Pass rate
69.4%
Below average — 3.2 pts behind the 72.6% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 8,546 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £82–£206
2003 Ford Transit MOT pass rate
- 2003
- Van
- typical 125,454 mi
Check your postcode
Most common fault
Suspension
22.3% of faults · 21.0% nationally
mostly worn arm bushes, split ball-joint boots and broken coil springs.
Which year to buy
- Best 2024 96.9% pass
- Avoid 2010 68.6% pass
Across the 25 years on record, a spread of 28.3 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 61.8%
- Typical mileage
- 125k mi
The 2003 Ford Transit MOT pass rate is 69.4% of its MOT tests — 3.2 points behind what its age and mileage predict. Suspension is the biggest single reason it fails, at 22.3% of what testers record.
Expert verdict
Body & chassis: 2.7× the national share
Body & chassis accounts for 14.9% of everything recorded on the 2003 Ford Transit, against 5.6% nationally — 9.3 points above. Suspension is still the single largest share at 22.3%, but at 21.0% nationally that one is ordinary. Look underneath for corrosion near the jacking points and suspension mounts; surface rust is normal, flaking metal is not.
- Falls short of its own age and mileage. Like-for-like, vans this age and mileage expect about 72.6%; this one manages 69.4% — 3.2 points below. Age is a fair excuse; this is not age.
- When it fails, it costs. Only 29% 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 Transit? Get an email when these numbers change .
How does the 2003 Ford Transit compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 72.6%, so this figure is 3.2 points behind what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 61.8%. The median 2003 Ford Transit in this dataset had covered 125,454 mi.
97% of the tests on this vehicle ran on Diesel, which passed 69.3% of the time. Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 69.2% of the time, April–September 69.5%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view", noted on 10.88% of tests.
- 8,546 recorded tests behind this page.
- 69.4% overall pass rate, 61.8% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the Ford Transit, the average is 75.6% — best year 2024 (96.9%), worst 2010 (68.6%).
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
- 8,546
- Typical mileage (median)
- 125,454 mi
- Make and model
- Ford Transit
- Updated
- 2026-11-07
Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data (2023–2025), OGL v3.0.
Top part to budget for
Windscreen
Typically a garage job — get quotes before committing.
Does mileage affect the Transit MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 59% so small gaps stay visible.
Fuel type and reliability
Pass rate by fuel type. Diesel is the most common here (97% of tests).
Where the Ford Transit is most common
Across all Transit model years on record (2000–2024): 437,433 Ford Transit cars tested in a recordable postcode area, across 1,107,481 tests. Birmingham (B) has the most, with 11,899 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 | Birmingham (B) | 11,899 | 80.7% |
| 2 | Sheffield (S) | 10,336 | 80.2% |
| 3 | Nottingham (NG) | 8,752 | 74.1% |
| 4 | Bristol (BS) | 8,428 | 71.9% |
| 5 | Cardiff (CF) | 8,318 | 72.7% |
| 6 | Portsmouth (PO) | 7,553 | 71.9% |
| 7 | Peterborough (PE) | 7,498 | 75.2% |
| 8 | Newcastle upon Tyne (NE) | 7,475 | 75.5% |
| 9 | Leicester (LE) | 7,107 | 77.4% |
| 10 | Glasgow (G) | 7,100 | 76.0% |
| 11 | Swansea (SA) | 6,733 | 73.9% |
| 12 | Reading (RG) | 6,640 | 80.6% |
| 13 | Manchester (M) | 6,510 | 78.2% |
| 14 | Southampton (SO) | 6,164 | 74.3% |
| 15 | Liverpool (L) | 6,020 | 78.6% |
| 16 | Ashford (TN) | 6,013 | 75.7% |
| 17 | Brighton (BN) | 5,769 | 68.7% |
| 18 | Derby (DE) | 5,642 | 77.4% |
| 19 | Doncaster (DN) | 5,589 | 75.6% |
| 20 | Exeter (EX) | 5,527 | 70.7% |
The twenty areas with the most Ford Transit 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 Transit
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South East | 1,694 | 71.0% |
| South West | 1,465 | 62.1% |
| North West | 974 | 70.0% |
| West Midlands | 957 | 73.0% |
| East of England | 862 | 69.5% |
| Yorkshire | 687 | 72.6% |
| East Midlands | 621 | 68.6% |
| Scotland | 432 | 68.5% |
| Wales | 366 | 63.7% |
| North East | 259 | 70.7% |
| London | 229 | 86.5% |
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 Transit
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 Transit
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 10.9% 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 corrosion 10.2% 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 lights 9.3% 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.
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 Transit through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £82–£206 — and 29% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £82–£206
- Cheapest common item: registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the…
- £5–£20
- Dearest common item: component mounting prescribed areas…
- £180–£450
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 50%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 29%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 8,546 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 Transit, side by side
25 model years on record, from 2000 to 2024. Across them the pass rate runs from 68.6% to 96.9% — a spread of 28.3 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2000 74.8% component mounting prescribed…
- 2001 72.0% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2002 71.6% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2003 69.4%windscreen damaged but not…
- 2004 70.3% component mounting prescribed…
- 2005 70.2% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2006 71.1% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2007 70.5% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2008 69.4% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2009 69.1% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2010 68.6% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2011 69.4% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2012 70.6% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2013 72.9% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2014 76.2% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2015 77.3% joints constant velocity boot…
- 2016 79.3% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2017 80.7% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2018 83.2% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2019 84.4% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2020 86.2% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2021 87.6% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2022 90.9% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2023 93.1% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2024 96.9% 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 2003 Ford Transit 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 vans with a similar record
- Peugeot Expert 69.5%
- Volkswagen Caddy 69.1%
- Renault Master 68.9%
- Fiat Scudo 68.9%
- Citroen Berlingo 70.2%
- Peugeot Partner 68.6%
Closest pass rates among 2003 vans with at least 1,000 tests, so a small sample cannot flatter itself into the list. Full rankings: best vans and worst vans for MOT pass rates.
The full DVSA record for the 2003 Ford Transit 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 30,496 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 | 6,931 | 22.30% | 20.98% | +1.32 |
| Brakes | 6,228 | 20.00% | 20.89% | −0.89 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 4,634 | 14.90% | 5.57% | +9.33 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 3,704 | 11.90% | 12.21% | −0.31 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 2,181 | 7.00% | 5.52% | +1.48 |
| Visibility | 2,136 | 6.90% | 4.97% | +1.93 |
| Tyres | 2,076 | 6.70% | 19.76% | −13.06 |
| Steering | 1,229 | 3.90% | 2.57% | +1.33 |
| Non-component advisories | 741 | 2.40% | 4.18% | −1.78 |
| Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | 636 | 2.00% | 0.82% | +1.18 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view Visibility | Minor | 10.9% | £80–200 |
| Component mounting prescribed areas prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength Suspension | Major | 10.2% | £180–450 |
| Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 9.3% | £5–20 |
| Ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated Suspension | Minor | 4.9% | £18–45 |
| Integral vehicle structure condition corroded to the extent that the rigidity of the assembly is significantly reduced Body, chassis, structure | Major | 3.8% | £180–450 |
| Service brake imbalance across an axle Brakes | Major | 3.7% | £45–110 |
| Wipers does not clear the windscreen effectively Visibility | Major | 3.5% | £8–22 |
| Rigid brake pipes excessively corroded Brakes | Major | 3.3% | £80–180 |
| Chassis condition or chassis has excessive corrosion, seriously affecting its strength within 30cm of a body mounting Body, chassis, structure | Major | 3.3% | £180–450 |
| Position lamp not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 3.3% | £5–25 |
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 | 26.8% | £80–180 |
| Engine oil leaks leaking excessively from engine Noise, emissions and leaks | Advisory | 19.6% | £200–700 |
| Pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn Suspension | Advisory | 15.7% | £40–150 |
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Advisory | 10.3% | £45–95 |
| Component mounting prescribed areas prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength Suspension | Advisory | 9.5% | £180–450 |
| Brake discs in such a condition that it is seriously weakened Brakes | Advisory | 9.5% | £45–110 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 136 | 83.8% | 23,152 mi |
| 30-60k | 793 | 77.9% | 47,628 mi |
| 60-90k | 1,286 | 72.6% | 75,753 mi |
| 90-120k | 1,576 | 67.1% | 104,901 mi |
| 120k+ | 4,496 | 67.8% | 167,915 mi |
Source: 8,546 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 Transit MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2003 Ford Transit?
69.4% of the 8,546 2003 Ford Transit tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 72.6% for cars first used in 2003. First-attempt pass rate: 61.8%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2003 Ford Transit?
The three most recorded items are windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view (10.88%), component mounting prescribed areas prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength (10.24%), registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources (9.33%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2003 Ford Transit MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 83.8% of the time, falling to 67.8% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2003 Ford Transit in this dataset had covered 125,454 mi.
Which fuel type is most reliable for a 2003 Ford Transit?
Diesel: 69.3% pass rate across 8,259 tests. Petrol: 74.0% pass rate across 181 tests. LPG: 65.7% pass rate across 105 tests. Shares are of the tests on this vehicle that recorded each fuel type.
Does the season affect the 2003 Ford Transit MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 69.2% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 69.5%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.