Pass rate
71.6%
Below average — 1.0 pts behind the 72.6% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 469 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £59–£170
2003 Hyundai Accent MOT pass rate
- 2003
- typical 71,328 mi
Most common fault
Brakes
22.0% 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 →
Which year to buy
- Best 2008 74.7% pass
- Avoid 2001 66.7% pass
Across the 10 years on record, a spread of 8 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 63.5%
- Typical mileage
- 71k mi
The 2003 Hyundai Accent MOT pass rate is 71.6% of its MOT tests — 1.0 points behind what its age and mileage predict. Brakes is the biggest single reason it fails, at 22.0% of what testers record.
Check your postcode
MOT pass rates are national — type your postcode to see how Hyundai Accent does in your corner of the country.
Expert verdict
Body & chassis: 2.2× the national share
Body & chassis accounts for 12.1% of everything recorded on the 2003 Hyundai Accent, against 5.6% nationally — 6.5 points above. Brakes are still the single largest share at 22.0%, but at 20.9% nationally that one is ordinary. 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 30% 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 Hyundai Accent? Get an email when these numbers change .
How does the 2003 Hyundai Accent compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 72.6%, so this figure is 1.0 points behind what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 63.5%. The median 2003 Hyundai Accent in this dataset had covered 71,328 mi.
97% of the tests on this vehicle ran on Petrol, which passed 71.4% of the time. Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 70.5% of the time, April–September 73.1%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Joints constant velocity boot severely deteriorated", noted on 12.37% of tests.
- 469 recorded tests behind this page.
- 71.6% overall pass rate, 63.5% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the Hyundai Accent, the average is 71.5% — best year 2008 (74.7%), worst 2001 (66.7%).
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
- 469
- Typical mileage (median)
- 71,328 mi
- Make and model
- Hyundai Accent
- Updated
- 2026-11-05
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 Accent MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 56% so small gaps stay visible.
Fuel type and reliability
Pass rate by fuel type. Petrol is the most common here (97% of tests).
Regional pass rates for the Accent
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South East | 153 | 70.6% |
| South West | 71 | 67.6% |
| East of England | 51 | 74.5% |
| West Midlands | 49 | 73.5% |
| Wales | 35 | 62.9% |
| North West | 31 | 74.2% |
| East Midlands | 29 | 69.0% |
| London | 23 | 82.6% |
| Yorkshire | 20 | 75.0% |
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 Accent
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 Accent
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 6.8% 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 the windscreen 3.8% 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 brake pipes 3.6% 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 Accent through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £59–£170 — and 30% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £59–£170
- 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
- 40%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 30%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 469 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 Accent, side by side
10 model years on record, from 2000 to 2009. Across them the pass rate runs from 66.7% to 74.7% — a spread of 8 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2000 69.9% joints constant velocity boot…
- 2001 66.7% joints constant velocity boot…
- 2002 72.0% joints constant velocity boot…
- 2003 71.6%joints constant velocity boot…
- 2004 69.0% joints constant velocity boot…
- 2005 71.7% joints constant velocity boot…
- 2006 72.1% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2007 73.5% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2008 74.7% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2009 73.2% registration plate lamp(s)…
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 Hyundai Accent 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
- Nissan Micra 71.6%
- Suzuki Wagon-R+ 71.6%
- Renault Megane 71.6%
- Citroen Saxo 71.6%
- Volvo V70 71.5%
- Honda Civic 71.7%
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 Hyundai Accent 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 1,464 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 | 327 | 22.00% | 20.89% | +1.11 |
| Suspension | 290 | 19.60% | 20.98% | −1.38 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 195 | 13.10% | 12.21% | +0.89 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 179 | 12.10% | 5.57% | +6.53 |
| Tyres | 143 | 9.60% | 19.76% | −10.16 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 139 | 9.40% | 5.52% | +3.88 |
| Identification of the vehicle | 70 | 4.70% | 1.76% | +2.94 |
| Visibility | 52 | 3.50% | 4.97% | −1.47 |
| Steering | 38 | 2.60% | 2.57% | +0.03 |
| Non-component advisories | 31 | 2.10% | 4.18% | −2.08 |
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 | 12.4% | £80–250 |
| Joints constant velocity boot split or insecure, no longer prevents the ingress of dirt Body, chassis, structure | Major | 8.1% | £80–250 |
| Headlamp lens slightly defective Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 6.8% | £5–25 |
| Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 5.5% | £5–20 |
| Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view Visibility | Minor | 3.8% | £80–200 |
| Rigid brake pipes excessively corroded Brakes | Major | 3.6% | £80–180 |
| Headlamp aim projected beam image is obviously incorrect Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 3.4% | £30–80 |
| Position lamp not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 3.4% | £5–25 |
| Component mounting prescribed areas prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength Suspension | Major | 3.2% | £180–450 |
| Battery(ies) insecure but not likely to fall from carrier Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 2.4% | £60–140 |
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 | 26.2% | £80–180 |
| Engine oil leaks leaking excessively from engine Noise, emissions and leaks | Advisory | 20.5% | £200–700 |
| Has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Tyres | Advisory | 13.2% | £45–95 |
| Registration plates inscription illegible Identification of the vehicle | Advisory | 13.0% | £20–80 |
| Brake discs in such a condition that it is seriously weakened Brakes | Advisory | 11.3% | £45–110 |
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Advisory | 11.1% | £45–95 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 30 | 83.3% | 22,559 mi |
| 30-60k | 119 | 78.2% | 48,254 mi |
| 60-90k | 187 | 69.5% | 73,340 mi |
| 90-120k | 107 | 64.5% | 100,918 mi |
| 120k+ | 26 | 73.1% | 151,657 mi |
Source: 469 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 Accent MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2003 Hyundai Accent?
71.6% of the 469 2003 Hyundai Accent tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 72.6% for cars first used in 2003. First-attempt pass rate: 63.5%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2003 Hyundai Accent?
The three most recorded items are joints constant velocity boot severely deteriorated (12.37%), joints constant velocity boot split or insecure, no longer prevents the ingress of dirt (8.10%), headlamp lens slightly defective (6.82%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2003 Hyundai Accent MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 83.3% of the time, falling to 73.1% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2003 Hyundai Accent in this dataset had covered 71,328 mi.
Which fuel type is most reliable for a 2003 Hyundai Accent?
Petrol: 71.4% pass rate across 454 tests. Diesel: 80.0% pass rate across 15 tests. Shares are of the tests on this vehicle that recorded each fuel type.
Does the season affect the 2003 Hyundai Accent MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 70.5% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 73.1%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.