Pass rate
72.6%
Below average — 0.4 pts ahead of the 72.2% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 186 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £20–£57
2004 Smart Forfour Passion MOT pass rate
- 2004
- typical 108,314 mi
Check your postcode
Most common fault
Suspension
24.9% of faults · 21.0% nationally
mostly worn arm bushes, split ball-joint boots and broken coil springs.
Which year to buy
- Best 2005 72.8% pass
- Avoid 2006 71.7% pass
Across the 3 years on record, a spread of 1.1 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 65.3%
- Typical mileage
- 108k mi
The 2004 Smart Forfour Passion MOT pass rate is 72.6% of its MOT tests — about what its age and mileage predict. Suspension is the biggest single reason it fails, at 24.9% of what testers record.
Expert verdict
Lamps & electrics: 2.0× the national share
Lamps & electrics make up 24.5% of everything recorded on the 2004 Smart Forfour Passion, against 12.2% nationally — 12.3 points above. Suspension is still the single largest share at 24.9%, but at 21.0% 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.
- Based on a small sample. 186 tests back this page. That is enough to publish and to index, not enough to treat the decimal places as precise — read the pattern, not the second digit.
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 Smart Forfour Passion? Get an email when these numbers change .
How does the 2004 Smart Forfour Passion compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 72.2%, 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 65.3%. The median 2004 Smart Forfour Passion in this dataset had covered 108,314 mi.
The most common fuel recorded here is Petrol — 90% of tests, with a 71.9% pass rate. Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 70.4% of the time, April–September 75.0%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated", noted on 11.29% of tests.
- 186 recorded tests behind this page.
- 72.6% overall pass rate, 65.3% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the Smart Forfour Passion, the average is 72.3% — best year 2005 (72.8%), worst 2006 (71.7%).
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
- 186
- Typical mileage (median)
- 108,314 mi
- Make and model
- Smart Forfour Passion
- Updated
- 2026-11-07
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 Forfour Passion MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 58% so small gaps stay visible.
Fuel type and reliability
Pass rate by fuel type. Petrol is the most common here (90% of tests).
Regional pass rates for the Forfour Passion
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South East | 52 | 69.2% |
| South West | 35 | 74.3% |
| London | 23 | 78.3% |
| East of England | 20 | 75.0% |
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 Forfour Passion
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 Forfour Passion
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 11.3% 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 lights 9.1% 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.
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 Forfour Passion through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £20–£57 — and 37% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £20–£57
- Cheapest common item: stop lamp with a multiple light source up to…
- £3–£12
- Dearest common item: joints constant velocity boot severely…
- £80–£250
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 80%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 37%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 186 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 Forfour Passion, side by side
3 model years on record, from 2004 to 2006. Across them the pass rate runs from 71.7% to 72.8% — a spread of 1.1 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2004 72.6%ball joint dust cover severely…
- 2005 72.8% ball joint dust cover severely…
- 2006 71.7% 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 2004 Smart Forfour Passion 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
- Mitsubishi Shogun 72.6%
- Honda Accord 72.6%
- Suzuki Ignis 72.6%
- Honda Civic 72.5%
- Skoda Octavia 72.5%
- Toyota Celica 72.5%
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 Smart Forfour Passion 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 565 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 | 143 | 24.90% | 20.98% | +3.92 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 141 | 24.50% | 12.21% | +12.29 |
| Brakes | 85 | 14.80% | 20.89% | −6.09 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 51 | 8.90% | 5.57% | +3.33 |
| Tyres | 49 | 8.50% | 19.76% | −11.26 |
| Steering | 29 | 5.00% | 2.57% | +2.43 |
| Visibility | 25 | 4.30% | 4.97% | −0.67 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 22 | 3.80% | 5.52% | −1.72 |
| Non-component advisories | 13 | 2.30% | 4.18% | −1.88 |
| Identification of the vehicle | 7 | 1.20% | 1.76% | −0.56 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated Suspension | Minor | 11.3% | £18–45 |
| Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 9.1% | £5–20 |
| Ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt Suspension | Major | 6.5% | £18–45 |
| Track rod end ball joint dust cover damaged or deteriorated, but preventing the ingress of dirt Steering | Minor | 6.5% | £18–45 |
| Rbt (sp) efficiency below requirements Brakes | Major | 5.4% | £45–110 |
| Stop lamp with a multiple light source up to 1/2 not functioning Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 5.4% | £3–12 |
| Headlamp aim projected beam image is obviously incorrect Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 4.8% | £30–80 |
| Headlamp not working on dipped beam Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 4.3% | £5–25 |
| Headlamp lens slightly defective Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 3.8% | £5–25 |
| Joints constant velocity boot severely deteriorated Body, chassis, structure | Minor | 3.8% | £80–250 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brake discs in such a condition that it is seriously weakened Brakes | Advisory | 15.1% | £45–110 |
| Coil spring corroded so that its cross sectional area is reduced and seriously weakened Suspension | Advisory | 12.9% | £25–65 |
| Has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Tyres | Advisory | 10.2% | £45–95 |
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Advisory | 8.1% | £45–95 |
| Exhaust system has a major leak of exhaust gases Body, chassis, structure | Advisory | 7.5% | £45–120 |
| Headlamp has a product on the lens so that the light output is severely reduced Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Advisory | 7.5% | £5–25 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30-60k | 15 | 86.7% | 43,605 mi |
| 60-90k | 28 | 71.4% | 74,245 mi |
| 90-120k | 71 | 66.2% | 105,924 mi |
| 120k+ | 70 | 75.7% | 148,858 mi |
Source: 186 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 Forfour Passion MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2004 Smart Forfour Passion?
72.6% of the 186 2004 Smart Forfour Passion tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 72.2% for cars first used in 2004. First-attempt pass rate: 65.3%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2004 Smart Forfour Passion?
The three most recorded items are ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated (11.29%), registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources (9.14%), ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt (6.45%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2004 Smart Forfour Passion MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 86.7% of the time, falling to 75.7% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2004 Smart Forfour Passion in this dataset had covered 108,314 mi.
Which fuel type is most reliable for a 2004 Smart Forfour Passion?
Petrol: 71.9% pass rate across 167 tests. Diesel: 78.9% pass rate across 19 tests. Shares are of the tests on this vehicle that recorded each fuel type.
Does the season affect the 2004 Smart Forfour Passion MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 70.4% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 75.0%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.