Pass rate
86.8%
Above average — 14.2 pts ahead of the 72.6% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 303 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £39–£123
2003 Nissan Skyline MOT pass rate
- 2003
- 2 trims combined
- typical 92,503 mi
Most common fault
Suspension
22.8% of faults · 21.0% nationally
mostly worn arm bushes, split ball-joint boots and broken coil springs.
Part only £35–£75 for Suspension pin or bush excessively worn. What fitting it takes →
Which year to buy
- Best 2012 100.0% pass
- Avoid 2002 84.8% pass
Across the 19 years on record, a spread of 15.2 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 85.3%
- Typical mileage
- 93k mi
The 2003 Nissan Skyline MOT pass rate is 86.8% of its MOT tests — 14.2 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. Suspension is the biggest single reason it fails, at 22.8% of what testers record.
Check your postcode
MOT pass rates are national — type your postcode to see how Nissan Skyline does in your corner of the country.
Expert verdict
Steering: 3.1× the national share
Steering accounts for 7.9% of everything recorded on the 2003 Nissan Skyline, against 2.6% nationally — 5.3 points above. Suspension is still the single largest share at 22.8%, but at 21.0% nationally that one is ordinary. Ask for the steering to be checked for play with the wheels on the ground, not on a jack.
- 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 86.8% — 14.2 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict.
- When it fails, it costs. Only 9% 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 Skyline? Get an email when these numbers change .
Every Nissan Skyline first registered in 2003 is combined here — 2 trim and body variants in total — so the sample is as large as the DVSA data allows.
How does the 2003 Nissan Skyline compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 72.6%, so this figure is 14.2 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 85.3%. The median 2003 Nissan Skyline in this dataset had covered 92,503 mi.
Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 91.2% of the time, April–September 84.6%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated", noted on 5.61% of tests.
- 303 recorded tests behind this page.
- 86.8% overall pass rate, 85.3% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the Nissan Skyline, the average is 89.3% — best year 2012 (100.0%), worst 2002 (84.8%).
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
- 303
- Typical mileage (median)
- 92,503 mi
- Make and model
- Nissan Skyline
- Updated
- 2026-11-05
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 Skyline MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 73% so small gaps stay visible.
Regional pass rates for the Skyline
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South East | 72 | 90.3% |
| East of England | 41 | 92.7% |
| North West | 34 | 91.2% |
| West Midlands | 33 | 81.8% |
| East Midlands | 27 | 81.5% |
| South West | 24 | 75.0% |
| Yorkshire | 22 | 86.4% |
| Scotland | 19 | 73.7% |
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 Skyline
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 Skyline
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 5.6% 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 windscreen 2.3% 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 2.0% of tests
“headlamp aim projected beam image is obviously incorrect”
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.
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 Skyline through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £39–£123 — and 9% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £39–£123
- Cheapest common item: registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the…
- £5–£20
- Dearest common item: catalyst emissions carbon monoxide content…
- £60–£250
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 30%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 9%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 303 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 Skyline, side by side
19 model years on record, from 2000 to 2020. Across them the pass rate runs from 84.8% to 100.0% — a spread of 15.2 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2000 92.0% catalyst emissions lambda reading…
- 2001 90.8% catalyst emissions lambda reading…
- 2002 84.8% battery(ies) insecure but not…
- 2003 86.8%ball joint dust cover severely…
- 2004 88.2% headlamp lens slightly defective
- 2005 90.4% ball joint dust cover severely…
- 2006 87.6% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2007 87.5% headlamp lens slightly defective
- 2008 88.2% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2009 89.2% ball joint dust cover severely…
- 2010 91.9% brake linings less than 1.5 mm…
- 2012 100.0% headlamp lens slightly defective
- 2014 87.3% ball joint dust cover severely…
- 2015 90.6% ball joint dust cover severely…
- 2016 89.0% ball joint dust cover severely…
- 2017 92.6% catalyst emissions lambda reading…
- 2018 91.5% ball joint dust cover severely…
- 2019 89.1% ball joint dust cover severely…
- 2020 87.3% all direction indicators flashing…
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 Skyline 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
- BMW M3 87.7%
- Porsche 911 85.5%
- Mercedes-Benz Sl 85.2%
- Honda S2000 83.5%
- Mercedes-Benz S-Class 81.7%
- 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 Skyline 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 494 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 | 115 | 22.80% | 20.98% | +1.82 |
| Brakes | 96 | 19.00% | 20.89% | −1.89 |
| Tyres | 59 | 11.70% | 19.76% | −8.06 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 54 | 10.70% | 5.52% | +5.18 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 46 | 9.10% | 12.21% | −3.11 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 45 | 8.90% | 5.57% | +3.33 |
| Steering | 40 | 7.90% | 2.57% | +5.33 |
| Non-component advisories | 16 | 3.20% | 4.18% | −0.98 |
| Visibility | 15 | 3.00% | 4.97% | −1.97 |
| Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | 8 | 1.60% | 0.82% | +0.78 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated Suspension | Minor | 5.6% | £18–45 |
| Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view Visibility | Minor | 2.3% | £80–200 |
| Headlamp aim projected beam image is obviously incorrect Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 2.0% | £30–80 |
| Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 2.0% | £5–20 |
| Ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt Suspension | Major | 1.6% | £18–45 |
| Catalyst emissions carbon monoxide content after 2nd fast idle exceeds manufacturer's specified limits Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 1.6% | £60–250 |
| Emissions not tested unable to be completed Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 1.6% | £60–250 |
| Pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn Suspension | Major | 1.6% | £40–150 |
| Service brake performance efficiency below requirements Brakes | Major | 1.6% | £60–150 |
| Catalyst emissions Lambda reading after 2nd fast idle outside specified limits Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 1.3% | £60–250 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Advisory | 11.9% | £45–95 |
| Rigid brake pipes excessively corroded Brakes | Advisory | 8.6% | £80–180 |
| Brake discs in such a condition that it is seriously weakened Brakes | Advisory | 7.3% | £45–110 |
| Brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick Brakes | Advisory | 5.6% | £18–45 |
| Engine oil leaks leaking excessively from engine Noise, emissions and leaks | Advisory | 5.3% | £200–700 |
| Exhaust system has a major leak of exhaust gases Body, chassis, structure | Advisory | 5.3% | £45–120 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 4 | 100.0% | 16,032 mi |
| 30-60k | 47 | 85.1% | 47,096 mi |
| 60-90k | 90 | 88.9% | 77,667 mi |
| 90-120k | 88 | 81.8% | 103,493 mi |
| 120k+ | 74 | 90.5% | 146,189 mi |
Source: 303 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 Skyline MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2003 Nissan Skyline?
86.8% of the 303 2003 Nissan Skyline tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 72.6% for cars first used in 2003. First-attempt pass rate: 85.3%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2003 Nissan Skyline?
The three most recorded items are ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated (5.61%), windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view (2.31%), headlamp aim projected beam image is obviously incorrect (1.98%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2003 Nissan Skyline MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 100.0% of the time, falling to 90.5% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2003 Nissan Skyline in this dataset had covered 92,503 mi.
Does the season affect the 2003 Nissan Skyline MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 91.2% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 84.6%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.