Pass rate
69.4%
Below average — 2.8 pts behind the 72.2% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 134 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £55–£146
2004 Mazda Tribute MOT pass rate
- 2004
- typical 87,562 mi
Check your postcode
Most common fault
Suspension
26.4% of faults · 21.0% nationally
mostly worn arm bushes, split ball-joint boots and broken coil springs.
Which year to buy
- Best 2001 78.6% pass
- Avoid 2003 66.9% pass
Across the 4 years on record, a spread of 11.7 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 63.4%
- Typical mileage
- 88k mi
The 2004 Mazda Tribute MOT pass rate is 69.4% of its MOT tests — 2.8 points behind what its age and mileage predict. Suspension is the biggest single reason it fails, at 26.4% of what testers record.
Expert verdict
Body & chassis: 2.4× the national share
Body & chassis accounts for 13.3% of everything recorded on the 2004 Mazda Tribute, against 5.6% nationally — 7.7 points above. Suspension is still the single largest share at 26.4%, 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.
- When it fails, it costs. Only 22% 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.
- Based on a small sample. 134 tests back this page. That is enough to publish and to index, not enough to treat the decimal places as precise — read the pattern, not the second digit.
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 Tribute? Get an email when these numbers change .
How does the 2004 Mazda Tribute compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 72.2%, so this figure is 2.8 points behind what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 63.4%. The median 2004 Mazda Tribute in this dataset had covered 87,562 mi.
Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 66.3% of the time, April–September 74.1%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated", noted on 13.43% of tests.
- 134 recorded tests behind this page.
- 69.4% overall pass rate, 63.4% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the Mazda Tribute, the average is 70.8% — best year 2001 (78.6%), worst 2003 (66.9%).
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
- 134
- Typical mileage (median)
- 87,562 mi
- Make and model
- Mazda Tribute
- 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 Tribute MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 48% so small gaps stay visible.
Regional pass rates for the Tribute
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South East | 38 | 63.2% |
| East of England | 29 | 69.0% |
| South West | 24 | 54.2% |
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 Tribute
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 Tribute
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 13.4% 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 lights 9.0% 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 corrosion 7.5% 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 2004 Tribute through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £55–£146 — and 22% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £55–£146
- 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
- 22%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 134 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 Tribute, side by side
4 model years on record, from 2001 to 2004. Across them the pass rate runs from 66.9% to 78.6% — a spread of 11.7 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2001 78.6% ball joint dust cover severely…
- 2002 73.2% component mounting prescribed…
- 2003 66.9% component mounting prescribed…
- 2004 69.4%ball joint dust cover severely…
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 Tribute 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
- Citroen Xsara 69.5%
- Volvo V50 69.5%
- Volkswagen Golf 69.3%
- Citroen C3 69.3%
- Hyundai Getz 69.3%
- Jaguar X-Type 69.2%
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 Tribute 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 517 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 | 139 | 26.40% | 20.98% | +5.42 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 70 | 13.30% | 5.57% | +7.73 |
| Brakes | 60 | 11.40% | 20.89% | −9.49 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 57 | 10.80% | 12.21% | −1.41 |
| Tyres | 52 | 9.90% | 19.76% | −9.86 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 49 | 9.30% | 5.52% | +3.78 |
| Non-component advisories | 30 | 5.70% | 4.18% | +1.52 |
| Visibility | 24 | 4.60% | 4.97% | −0.37 |
| Steering | 19 | 3.60% | 2.57% | +1.03 |
| Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | 17 | 3.20% | 0.82% | +2.38 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated Suspension | Minor | 13.4% | £18–45 |
| Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 9.0% | £5–20 |
| Component mounting prescribed areas prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength Suspension | Major | 7.5% | £180–450 |
| Ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt Suspension | Major | 5.2% | £18–45 |
| Joints constant velocity boot severely deteriorated Body, chassis, structure | Minor | 5.2% | £80–250 |
| Ball joint excessively worn Suspension | Major | 3.7% | £18–45 |
| Battery(ies) insecure but not likely to fall from carrier Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 3.7% | £60–140 |
| Chassis condition or chassis has excessive corrosion, seriously affecting its strength within 30cm of a body mounting Body, chassis, structure | Major | 3.7% | £180–450 |
| Position lamp not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 3.7% | £5–25 |
| Prescribed areas prescribed area strength or continuity significantly reduced Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | Major | 3.7% | £40–120 |
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 | 23.1% | £200–700 |
| Non-component advisories Play in steering rack inner joint(s) Non-component advisories | Advisory | 17.2% | £120–300 |
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Advisory | 17.2% | £45–95 |
| Has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Tyres | Advisory | 15.7% | £45–95 |
| Rigid brake pipes excessively corroded Brakes | Advisory | 15.7% | £80–180 |
| Pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn Suspension | Advisory | 13.4% | £40–150 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30-60k | 24 | 79.2% | 46,569 mi |
| 60-90k | 47 | 74.5% | 75,559 mi |
| 90-120k | 40 | 65.0% | 104,851 mi |
| 120k+ | 23 | 56.5% | 159,218 mi |
Source: 134 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 Tribute MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2004 Mazda Tribute?
69.4% of the 134 2004 Mazda Tribute tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 72.2% for cars first used in 2004. First-attempt pass rate: 63.4%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2004 Mazda Tribute?
The three most recorded items are ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated (13.43%), registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources (8.96%), component mounting prescribed areas prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength (7.46%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2004 Mazda Tribute MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 79.2% of the time, falling to 56.5% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2004 Mazda Tribute in this dataset had covered 87,562 mi.
Does the season affect the 2004 Mazda Tribute MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 66.3% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 74.1%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.