Pass rate
70.0%
Below average — 2.6 pts behind the 72.6% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 11,986 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £48–£124
2003 Land Rover Freelander MOT pass rate
- 2003
- typical 130,572 mi
Check your postcode
Most common fault
Brakes
24.7% 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 →
14.6 pts down across model years — 15.5% in 2000, 0.9% in 2014.
Which year to buy
- Best 2015 88.2% pass
- Avoid 2005 69.3% pass
Across the 17 years on record, a spread of 18.9 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 60.5%
- Typical mileage
- 131k mi
The 2003 Land Rover Freelander MOT pass rate is 70.0% of its MOT tests — 2.6 points behind what its age and mileage predict. Brakes is the biggest single reason it fails, at 24.7% of what testers record.
Expert verdict
Body & chassis: 1.9× the national share
Body & chassis accounts for 10.8% of everything recorded on the 2003 Land Rover Freelander, against 5.6% nationally — 5.2 points above. Brakes are still the single largest share at 24.7%, 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 28% 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 Land Rover Freelander? Get an email when these numbers change .
How does the 2003 Land Rover Freelander compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 72.6%, so this figure is 2.6 points behind what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 60.5%. The median 2003 Land Rover Freelander in this dataset had covered 130,572 mi.
82% of the tests on this vehicle ran on Diesel, which passed 69.8% of the time. Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 70.4% of the time, April–September 69.5%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated", noted on 6.93% of tests.
- 11,986 recorded tests behind this page.
- 70.0% overall pass rate, 60.5% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the Land Rover Freelander, the average is 77.1% — best year 2015 (88.2%), worst 2005 (69.3%).
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
- 11,986
- Typical mileage (median)
- 130,572 mi
- Make and model
- Land Rover Freelander
- Updated
- 2026-11-07
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 Freelander 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. Diesel is the most common here (82% of tests).
Where the Land Rover Freelander is most common
Across all Freelander model years on record (2000–2016): 171,170 Land Rover Freelander cars tested in a recordable postcode area, across 444,810 tests. Sheffield (S) has the most, with 4,479 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 | Sheffield (S) | 4,479 | 79.8% |
| 2 | Peterborough (PE) | 4,361 | 78.7% |
| 3 | Birmingham (B) | 3,936 | 81.8% |
| 4 | Exeter (EX) | 3,564 | 73.3% |
| 5 | Ashford (TN) | 3,409 | 80.8% |
| 6 | Gloucester (GL) | 3,325 | 77.3% |
| 7 | Norwich (NR) | 3,233 | 77.2% |
| 8 | Nottingham (NG) | 2,960 | 75.7% |
| 9 | Derby (DE) | 2,925 | 79.8% |
| 10 | Ipswich (IP) | 2,783 | 78.1% |
| 11 | Plymouth (PL) | 2,691 | 73.3% |
| 12 | Doncaster (DN) | 2,626 | 77.2% |
| 13 | Taunton (TA) | 2,589 | 76.4% |
| 14 | Leicester (LE) | 2,559 | 80.1% |
| 15 | Shrewsbury (SY) | 2,534 | 77.8% |
| 16 | Oxford (OX) | 2,507 | 78.6% |
| 17 | Yeovil (BA) | 2,466 | 74.4% |
| 18 | Guildford (GU) | 2,437 | 78.7% |
| 19 | Wrexham (LL) | 2,399 | 76.3% |
| 20 | Newcastle upon Tyne (NE) | 2,374 | 76.7% |
The twenty areas with the most Land Rover Freelander 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 Freelander
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South West | 2,166 | 65.5% |
| South East | 2,116 | 72.4% |
| East of England | 1,701 | 72.5% |
| West Midlands | 1,516 | 70.9% |
| North West | 1,041 | 69.7% |
| Yorkshire | 1,033 | 69.9% |
| East Midlands | 796 | 71.4% |
| Wales | 769 | 68.1% |
| Scotland | 434 | 65.0% |
| North East | 284 | 69.0% |
| London | 130 | 83.8% |
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 Freelander
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 Freelander
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 6.9% 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.
-
Check the brake pipes 4.4% 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.
-
Check the lights 3.8% of tests
“position 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.
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 Freelander through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £48–£124 — and 28% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £48–£124
- Cheapest common item: stop lamp not working
- £3–£12
- 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
- 28%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 11,986 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 Freelander, side by side
17 model years on record, from 2000 to 2016. Across them the pass rate runs from 69.3% to 88.2% — a spread of 18.9 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2000 70.3% ball joint dust cover severely…
- 2001 70.2% anti-lock braking system warning…
- 2002 70.8% ball joint dust cover severely…
- 2003 70.0%ball joint dust cover severely…
- 2004 69.7% headlamp lens slightly defective
- 2005 69.3% ball joint dust cover severely…
- 2006 70.1% ball joint dust cover severely…
- 2007 74.2% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2008 74.7% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2009 77.3% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2010 77.8% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2011 80.8% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2012 81.4% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2013 82.1% track rod end ball joint has…
- 2014 85.3% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2015 88.2% ball joint dust cover severely…
- 2016 87.9% has a cut in excess of the…
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 Land Rover Freelander 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
- Ford Mondeo 70.0%
- SEAT Ibiza 70.0%
- Peugeot 406 70.0%
- Peugeot 206 69.9%
- Skoda Fabia 70.1%
- Vauxhall Zafira 70.1%
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 Land Rover Freelander 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 38,812 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 | 9,737 | 24.70% | 20.89% | +3.81 |
| Suspension | 8,741 | 22.10% | 20.98% | +1.12 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 5,097 | 12.90% | 12.21% | +0.69 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 4,273 | 10.80% | 5.57% | +5.23 |
| Tyres | 3,737 | 9.50% | 19.76% | −10.26 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 2,438 | 6.20% | 5.52% | +0.68 |
| Steering | 1,685 | 4.30% | 2.57% | +1.73 |
| Visibility | 1,601 | 4.10% | 4.97% | −0.87 |
| Identification of the vehicle | 820 | 2.10% | 1.76% | +0.34 |
| Non-component advisories | 683 | 1.70% | 4.18% | −2.48 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated Suspension | Minor | 6.9% | £18–45 |
| Rigid brake pipes excessively corroded Brakes | Major | 4.4% | £80–180 |
| Track rod end ball joint has excessive play Steering | Major | 3.9% | £18–45 |
| Position lamp not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 3.8% | £5–25 |
| Stop lamp not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 3.8% | £3–12 |
| Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view Visibility | Minor | 3.7% | £80–200 |
| Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of a single lamp or all lamps Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 3.6% | £5–20 |
| Joints constant velocity boot severely deteriorated Body, chassis, structure | Minor | 3.5% | £80–250 |
| Battery(ies) insecure but not likely to fall from carrier Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 3.3% | £60–140 |
| Component mounting prescribed areas prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength Suspension | Major | 3.1% | £180–450 |
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 | 33.1% | £80–180 |
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Advisory | 14.3% | £45–95 |
| Has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Tyres | Advisory | 10.7% | £45–95 |
| Engine oil leaks leaking excessively from engine Noise, emissions and leaks | Advisory | 9.8% | £200–700 |
| Suspension arm corroded and seriously weakened Suspension | Advisory | 7.6% | £35–85 |
| Flexible brake hoses ferrule excessively corroded Brakes | Advisory | 6.6% | £25–70 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 37 | 89.2% | 23,186 mi |
| 30-60k | 378 | 79.9% | 50,613 mi |
| 60-90k | 1,356 | 74.8% | 77,724 mi |
| 90-120k | 2,943 | 71.2% | 106,162 mi |
| 120k+ | 7,243 | 68.0% | 156,405 mi |
Source: 11,986 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 Freelander MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2003 Land Rover Freelander?
70.0% of the 11,986 2003 Land Rover Freelander tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 72.6% for cars first used in 2003. First-attempt pass rate: 60.5%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2003 Land Rover Freelander?
The three most recorded items are ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated (6.93%), rigid brake pipes excessively corroded (4.37%), track rod end ball joint has excessive play (3.86%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2003 Land Rover Freelander MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 89.2% of the time, falling to 68.0% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2003 Land Rover Freelander in this dataset had covered 130,572 mi.
Which fuel type is most reliable for a 2003 Land Rover Freelander?
Diesel: 69.8% pass rate across 9,853 tests. Petrol: 70.5% pass rate across 2,122 tests. Shares are of the tests on this vehicle that recorded each fuel type.
Does the season affect the 2003 Land Rover Freelander MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 70.4% 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.