Pass rate
84.1%
Around average — 11.5 pts ahead of the 72.6% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 107 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £56–£183
2003 Nissan 300 Zx MOT pass rate
- 2003
- typical 88,843 mi
Most common fault
Emissions & leaks
20.2% of faults · 5.5% nationally
Which year to buy
- Best 2007 88.7% pass
- Avoid 2005 77.1% pass
Across the 6 years on record, a spread of 11.6 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 82.8%
- Typical mileage
- 89k mi
The 2003 Nissan 300 Zx MOT pass rate is 84.1% of its MOT tests — 11.5 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. Emissions & leaks is the biggest single reason it fails, at 20.2% of what testers record.
Check your postcode
MOT pass rates are national — type your postcode to see how Nissan 300 Zx does in your corner of the country.
Expert verdict
Emissions & leaks: 3.7× the national share
Emissions & leaks make up 20.2% of everything recorded on the 2003 Nissan 300 Zx, against 5.5% nationally — 14.7 points above. A smoky diesel or a leaking joint fails on emissions more often than on wear, so ask for a recent emissions printout.
- 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 72.6% and this one manages 84.1% — 11.5 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict.
- When it fails, it costs. Only 13% 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 Nissan 300 Zx? Get an email when these numbers change .
How does the 2003 Nissan 300 Zx compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 72.6%, so this figure is 11.5 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 82.8%. The median 2003 Nissan 300 Zx in this dataset had covered 88,843 mi.
Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 86.5% of the time, April–September 82.9%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Catalyst emissions Lambda reading after 2nd fast idle outside specified limits", noted on 4.67% of tests.
- 107 recorded tests behind this page.
- 84.1% overall pass rate, 82.8% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the Nissan 300 Zx, the average is 81.8% — best year 2007 (88.7%), worst 2005 (77.1%).
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
- 107
- Typical mileage (median)
- 88,843 mi
- Make and model
- Nissan 300 Zx
- Updated
- 2026-11-05
Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data (2023–2025), OGL v3.0.
Top part to budget for
Emissions Repair
Typically a garage job — get quotes before committing.
Does mileage affect the 300 Zx MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 58% so small gaps stay visible.
Regional pass rates for the 300 Zx
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South East | 21 | 85.7% |
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 300 Zx
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 300 Zx
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 exhaust and emissions 4.7% 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.
-
Check the battery 3.7% of tests
“battery(ies) insecure”
Check the battery is secure and its terminals are clean and tight — a loose battery is a fail on its own, and a weak one shows up as slow cranking on a cold morning.
-
Check the wipers and washers 3.7% of tests
“washers not working”
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 300 Zx through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £56–£183 — and 13% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £56–£183
- Cheapest common item: washers not working
- £5–£15
- Dearest common item: steering rack gaiter missing or no longer…
- £120–£300
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 40%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 13%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 107 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 300 Zx, side by side
6 model years on record, from 2002 to 2007. Across them the pass rate runs from 77.1% to 88.7% — a spread of 11.6 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2002 82.5% ball joint dust cover severely…
- 2003 84.1%catalyst emissions lambda reading…
- 2004 79.0% ball joint dust cover severely…
- 2005 77.1% rear fog lamp not working
- 2006 82.0% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2007 88.7% steering rack gaiter damaged or…
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 Nissan 300 Zx 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
- Honda S2000 83.5%
- Mercedes-Benz Sl 85.2%
- Porsche 911 85.5%
- Mercedes-Benz S-Class 81.7%
- BMW M3 87.7%
- Porsche Boxster 80.4%
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 Nissan 300 Zx 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 241 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 50 | 20.20% | 5.52% | +14.68 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 42 | 17.00% | 12.21% | +4.79 |
| Suspension | 38 | 15.40% | 20.98% | −5.58 |
| Brakes | 32 | 13.00% | 20.89% | −7.89 |
| Tyres | 18 | 7.30% | 19.76% | −12.46 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 16 | 6.50% | 5.57% | +0.93 |
| Visibility | 15 | 6.10% | 4.97% | +1.13 |
| Non-component advisories | 12 | 4.90% | 4.18% | +0.72 |
| Steering | 12 | 4.90% | 2.57% | +2.33 |
| Road Wheels | 6 | 2.40% | 0.75% | +1.65 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Catalyst emissions Lambda reading after 2nd fast idle outside specified limits Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 4.7% | £60–250 |
| Battery(ies) insecure but not likely to fall from carrier Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 3.7% | £60–140 |
| Catalyst emissions carbon monoxide content at idle exceeds manufacturer's specified limits Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 3.7% | £60–250 |
| Washers not working Visibility | Major | 3.7% | £5–15 |
| Catalyst emissions carbon monoxide content after 2nd fast idle exceeds default limits Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 2.8% | £60–250 |
| Steering rack gaiter missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt Steering | Major | 2.8% | £120–300 |
| Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view Visibility | Minor | 2.8% | £80–200 |
| Ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated Suspension | Minor | 1.9% | £18–45 |
| Catalyst emissions carbon monoxide content after 2nd fast idle exceeds manufacturer's specified limits Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 1.9% | £60–250 |
| Flexible brake hoses ferrule excessively corroded Brakes | Major | 1.9% | £25–70 |
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 | 26.2% | £200–700 |
| Rigid brake pipes excessively corroded Brakes | Advisory | 13.1% | £80–180 |
| Has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Tyres | Advisory | 6.5% | £45–95 |
| Sub-frame corroded and seriously weakened Suspension | Advisory | 6.5% | £180–450 |
| Exhaust system has a major leak of exhaust gases Body, chassis, structure | Advisory | 5.6% | £45–120 |
| Non-component advisories Fuel Pipe/s corroded Non-component advisories | Advisory | 5.6% | £180–450 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 2 | 100.0% | 20,513 mi |
| 30-60k | 6 | 66.7% | 44,535 mi |
| 60-90k | 49 | 81.6% | 78,264 mi |
| 90-120k | 35 | 88.6% | 98,692 mi |
| 120k+ | 14 | 92.9% | 148,006 mi |
Source: 107 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 300 Zx MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2003 Nissan 300 Zx?
84.1% of the 107 2003 Nissan 300 Zx tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 72.6% for cars first used in 2003. First-attempt pass rate: 82.8%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2003 Nissan 300 Zx?
The three most recorded items are catalyst emissions lambda reading after 2nd fast idle outside specified limits (4.67%), battery(ies) insecure but not likely to fall from carrier (3.74%), catalyst emissions carbon monoxide content at idle exceeds manufacturer's specified limits (3.74%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2003 Nissan 300 Zx MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 100.0% of the time, falling to 92.9% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2003 Nissan 300 Zx in this dataset had covered 88,843 mi.
Does the season affect the 2003 Nissan 300 Zx MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 86.5% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 82.9%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.