Pass rate
73.0%
Below average — 0.4 pts ahead of the 72.6% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 3,192 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £50–£126
2003 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter MOT pass rate
- 2003
- Van
- 3 trims combined
- typical 132,582 mi
Most common fault
Brakes
26.3% 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 →
12.5 pts down across model years — 13.3% in 2000, 0.8% in 2020.
Which year to buy
- Best 2023 97.9% pass
- Avoid 2002 72.7% pass
Across the 25 years on record, a spread of 25.2 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 66.5%
- Typical mileage
- 133k mi
The 2003 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter MOT pass rate is 73.0% of its MOT tests — about what its age and mileage predict. Brakes is the biggest single reason it fails, at 26.3% of what testers record.
Check your postcode
MOT pass rates are national — type your postcode to see how Mercedes-Benz Sprinter does in your corner of the country.
Expert verdict
Lamps & electrics: 1.5× the national share
Lamps & electrics make up 18.5% of everything recorded on the 2003 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter, against 12.2% nationally — 6.3 points above. Brakes are still the single largest share at 26.3%, but at 20.9% nationally that one is ordinary. Walk round the car with the lights on before the test: bulbs, indicators and number-plate lamps are the cheapest failures to prevent and among the most common.
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 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter? Get an email when these numbers change .
Every Mercedes-Benz Sprinter first registered in 2003 is combined here — 3 trim and body variants in total — so the sample is as large as the DVSA data allows.
How does the 2003 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 72.6%, so this figure is 0.4 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 66.5%. The median 2003 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter in this dataset had covered 132,582 mi.
Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 73.0% of the time, April–September 73.0%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view", noted on 7.55% of tests.
- 3,192 recorded tests behind this page.
- 73.0% overall pass rate, 66.5% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter, the average is 80.3% — best year 2023 (97.9%), worst 2002 (72.7%).
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
- 3,192
- Typical mileage (median)
- 132,582 mi
- Make and model
- Mercedes-Benz Sprinter
- Updated
- 2026-11-05
Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data (2023–2025), OGL v3.0.
Top part to budget for
Windscreen
Typically a garage job — get quotes before committing.
Does mileage affect the Sprinter MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 61% so small gaps stay visible.
Regional pass rates for the Sprinter
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South West | 648 | 65.4% |
| South East | 491 | 76.2% |
| North West | 389 | 77.6% |
| Yorkshire | 315 | 73.3% |
| West Midlands | 295 | 80.0% |
| East of England | 264 | 77.3% |
| Scotland | 226 | 69.0% |
| Wales | 223 | 68.2% |
| East Midlands | 181 | 70.2% |
| North East | 110 | 74.5% |
| London | 50 | 86.0% |
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 Sprinter
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 Sprinter
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 7.5% 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 5.5% 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 3.8% 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 Sprinter through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £50–£126 — and 40% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £50–£126
- 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
- 40%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 3,192 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 Sprinter, side by side
25 model years on record, from 2000 to 2024. Across them the pass rate runs from 72.7% to 97.9% — a spread of 25.2 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2000 73.5% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2001 75.3% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2002 72.7% headlamp lens slightly defective
- 2003 73.0%windscreen damaged but not…
- 2004 72.9% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2005 74.4% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2006 75.1% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2007 75.3% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2008 76.4% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2009 78.2% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2010 78.0% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2011 78.3% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2012 77.4% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2013 80.2% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2014 80.2% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2015 83.1% rbt (sp) efficiency below…
- 2016 83.3% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2017 87.6% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2018 88.6% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2019 89.1% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2020 89.6% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2021 87.7% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2022 93.5% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2023 97.9% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2024 97.0% rbt (sp) efficiency below…
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 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 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 vans with a similar record
- Fiat Ducato 75.3%
- Volkswagen Transporter 70.4%
- Citroen Berlingo 70.2%
- Peugeot Expert 69.5%
- Ford Transit 69.4%
- Peugeot Boxer 76.7%
Closest pass rates among 2003 vans with at least 1,000 tests, so a small sample cannot flatter itself into the list. Full rankings: best vans and worst vans for MOT pass rates.
The full DVSA record for the 2003 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 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 10,160 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 | 2,713 | 26.30% | 20.89% | +5.41 |
| Suspension | 2,058 | 19.90% | 20.98% | −1.08 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 1,910 | 18.50% | 12.21% | +6.29 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 957 | 9.30% | 5.57% | +3.73 |
| Tyres | 691 | 6.70% | 19.76% | −13.06 |
| Visibility | 588 | 5.70% | 4.97% | +0.73 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 423 | 4.10% | 5.52% | −1.42 |
| Non-component advisories | 339 | 3.30% | 4.18% | −0.88 |
| Steering | 277 | 2.70% | 2.57% | +0.13 |
| Identification of the vehicle | 204 | 2.00% | 1.76% | +0.24 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view Visibility | Minor | 7.5% | £80–200 |
| Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 5.5% | £5–20 |
| Headlamp lens slightly defective Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 5.0% | £5–25 |
| Rbt (sp) efficiency below requirements Brakes | Major | 4.9% | £45–110 |
| Component mounting prescribed areas prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength Suspension | Major | 3.8% | £180–450 |
| Position lamp not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 3.3% | £5–25 |
| Rigid brake pipes excessively corroded Brakes | Major | 3.3% | £80–180 |
| Wipers does not clear the windscreen effectively Visibility | Major | 3.2% | £8–22 |
| Headlamp aim projected beam image is obviously incorrect Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 3.2% | £30–80 |
| Battery(ies) insecure but not likely to fall from carrier Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 3.1% | £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 | 22.5% | £80–180 |
| Brake discs in such a condition that it is seriously weakened Brakes | Advisory | 15.8% | £45–110 |
| Ball joint excessively worn Suspension | Advisory | 13.9% | £18–45 |
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Advisory | 8.7% | £45–95 |
| Non-component advisories Play in steering rack inner joint(s) Non-component advisories | Advisory | 7.9% | £120–300 |
| Engine oil leaks leaking excessively from engine Noise, emissions and leaks | Advisory | 7.3% | £200–700 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 62 | 85.5% | 23,542 mi |
| 30-60k | 429 | 80.9% | 46,353 mi |
| 60-90k | 434 | 77.6% | 74,045 mi |
| 90-120k | 424 | 72.4% | 104,447 mi |
| 120k+ | 1,769 | 69.9% | 184,198 mi |
Source: 3,192 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 Sprinter MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2003 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter?
73.0% of the 3,192 2003 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 72.6% for cars first used in 2003. First-attempt pass rate: 66.5%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2003 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter?
The three most recorded items are windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view (7.55%), registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources (5.55%), headlamp lens slightly defective (5.04%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2003 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 85.5% of the time, falling to 69.9% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2003 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter in this dataset had covered 132,582 mi.
Does the season affect the 2003 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 73.0% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 73.0%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.