
Fuel type and reliability
Pass rate by fuel type. Petrol is the most common here (91% of tests).
Regional pass rates for the Fiesta
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South East | 12,795 | 75.1% |
| South West | 9,373 | 66.7% |
| East of England | 8,668 | 74.6% |
| West Midlands | 6,145 | 74.2% |
| North West | 6,109 | 72.3% |
| East Midlands | 4,582 | 71.8% |
| Yorkshire | 4,410 | 70.1% |
| Wales | 2,704 | 68.2% |
| London | 2,444 | 82.9% |
| Scotland | 1,429 | 66.8% |
| North East | 1,212 | 71.6% |
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 Fiesta
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 Fiesta
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 6.7% 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 6.7% of tests
“registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources”
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 brake pipes 4.7% of tests
“rigid brake pipes excessively corroded”
Brake pipes run under the car, usually in front of the rear wheels. Flaking or crusty metal is what fails; a light dusting of surface rust does not. Worth asking a garage to look while it is on a ramp.
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 Fiesta through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £26–£66 — and 46% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £26–£66
- Cheapest common item: stop lamp not working
- £3–£12
- Dearest common item: windscreen damaged
- £80–£200
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 80%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 46%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 59,871 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 Fiesta, side by side
24 model years on record, from 2000 to 2023. Across them the pass rate runs from 68.3% to 94.6% — a spread of 26.3 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2000 68.3% joints constant velocity boot…
- 2001 69.0% component mounting prescribed…
- 2002 72.0% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2003 72.4%ball joint dust cover severely…
- 2004 71.9% ball joint dust cover severely…
- 2005 71.5% ball joint dust cover severely…
- 2006 71.2% headlamp lens slightly defective
- 2007 72.7% headlamp lens slightly defective
- 2008 72.3% ball joint dust cover severely…
- 2009 72.3% ball joint excessively worn
- 2010 73.2% ball joint excessively worn
- 2011 74.2% ball joint excessively worn
- 2012 74.7% ball joint excessively worn
- 2013 76.4% ball joint excessively worn
- 2014 78.5% ball joint excessively worn
- 2015 79.9% stop lamp not working
- 2016 80.6% coil spring fractured or broken
- 2017 84.9% stop lamp not working
- 2018 89.4% tread depth below requirements of…
- 2019 90.5% headlamp aim too low
- 2020 91.0% headlamp aim too low
- 2021 93.4% headlamp aim too low
- 2022 93.9% has a cut in excess of the…
- 2023 94.6% has a bulge, caused by separation…
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 Fiesta 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
- Audi Tt 72.4%
- Suzuki Grand Vitara 72.4%
- Renault Megane Scenic 72.4%
- Vauxhall Astra 72.5%
- Peugeot 106 72.5%
- Audi A3 72.3%
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 Fiesta 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 187,201 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brakes | 42,735 | 22.20% | 20.89% | +1.31 |
| Suspension | 40,473 | 21.10% | 20.98% | +0.12 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 23,394 | 12.20% | 12.21% | −0.01 |
| Tyres | 23,052 | 12.00% | 19.76% | −7.76 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 18,546 | 9.60% | 5.52% | +4.08 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 10,773 | 5.60% | 5.57% | +0.03 |
| Visibility | 8,537 | 4.40% | 4.97% | −0.57 |
| Identification of the vehicle | 7,174 | 3.70% | 1.76% | +1.94 |
| Non-component advisories | 6,771 | 3.50% | 4.18% | −0.68 |
| Steering | 5,746 | 3.00% | 2.57% | +0.43 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated Suspension | Minor | 6.7% | £18–45 |
| Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 6.7% | £5–20 |
| Rigid brake pipes excessively corroded Brakes | Major | 4.7% | £80–180 |
| Stop lamp not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 4.0% | £3–12 |
| Service brake imbalance across an axle Brakes | Major | 3.8% | £45–110 |
| Ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt Suspension | Major | 3.4% | £18–45 |
| Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view Visibility | Minor | 3.1% | £80–200 |
| Position lamp not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 3.0% | £5–25 |
| Wipers does not clear the windscreen effectively Visibility | Major | 2.6% | £8–22 |
| Malfunction indicator lamp inoperative or indicates a malfunction Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 2.5% | £3–12 |
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 | 31.2% | £80–180 |
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Advisory | 16.4% | £45–95 |
| Engine oil leaks leaking excessively from engine Noise, emissions and leaks | Advisory | 15.4% | £200–700 |
| Coil spring corroded so that its cross sectional area is reduced and seriously weakened Suspension | Advisory | 14.3% | £25–65 |
| Has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Tyres | Advisory | 14.2% | £45–95 |
| Registration plates inscription illegible Identification of the vehicle | Advisory | 11.2% | £20–80 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 1,151 | 86.3% | 22,956 mi |
| 30-60k | 8,694 | 80.2% | 48,208 mi |
| 60-90k | 17,686 | 74.0% | 75,904 mi |
| 90-120k | 17,880 | 69.8% | 104,269 mi |
| 120k+ | 13,882 | 68.2% | 144,870 mi |
Source: 59,871 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 Fiesta MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2003 Ford Fiesta?
72.4% of the 59,871 2003 Ford Fiesta tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 72.6% for cars first used in 2003. First-attempt pass rate: 64.4%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2003 Ford Fiesta?
The three most recorded items are ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated (6.73%), registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources (6.65%), rigid brake pipes excessively corroded (4.65%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2003 Ford Fiesta MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 86.3% of the time, falling to 68.2% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2003 Ford Fiesta in this dataset had covered 93,172 mi.
Which fuel type is most reliable for a 2003 Ford Fiesta?
Petrol: 72.5% pass rate across 54,551 tests. Diesel: 71.6% pass rate across 5,320 tests. Shares are of the tests on this vehicle that recorded each fuel type.
Does the season affect the 2003 Ford Fiesta MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 72.1% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 72.9%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.