Pass rate
65.8%
Below average — 6.8 pts behind the 72.6% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 146 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £38–£105
2003 Mitsubishi Space Wagon MOT pass rate
- 2003
- typical 105,154 mi
Most common fault
Suspension
21.6% of faults · 21.0% nationally
mostly worn arm bushes, split ball-joint boots and broken coil springs.
Which year to buy
- Best 2001 74.6% pass
- Avoid 2003 65.8% pass · this year
Across the 3 years on record, a spread of 8.8 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 54.2%
- Typical mileage
- 105k mi
The 2003 Mitsubishi Space Wagon MOT pass rate is 65.8% of its MOT tests — 6.8 points behind what its age and mileage predict. Suspension is the biggest single reason it fails, at 21.6% of what testers record.
Check your postcode
MOT pass rates are national — type your postcode to see how Mitsubishi Space Wagon does in your corner of the country.
Expert verdict
Body & chassis: 2.0× the national share
Body & chassis accounts for 11.3% of everything recorded on the 2003 Mitsubishi Space Wagon, against 5.6% nationally — 5.7 points above. Suspension is still the single largest share at 21.6%, 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.
- Falls short of its own age and mileage. Like-for-like, cars this age and mileage expect about 72.6%; this one manages 65.8% — 6.8 points below. Age is a fair excuse; this is not age.
- Failures here tend to be cheap ones. 63% of the repairs this model fails on cost under £30 in parts. The pass rate matters less than what a bad afternoon at the test centre actually costs you.
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 Mitsubishi Space Wagon? Get an email when these numbers change .
How does the 2003 Mitsubishi Space Wagon compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 72.6%, so this figure is 6.8 points behind what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 54.2%. The median 2003 Mitsubishi Space Wagon in this dataset had covered 105,154 mi.
91% of the tests on this vehicle ran on Petrol, which passed 63.9% of the time. Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 64.0% of the time, April–September 67.6%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources", noted on 14.38% of tests.
- 146 recorded tests behind this page.
- 65.8% overall pass rate, 54.2% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the Mitsubishi Space Wagon, the average is 67.7% — best year 2001 (74.6%), worst 2003 (65.8%).
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
- 146
- Typical mileage (median)
- 105,154 mi
- Make and model
- Mitsubishi Space Wagon
- Updated
- 2026-11-05
Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data (2023–2025), OGL v3.0.
Top part to budget for
Number Plate Lamp
Usually a DIY or independent-garage job.
Does mileage affect the Space Wagon MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 45% so small gaps stay visible.
Fuel type and reliability
Pass rate by fuel type. Petrol is the most common here (91% of tests).
Regional pass rates for the Space Wagon
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South East | 42 | 66.7% |
| South West | 29 | 51.7% |
| London | 27 | 81.5% |
| West Midlands | 23 | 65.2% |
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 2003 Space Wagon
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 Space Wagon
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 lights 14.4% 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 9.6% 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.
-
Check the wipers and washers 6.8% of tests
“wipers does not clear the windscreen effectively”
Run the wipers with the screen wet: they should clear it in one sweep without smearing or juddering. Top the washer bottle up and check both jets hit the screen.
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 Space Wagon through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £38–£105 — and 63% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £38–£105
- 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
- 70%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 63%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 146 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 Space Wagon, side by side
3 model years on record, from 2001 to 2003. Across them the pass rate runs from 65.8% to 74.6% — a spread of 8.8 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2001 74.6% headlamp lens slightly defective
- 2002 67.0% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2003 65.8%registration plate lamp(s)…
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 Mitsubishi Space Wagon 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
- Vauxhall Combo 65.8%
- Volkswagen Beetle 67.1%
- Volvo V40 67.3%
- Ford Ka 68.0%
- Ford Galaxy 68.0%
- Citroen C3 68.2%
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 Mitsubishi Space Wagon 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 621 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 | 136 | 21.60% | 20.98% | +0.62 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 101 | 16.10% | 12.21% | +3.89 |
| Brakes | 98 | 15.60% | 20.89% | −5.29 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 71 | 11.30% | 5.57% | +5.73 |
| Tyres | 67 | 10.70% | 19.76% | −9.06 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 51 | 8.10% | 5.52% | +2.58 |
| Visibility | 36 | 5.70% | 4.97% | +0.73 |
| Steering | 24 | 3.80% | 2.57% | +1.23 |
| Non-component advisories | 23 | 3.70% | 4.18% | −0.48 |
| Identification of the vehicle | 14 | 2.20% | 1.76% | +0.44 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 14.4% | £5–20 |
| Headlamp lens slightly defective Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 13.0% | £5–25 |
| Component mounting prescribed areas prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength Suspension | Major | 9.6% | £180–450 |
| Joints constant velocity boot severely deteriorated Body, chassis, structure | Minor | 6.8% | £80–250 |
| Wipers does not clear the windscreen effectively Visibility | Major | 6.8% | £8–22 |
| Track rod end ball joint dust cover damaged or deteriorated, but preventing the ingress of dirt Steering | Minor | 6.2% | £18–45 |
| Exhaust system has a major leak of exhaust gases Body, chassis, structure | Major | 4.8% | £45–120 |
| Headlamp has a product on the lens so that the light output is severely reduced Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 4.8% | £5–25 |
| Mirrors slightly loose Visibility | Minor | 4.1% | £3–15 |
| Stop lamp not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 4.1% | £3–12 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Exhaust system has a major leak of exhaust gases Body, chassis, structure | Advisory | 23.3% | £45–120 |
| Engine oil leaks leaking excessively from engine Noise, emissions and leaks | Advisory | 21.9% | £200–700 |
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Advisory | 18.5% | £45–95 |
| Has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Tyres | Advisory | 15.1% | £45–95 |
| Rigid brake pipes excessively corroded Brakes | Advisory | 15.1% | £80–180 |
| Brake discs in such a condition that it is seriously weakened Brakes | Advisory | 13.0% | £45–110 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30-60k | 6 | 83.3% | 46,738 mi |
| 60-90k | 37 | 67.6% | 74,580 mi |
| 90-120k | 70 | 68.6% | 106,888 mi |
| 120k+ | 32 | 53.1% | 150,150 mi |
Source: 146 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 Space Wagon MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2003 Mitsubishi Space Wagon?
65.8% of the 146 2003 Mitsubishi Space Wagon tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 72.6% for cars first used in 2003. First-attempt pass rate: 54.2%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2003 Mitsubishi Space Wagon?
The three most recorded items are registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources (14.38%), headlamp lens slightly defective (13.01%), component mounting prescribed areas prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength (9.59%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2003 Mitsubishi Space Wagon MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 83.3% of the time, falling to 53.1% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2003 Mitsubishi Space Wagon in this dataset had covered 105,154 mi.
Which fuel type is most reliable for a 2003 Mitsubishi Space Wagon?
Petrol: 63.9% pass rate across 133 tests. Diesel: 81.8% pass rate across 11 tests. Shares are of the tests on this vehicle that recorded each fuel type.
Does the season affect the 2003 Mitsubishi Space Wagon MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 64.0% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 67.6%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.