Pass rate
68.3%
Below average — 4.3 pts behind the 72.6% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 1,603 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £55–£142
2003 Jeep Cherokee MOT pass rate
- 2003
- 8 trims combined
- typical 114,293 mi
Check your postcode
Most common fault
Suspension
23.2% of faults · 21.0% nationally
mostly worn arm bushes, split ball-joint boots and broken coil springs.
Which year to buy
- Best 2019 90.8% pass
- Avoid 2003 68.3% pass · this year
Across the 17 years on record, a spread of 22.5 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 60.0%
- Typical mileage
- 114k mi
The 2003 Jeep Cherokee MOT pass rate is 68.3% of its MOT tests — 4.3 points behind what its age and mileage predict. Suspension is the biggest single reason it fails, at 23.2% of what testers record.
Expert verdict
Fewer problems with tyres
Tyres are 7.8% of this car’s recorded faults, against 19.8% nationally — the mirror image of the usual story on a car of this age.
- Falls short of its own age and mileage. Like-for-like, cars this age and mileage expect about 72.6%; this one manages 68.3% — 4.3 points below. Age is a fair excuse; this is not age.
- When it fails, it costs. Only 15% 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 Jeep Cherokee? Get an email when these numbers change .
Every Jeep Cherokee first registered in 2003 is combined here — 8 trim and body variants in total — so the sample is as large as the DVSA data allows.
How does the 2003 Jeep Cherokee compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 72.6%, so this figure is 4.3 points behind what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 60.0%. The median 2003 Jeep Cherokee in this dataset had covered 114,293 mi.
68% of the tests on this vehicle ran on Diesel, which passed 67.9% of the time. Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 69.0% of the time, April–September 67.4%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources", noted on 7.05% of tests.
- 1,603 recorded tests behind this page.
- 68.3% overall pass rate, 60.0% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the Jeep Cherokee, the average is 78.0% — best year 2019 (90.8%), worst 2003 (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
- 1,603
- Typical mileage (median)
- 114,293 mi
- Make and model
- Jeep Cherokee
- Updated
- 2026-11-07
Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data (2023–2025), OGL v3.0.
Top part to budget for
Number Plate Lamp
Usually a DIY or independent-garage job.
Does mileage affect the Cherokee 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. Diesel is the most common here (68% of tests).
Where the Jeep Cherokee is most common
Across all Cherokee model years on record (2000–2019): 13,160 Jeep Cherokee cars tested in a recordable postcode area, across 30,407 tests. Peterborough (PE) has the most, with 367 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) | 367 | 79.2% |
| 2 | Sheffield (S) | 327 | 83.2% |
| 3 | Birmingham (B) | 310 | 81.1% |
| 4 | Nottingham (NG) | 243 | 78.4% |
| 5 | Reading (RG) | 238 | 79.0% |
| 6 | Derby (DE) | 229 | 81.4% |
| 7 | Ipswich (IP) | 228 | 76.1% |
| 8 | Northampton (NN) | 223 | 79.7% |
| 9 | Portsmouth (PO) | 210 | 76.2% |
| 10 | Norwich (NR) | 208 | 78.1% |
| 11 | Maidstone (ME) | 203 | 79.6% |
| 12 | Ashford (TN) | 201 | 75.2% |
| 13 | Coventry (CV) | 196 | 82.1% |
| 14 | Leicester (LE) | 195 | 79.5% |
| 15 | Guildford (GU) | 193 | 76.8% |
| 16 | Swansea (SA) | 191 | 76.5% |
| 17 | Doncaster (DN) | 191 | 77.6% |
| 18 | Cardiff (CF) | 183 | 74.3% |
| 19 | Southampton (SO) | 183 | 73.7% |
| 20 | Exeter (EX) | 176 | 70.2% |
The twenty areas with the most Jeep Cherokee 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 Cherokee
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South East | 448 | 73.2% |
| South West | 289 | 58.8% |
| East of England | 225 | 73.3% |
| West Midlands | 125 | 69.6% |
| North West | 111 | 64.0% |
| Yorkshire | 105 | 70.5% |
| Wales | 96 | 64.6% |
| East Midlands | 87 | 66.7% |
| London | 52 | 76.9% |
| Scotland | 52 | 59.6% |
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 Cherokee
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 Cherokee
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 7.0% 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 suspension joints 6.6% 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 corrosion 5.7% 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.
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 Cherokee through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £55–£142 — and 15% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £55–£142
- 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
- 60%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 15%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 1,603 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 Cherokee, side by side
17 model years on record, from 2000 to 2019. Across them the pass rate runs from 68.3% to 90.8% — a spread of 22.5 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2000 74.1% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2001 73.8% ball joint dust cover severely…
- 2002 73.2% ball joint dust cover severely…
- 2003 68.3%registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2004 70.6% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2005 71.4% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2006 71.8% ball joint dust cover severely…
- 2007 70.2% ball joint dust cover severely…
- 2008 73.5% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2009 71.8% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2010 71.9% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2014 78.4% pins and bushes pin or bush…
- 2015 81.0% pins and bushes pin or bush…
- 2016 84.0% pins and bushes pin or bush…
- 2017 85.0% headlamp not working on dipped…
- 2018 87.7% has a cut in excess of the…
- 2019 90.8% headlamp lens slightly defective
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 Jeep Cherokee 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
- Volkswagen Polo 68.3%
- Citroen C3 68.2%
- Vauxhall Corsa 68.4%
- Citroen Xsara 68.4%
- Ford Ka 68.0%
- Ford Galaxy 68.0%
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 Jeep Cherokee 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 5,281 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 | 1,254 | 23.20% | 20.98% | +2.22 |
| Brakes | 1,229 | 22.80% | 20.89% | +1.91 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 636 | 11.80% | 12.21% | −0.41 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 502 | 9.30% | 5.57% | +3.73 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 496 | 9.20% | 5.52% | +3.68 |
| Tyres | 419 | 7.80% | 19.76% | −11.96 |
| Steering | 283 | 5.20% | 2.57% | +2.63 |
| Visibility | 232 | 4.30% | 4.97% | −0.67 |
| Non-component advisories | 124 | 2.30% | 4.18% | −1.88 |
| Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | 106 | 2.00% | 0.82% | +1.18 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 7.0% | £5–20 |
| Ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated Suspension | Minor | 6.6% | £18–45 |
| Component mounting prescribed areas prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength Suspension | Major | 5.7% | £180–450 |
| Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view Visibility | Minor | 4.7% | £80–200 |
| Battery(ies) insecure but not likely to fall from carrier Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 4.4% | £60–140 |
| Rbt (sp) efficiency below requirements Brakes | Major | 4.1% | £45–110 |
| Ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt Suspension | Major | 3.9% | £18–45 |
| Ball joint excessively worn Suspension | Major | 3.2% | £18–45 |
| Joints constant velocity boot severely deteriorated Body, chassis, structure | Minor | 3.2% | £80–250 |
| Exhaust system has a major leak of exhaust gases Body, chassis, structure | Major | 3.2% | £45–120 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Engine oil leaks leaking excessively from engine Noise, emissions and leaks | Advisory | 18.3% | £200–700 |
| Brake discs in such a condition that it is seriously weakened Brakes | Advisory | 15.5% | £45–110 |
| Coil spring corroded so that its cross sectional area is reduced and seriously weakened Suspension | Advisory | 14.7% | £25–65 |
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Advisory | 13.8% | £45–95 |
| Pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn Suspension | Advisory | 13.2% | £40–150 |
| Brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick Brakes | Advisory | 9.3% | £18–45 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 3 | 100.0% | 24,844 mi |
| 30-60k | 86 | 76.7% | 49,671 mi |
| 60-90k | 311 | 70.1% | 76,504 mi |
| 90-120k | 507 | 71.4% | 106,306 mi |
| 120k+ | 695 | 64.2% | 145,727 mi |
Source: 1,603 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 Cherokee MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2003 Jeep Cherokee?
68.3% of the 1,603 2003 Jeep Cherokee tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 72.6% for cars first used in 2003. First-attempt pass rate: 60.0%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2003 Jeep Cherokee?
The three most recorded items are registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources (7.05%), ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated (6.61%), component mounting prescribed areas prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength (5.74%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2003 Jeep Cherokee MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 100.0% of the time, falling to 64.2% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2003 Jeep Cherokee in this dataset had covered 114,293 mi.
Which fuel type is most reliable for a 2003 Jeep Cherokee?
Diesel: 67.9% pass rate across 1,083 tests. Petrol: 69.3% pass rate across 514 tests. Shares are of the tests on this vehicle that recorded each fuel type.
Does the season affect the 2003 Jeep Cherokee MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 69.0% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 67.4%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.