Pass rate
71.3%
Below average — 0.9 pts behind the 72.2% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 679 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £43–£123
2004 Mazda B Series MOT pass rate
- 2004
- typical 113,038 mi
Check your postcode
Most common fault
Body & chassis
19.9% of faults · 5.6% nationally
Which year to buy
- Best 2006 75.4% pass
- Avoid 2004 71.3% pass · this year
Across the 7 years on record, a spread of 4.1 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 62.7%
- Typical mileage
- 113k mi
The 2004 Mazda B Series MOT pass rate is 71.3% of its MOT tests — about what its age and mileage predict. Body & chassis is the biggest single reason it fails, at 19.9% of what testers record.
Expert verdict
Body & chassis: 3.6× the national share
Body & chassis accounts for 19.9% of everything recorded on the 2004 Mazda B Series, against 5.6% nationally — 14.3 points above. Look underneath for corrosion near the jacking points and suspension mounts; surface rust is normal, flaking metal is not.
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 Mazda B Series? Get an email when these numbers change .
How does the 2004 Mazda B Series compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 72.2%, so this figure is 0.9 points behind what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 62.7%. The median 2004 Mazda B Series in this dataset had covered 113,038 mi.
Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 70.9% of the time, April–September 71.6%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Joints constant velocity boot severely deteriorated", noted on 7.22% of tests.
- 679 recorded tests behind this page.
- 71.3% overall pass rate, 62.7% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the Mazda B Series, the average is 72.4% — best year 2006 (75.4%), worst 2004 (71.3%).
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
- 679
- Typical mileage (median)
- 113,038 mi
- Make and model
- Mazda B Series
- 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 B Series MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 61% so small gaps stay visible.
Where the Mazda B Series is most common
Across all B Series model years on record (2000–2006): 1,967 Mazda B Series cars tested in a recordable postcode area, across 5,388 tests. Portsmouth (PO) has the most, with 98 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 | Portsmouth (PO) | 98 | 67.9% |
| 2 | Peterborough (PE) | 55 | 72.5% |
| 3 | Southampton (SO) | 50 | 75.0% |
| 4 | Ipswich (IP) | 50 | 73.1% |
| 5 | Poole (BH) | 47 | 73.0% |
| 6 | Colchester (CO) | 47 | 76.2% |
| 7 | Oxford (OX) | 46 | 71.9% |
| 8 | Ashford (TN) | 43 | 72.7% |
| 9 | Norwich (NR) | 42 | 71.0% |
| 10 | Chelmsford (CM) | 42 | 71.4% |
| 11 | Leicester (LE) | 41 | 74.8% |
| 12 | Crawley (RH) | 40 | 71.0% |
| 13 | Guildford (GU) | 39 | 75.0% |
| 14 | Gloucester (GL) | 37 | 63.2% |
| 15 | Birmingham (B) | 35 | 75.9% |
| 16 | Reading (RG) | 34 | 80.6% |
| 17 | Nottingham (NG) | 32 | 69.6% |
| 18 | Coventry (CV) | 32 | 79.2% |
| 19 | Taunton (TA) | 31 | 64.4% |
| 20 | Maidstone (ME) | 30 | 78.0% |
The twenty areas with the most Mazda B Series 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 B Series
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South East | 171 | 69.6% |
| East of England | 136 | 72.8% |
| South West | 120 | 65.0% |
| West Midlands | 56 | 80.4% |
| Yorkshire | 52 | 75.0% |
| East Midlands | 41 | 75.6% |
| Wales | 35 | 62.9% |
| North West | 26 | 73.1% |
| Scotland | 19 | 63.2% |
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 B Series
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 B Series
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 6.5% 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 5.6% 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.
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 B Series through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £43–£123 — and 39% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £43–£123
- 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
- 60%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 39%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 679 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 B Series, side by side
7 model years on record, from 2000 to 2006. Across them the pass rate runs from 71.3% to 75.4% — a spread of 4.1 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2000 72.3% ball joint dust cover severely…
- 2001 73.6% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2002 72.9% ball joint dust cover severely…
- 2003 72.0% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2004 71.3%joints constant velocity boot…
- 2005 71.6% joints constant velocity boot…
- 2006 75.4% windscreen damaged but not…
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 Mazda B Series 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
- Nissan Navara 71.3%
- Peugeot 206 71.2%
- Suzuki Carry 71.2%
- Volvo XC70 71.5%
- Vauxhall Astra 71.6%
- Suzuki Grand Vitara 71.6%
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 Mazda B Series 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 2,375 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 | 477 | 19.90% | 5.57% | +14.33 |
| Brakes | 459 | 19.10% | 20.89% | −1.79 |
| Suspension | 402 | 16.70% | 20.98% | −4.28 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 362 | 15.10% | 12.21% | +2.89 |
| Tyres | 206 | 8.60% | 19.76% | −11.16 |
| Visibility | 124 | 5.20% | 4.97% | +0.23 |
| Steering | 105 | 4.40% | 2.57% | +1.83 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 98 | 4.10% | 5.52% | −1.42 |
| Non-component advisories | 73 | 3.00% | 4.18% | −1.18 |
| Identification of the vehicle | 69 | 2.90% | 1.76% | +1.14 |
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 | 7.2% | £80–250 |
| Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view Visibility | Minor | 7.2% | £80–200 |
| Rear fog lamp not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 6.5% | £3–15 |
| Joints constant velocity boot split or insecure, no longer prevents the ingress of dirt Body, chassis, structure | Major | 6.2% | £80–250 |
| Ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated Suspension | Minor | 5.6% | £18–45 |
| Rigid brake pipes excessively corroded Brakes | Major | 3.8% | £80–180 |
| Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 3.7% | £5–20 |
| Mirrors slightly damaged Visibility | Minor | 3.2% | £3–15 |
| Headlamp lens slightly defective Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 3.0% | £5–25 |
| Anti-lock braking system warning lamp indicates an ABS fault Brakes | Major | 2.8% | £3–15 |
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 |
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Advisory | 16.9% | £45–95 |
| Chassis condition corroded to the extent that the rigidity of the assembly is significantly reduced Body, chassis, structure | Advisory | 11.2% | £180–450 |
| Registration plates inscription illegible Identification of the vehicle | Advisory | 8.5% | £20–80 |
| Chassis condition or chassis has excessive corrosion, seriously affecting its strength within 30cm of a body mounting Body, chassis, structure | Advisory | 8.1% | £180–450 |
| Integral vehicle structure condition corroded to the extent that the rigidity of the assembly is significantly reduced Body, chassis, structure | Advisory | 8.0% | £180–450 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 6 | 83.3% | 21,258 mi |
| 30-60k | 55 | 72.7% | 48,951 mi |
| 60-90k | 132 | 69.7% | 77,816 mi |
| 90-120k | 181 | 70.2% | 104,993 mi |
| 120k+ | 304 | 72.0% | 158,948 mi |
Source: 679 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 B Series MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2004 Mazda B Series?
71.3% of the 679 2004 Mazda B Series tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 72.2% for cars first used in 2004. First-attempt pass rate: 62.7%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2004 Mazda B Series?
The three most recorded items are joints constant velocity boot severely deteriorated (7.22%), windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view (7.22%), rear fog lamp not working (6.48%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2004 Mazda B Series MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 83.3% of the time, falling to 72.0% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2004 Mazda B Series in this dataset had covered 113,038 mi.
Does the season affect the 2004 Mazda B Series MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 70.9% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 71.6%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.