Pass rate
70.6%
Below average — 1.6 pts behind the 72.2% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 6,864 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £45–£130
2004 Ford Ranger MOT pass rate
- 2004
- typical 127,197 mi
Check your postcode
Most common fault
Body & chassis
20.4% of faults · 5.6% nationally
Which year to buy
- Best 2023 90.2% pass
- Avoid 2006 69.8% pass
Across the 24 years on record, a spread of 20.4 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 62.0%
- Typical mileage
- 127k mi
The 2004 Ford Ranger MOT pass rate is 70.6% of its MOT tests — 1.6 points behind what its age and mileage predict. Body & chassis is the biggest single reason it fails, at 20.4% of what testers record.
Expert verdict
Body & chassis: 3.7× the national share
Body & chassis accounts for 20.4% of everything recorded on the 2004 Ford Ranger, against 5.6% nationally — 14.8 points above. Look underneath for corrosion near the jacking points and suspension mounts; surface rust is normal, flaking metal is not.
- When it fails, it costs. Only 35% 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 Ranger? Get an email when these numbers change .
How does the 2004 Ford Ranger compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 72.2%, so this figure is 1.6 points behind what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 62.0%. The median 2004 Ford Ranger in this dataset had covered 127,197 mi.
Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 70.8% of the time, April–September 70.4%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Joints constant velocity boot severely deteriorated", noted on 8.61% of tests.
- 6,864 recorded tests behind this page.
- 70.6% overall pass rate, 62.0% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the Ford Ranger, the average is 80.9% — best year 2023 (90.2%), worst 2006 (69.8%).
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
- 6,864
- Typical mileage (median)
- 127,197 mi
- Make and model
- Ford Ranger
- Updated
- 2026-11-07
Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data (2023–2025), OGL v3.0.
Top part to budget for
Body Panel Repair
Typically a garage job — get quotes before committing.
Does mileage affect the Ranger MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 61% so small gaps stay visible.
Where the Ford Ranger is most common
Across all Ranger model years on record (2000–2023): 186,264 Ford Ranger cars tested in a recordable postcode area, across 394,863 tests. Peterborough (PE) has the most, with 4,029 cars tested there. Cars are counted by the postcode area of the MOT station, so this is where they were tested, not necessarily where their owners live.
| # | Postcode area | Cars | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Peterborough (PE) | 4,029 | 80.2% |
| 2 | Sheffield (S) | 3,968 | 83.6% |
| 3 | Leicester (LE) | 3,822 | 82.7% |
| 4 | Birmingham (B) | 3,809 | 84.8% |
| 5 | Chelmsford (CM) | 3,522 | 84.4% |
| 6 | Ipswich (IP) | 3,407 | 79.9% |
| 7 | Ashford (TN) | 3,241 | 80.7% |
| 8 | Norwich (NR) | 3,229 | 79.5% |
| 9 | Exeter (EX) | 3,182 | 75.8% |
| 10 | Nottingham (NG) | 3,156 | 81.0% |
| 11 | Reading (RG) | 3,105 | 84.3% |
| 12 | Guildford (GU) | 2,996 | 80.5% |
| 13 | Gloucester (GL) | 2,874 | 77.6% |
| 14 | Doncaster (DN) | 2,760 | 82.2% |
| 15 | Swansea (SA) | 2,754 | 79.3% |
| 16 | Derby (DE) | 2,618 | 83.5% |
| 17 | Northampton (NN) | 2,538 | 80.9% |
| 18 | Shrewsbury (SY) | 2,536 | 80.9% |
| 19 | Cardiff (CF) | 2,516 | 80.3% |
| 20 | Newcastle upon Tyne (NE) | 2,491 | 82.0% |
The twenty areas with the most Ford Ranger cars in the record, sorted by car count — sort the columns for a different question. Cars tested at a station whose postcode area could not be resolved are counted in the model's total but in no area, so the shares add up to slightly under 100% even across every area, and an area's cars are a subset of the model's. Pass rate is blank below 30 tests in an area, where a percentage is noise rather than a finding. How this model's pass rate varies by postcode →
Regional pass rates for the Ranger
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South East | 1,662 | 70.9% |
| South West | 1,472 | 65.4% |
| East of England | 1,362 | 74.5% |
| West Midlands | 604 | 71.0% |
| East Midlands | 448 | 70.5% |
| North West | 367 | 74.1% |
| Yorkshire | 361 | 72.9% |
| Wales | 333 | 70.0% |
| Scotland | 115 | 67.8% |
| London | 71 | 74.6% |
| North East | 69 | 69.6% |
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 2004 Ranger
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 2004 Ranger
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 windscreen 7.2% of tests
“windscreen damaged”
Check the driver’s side of the screen within the swept area for chips and cracks; anything larger than 10mm in the driver’s central view is a fail. Most chips can be resin-repaired for far less than a new screen.
-
Check the lights 5.5% 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 suspension joints 3.9% 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.
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 2004 Ranger through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £45–£130 — and 35% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £45–£130
- Cheapest common item: rear fog lamp not working
- £3–£15
- Dearest common item: joints constant velocity boot severely…
- £80–£250
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 50%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 35%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 6,864 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 Ranger, side by side
24 model years on record, from 2000 to 2023. Across them the pass rate runs from 69.8% to 90.2% — a spread of 20.4 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2000 72.9% ball joint dust cover severely…
- 2001 72.8% ball joint dust cover severely…
- 2002 71.8% joints constant velocity boot…
- 2003 71.9% joints constant velocity boot…
- 2004 70.6%joints constant velocity boot…
- 2005 71.8% joints constant velocity boot…
- 2006 69.8% joints constant velocity boot…
- 2007 72.0% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2008 73.1% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2009 72.7% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2010 72.4% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2011 74.6% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2012 74.3% ball joint dust cover severely…
- 2013 77.4% ball joint dust cover severely…
- 2014 77.6% ball joint dust cover severely…
- 2015 78.2% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2016 81.3% coil spring fractured or broken
- 2017 82.0% coil spring fractured or broken
- 2018 83.0% coil spring fractured or broken
- 2019 84.6% coil spring fractured or broken
- 2020 85.6% coil spring fractured or broken
- 2021 86.9% coil spring fractured or broken
- 2022 87.7% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2023 90.2% headlamp aim too high
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 2004 Ford Ranger 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 2004 cars with a similar record
- MINI Mini 70.6%
- Volkswagen Touran 70.6%
- Toyota Hilux 70.6%
- Vauxhall Zafira 70.5%
- Volvo S40 70.5%
- Audi A3 70.7%
Closest pass rates among 2004 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 2004 Ford Ranger 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 23,180 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Body, chassis, structure | 4,793 | 20.40% | 5.57% | +14.83 |
| Brakes | 4,721 | 20.10% | 20.89% | −0.79 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 3,905 | 16.60% | 12.21% | +4.39 |
| Suspension | 3,631 | 15.40% | 20.98% | −5.58 |
| Tyres | 1,644 | 7.00% | 19.76% | −12.76 |
| Visibility | 1,192 | 5.10% | 4.97% | +0.13 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 1,058 | 4.50% | 5.52% | −1.02 |
| Steering | 1,028 | 4.40% | 2.57% | +1.83 |
| Identification of the vehicle | 623 | 2.60% | 1.76% | +0.84 |
| Non-component advisories | 585 | 2.50% | 4.18% | −1.68 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Joints constant velocity boot severely deteriorated Body, chassis, structure | Minor | 8.6% | £80–250 |
| Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view Visibility | Minor | 7.2% | £80–200 |
| Joints constant velocity boot split or insecure, no longer prevents the ingress of dirt Body, chassis, structure | Major | 6.4% | £80–250 |
| Rear fog lamp not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 5.5% | £3–15 |
| Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 4.8% | £5–20 |
| Position lamp not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 4.2% | £5–25 |
| Ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated Suspension | Minor | 3.9% | £18–45 |
| Rigid brake pipes excessively corroded Brakes | Major | 3.6% | £80–180 |
| Anti-lock braking system warning lamp indicates an ABS fault Brakes | Major | 3.4% | £3–15 |
| Headlamp aim too low Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 3.4% | £30–80 |
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 | 27.6% | £80–180 |
| Chassis condition corroded to the extent that the rigidity of the assembly is significantly reduced Body, chassis, structure | Advisory | 12.0% | £180–450 |
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Advisory | 11.4% | £45–95 |
| Engine oil leaks leaking excessively from engine Noise, emissions and leaks | Advisory | 9.2% | £200–700 |
| Registration plates inscription illegible Identification of the vehicle | Advisory | 7.8% | £20–80 |
| Has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Tyres | Advisory | 7.5% | £45–95 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 42 | 85.7% | 20,532 mi |
| 30-60k | 301 | 75.4% | 49,072 mi |
| 60-90k | 909 | 72.4% | 76,941 mi |
| 90-120k | 1,778 | 70.5% | 106,028 mi |
| 120k+ | 3,824 | 69.7% | 158,544 mi |
Source: 6,864 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.
2004 Ranger MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2004 Ford Ranger?
70.6% of the 6,864 2004 Ford Ranger tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 72.2% for cars first used in 2004. First-attempt pass rate: 62.0%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2004 Ford Ranger?
The three most recorded items are joints constant velocity boot severely deteriorated (8.61%), windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view (7.18%), joints constant velocity boot split or insecure, no longer prevents the ingress of dirt (6.38%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2004 Ford Ranger MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 85.7% of the time, falling to 69.7% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2004 Ford Ranger in this dataset had covered 127,197 mi.
Does the season affect the 2004 Ford Ranger MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 70.8% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 70.4%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.