Pass rate
77.9%
Around average — 5.7 pts ahead of the 72.2% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 9,133 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £48–£130
2004 MG Tf MOT pass rate
- 2004
- 5 trims combined
- typical 58,129 mi
Most common fault
Suspension
27.9% of faults · 21.0% nationally
mostly worn arm bushes, split ball-joint boots and broken coil springs.
Which year to buy
- Best 2010 83.1% pass
- Avoid 2003 76.5% pass
Across the 10 years on record, a spread of 6.6 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 73.5%
- Typical mileage
- 58k mi
The 2004 MG Tf MOT pass rate is 77.9% of its MOT tests — 5.7 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. Suspension is the biggest single reason it fails, at 27.9% of what testers record.
Check your postcode
MOT pass rates are national — type your postcode to see how MG Tf does in your corner of the country.
Expert verdict
Suspension: 1.3× the national share
Suspension accounts for 27.9% of everything recorded on the 2004 MG Tf, against 21.0% nationally — 6.9 points above. Ask for the front and rear suspension to be checked on a ramp before you buy — worn bushes and broken springs are cheap to look at and expensive to discover at test time.
- Beats its own age and mileage. Once you allow for how old and how far these cars have been driven, the expected pass rate is 72.2% and this one manages 77.9% — 5.7 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict.
- When it fails, it costs. Only 18% 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 MG Tf? Get an email when these numbers change .
Every MG Tf first registered in 2004 is combined here — 5 trim and body variants in total — so the sample is as large as the DVSA data allows.
How does the 2004 MG Tf compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 72.2%, so this figure is 5.7 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 73.5%. The median 2004 MG Tf in this dataset had covered 58,129 mi.
Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 77.1% of the time, April–September 78.3%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Rbt (sp) efficiency below requirements", noted on 3.62% of tests.
- 9,133 recorded tests behind this page.
- 77.9% overall pass rate, 73.5% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the MG Tf, the average is 77.8% — best year 2010 (83.1%), worst 2003 (76.5%).
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
- 9,133
- Typical mileage (median)
- 58,129 mi
- Make and model
- MG Tf
- Updated
- 2026-11-05
Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data (2023–2025), OGL v3.0.
Top part to budget for
Brake Discs and Pads Set
Usually a DIY or independent-garage job.
Does mileage affect the Tf MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 62% so small gaps stay visible.
Regional pass rates for the Tf
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South East | 1,789 | 79.3% |
| East of England | 1,300 | 78.8% |
| South West | 1,096 | 74.5% |
| West Midlands | 1,065 | 78.7% |
| North West | 940 | 75.5% |
| Yorkshire | 874 | 80.1% |
| East Midlands | 789 | 79.1% |
| Scotland | 441 | 75.5% |
| North East | 355 | 75.8% |
| Wales | 343 | 74.9% |
| London | 138 | 87.0% |
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 2004 Tf
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 Tf
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 2.3% of tests
“track rod end ball joint has excessive play”
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 2.0% of tests
“malfunction indicator lamp inoperative or indicates a malfunction”
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 exhaust and emissions 1.9% of tests
“catalyst emissions Lambda reading after 2nd fast idle outside specified limits”
Listen for a blow at idle and have someone rev it gently. Then look at the tailpipe smoke: blue is oil, white when warm is coolant, black is over-fuelling. Any of those and the emissions test is the least of it.
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 Tf through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £48–£130 — and 18% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £48–£130
- Cheapest common item: malfunction indicator lamp inoperative or…
- £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
- 18%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 9,133 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 Tf, side by side
10 model years on record, from 2002 to 2011. Across them the pass rate runs from 76.5% to 83.1% — a spread of 6.6 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2002 77.1% rbt (sp) efficiency below…
- 2003 76.5% rbt (sp) efficiency below…
- 2004 77.9%rbt (sp) efficiency below…
- 2005 78.9% rbt (sp) efficiency below…
- 2006 81.0% rbt (sp) efficiency below…
- 2007 81.8% ball joint excessively worn
- 2008 78.6% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2009 80.8% track rod end ball joint has…
- 2010 83.1% track rod end ball joint has…
- 2011 80.1% track rod end ball joint has…
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 MG Tf 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
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 MG Tf 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 18,212 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 | 5,142 | 27.90% | 20.98% | +6.92 |
| Brakes | 4,495 | 24.40% | 20.89% | +3.51 |
| Tyres | 1,829 | 9.90% | 19.76% | −9.86 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 1,743 | 9.40% | 12.21% | −2.81 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 1,668 | 9.00% | 5.52% | +3.48 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 948 | 5.10% | 5.57% | −0.47 |
| Steering | 868 | 4.70% | 2.57% | +2.13 |
| Visibility | 788 | 4.30% | 4.97% | −0.67 |
| Non-component advisories | 534 | 2.90% | 4.18% | −1.28 |
| Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | 197 | 1.10% | 0.82% | +0.28 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rbt (sp) efficiency below requirements Brakes | Major | 3.6% | £45–110 |
| Track rod end ball joint has excessive play Steering | Major | 2.3% | £18–45 |
| Malfunction indicator lamp inoperative or indicates a malfunction Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 2.0% | £3–12 |
| Suspension arm corroded and seriously weakened Suspension | Major | 2.0% | £35–85 |
| Catalyst emissions Lambda reading after 2nd fast idle outside specified limits Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 1.9% | £60–250 |
| Ball joint excessively worn Suspension | Major | 1.7% | £18–45 |
| Component mounting prescribed areas prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength Suspension | Major | 1.6% | £180–450 |
| Service brake performance excessively binding Brakes | Major | 1.6% | £60–150 |
| Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view Visibility | Minor | 1.6% | £80–200 |
| Wipers does not clear the windscreen effectively Visibility | Major | 1.6% | £8–22 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brake discs in such a condition that it is seriously weakened Brakes | Advisory | 15.5% | £45–110 |
| Sub-frame corroded and seriously weakened Suspension | Advisory | 10.3% | £180–450 |
| Has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Tyres | Advisory | 9.2% | £45–95 |
| Ball joint excessively worn Suspension | Advisory | 8.2% | £18–45 |
| Engine oil leaks leaking excessively from engine Noise, emissions and leaks | Advisory | 6.8% | £200–700 |
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Advisory | 6.7% | £45–95 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 966 | 88.0% | 21,594 mi |
| 30-60k | 3,911 | 80.3% | 47,012 mi |
| 60-90k | 3,379 | 73.8% | 72,970 mi |
| 90-120k | 778 | 72.5% | 99,828 mi |
| 120k+ | 87 | 70.1% | 130,146 mi |
Source: 9,133 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 Tf MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2004 MG Tf?
77.9% of the 9,133 2004 MG Tf tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 72.2% for cars first used in 2004. First-attempt pass rate: 73.5%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2004 MG Tf?
The three most recorded items are rbt (sp) efficiency below requirements (3.62%), track rod end ball joint has excessive play (2.31%), malfunction indicator lamp inoperative or indicates a malfunction (1.99%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2004 MG Tf MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 88.0% of the time, falling to 70.1% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2004 MG Tf in this dataset had covered 58,129 mi.
Does the season affect the 2004 MG Tf MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 77.1% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 78.3%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.