Pass rate
71.7%
Below average — 0.9 pts behind the 72.6% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 3,383 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £34–£89
2003 Suzuki Ignis MOT pass rate
- 2003
- typical 86,522 mi
Check your postcode
Most common fault
Brakes
25.3% of faults · 20.9% nationally
mostly worn pads and discs, corroded pipes and a handbrake that will not hold.
Part only £25–£55 for Rigid brake pipes excessively corroded. What fitting it takes →
16.3 pts down across model years — 17.2% in 2001, 0.9% in 2018.
Which year to buy
- Best 2023 100.0% pass
- Avoid 2000 67.3% pass
Across the 17 years on record, a spread of 32.7 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 62.9%
- Typical mileage
- 87k mi
The 2003 Suzuki Ignis MOT pass rate is 71.7% of its MOT tests — about what its age and mileage predict. Brakes is the biggest single reason it fails, at 25.3% of what testers record.
Expert verdict
Fewer problems with tyres
Tyres are 11.1% of this car’s recorded faults, against 19.8% nationally — the mirror image of the usual story on a car of this age.
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 Suzuki Ignis? Get an email when these numbers change .
How does the 2003 Suzuki Ignis compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 72.6%, so this figure is 0.9 points behind what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 62.9%. The median 2003 Suzuki Ignis in this dataset had covered 86,522 mi.
Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 71.5% of the time, April–September 71.9%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Headlamp lens slightly defective", noted on 5.91% of tests.
- 3,383 recorded tests behind this page.
- 71.7% overall pass rate, 62.9% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the Suzuki Ignis, the average is 85.7% — best year 2023 (100.0%), worst 2000 (67.3%).
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
- 3,383
- Typical mileage (median)
- 86,522 mi
- Make and model
- Suzuki Ignis
- Updated
- 2026-11-07
Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data (2023–2025), OGL v3.0.
Top part to budget for
Headlight Bulb
Usually a DIY or independent-garage job.
Does mileage affect the Ignis MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 57% so small gaps stay visible.
Where the Suzuki Ignis is most common
Across all Ignis model years on record (2000–2023): 40,461 Suzuki Ignis cars tested in a recordable postcode area, across 93,501 tests. Sheffield (S) has the most, with 1,002 cars tested there. Cars are counted by the postcode area of the MOT station, so this is where they were tested, not necessarily where their owners live.
| # | Postcode area | Cars | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sheffield (S) | 1,002 | 86.7% |
| 2 | Newcastle upon Tyne (NE) | 944 | 86.1% |
| 3 | Peterborough (PE) | 814 | 86.5% |
| 4 | Portsmouth (PO) | 796 | 85.4% |
| 5 | Exeter (EX) | 795 | 88.6% |
| 6 | Brighton (BN) | 769 | 87.8% |
| 7 | Birmingham (B) | 739 | 85.8% |
| 8 | Cardiff (CF) | 663 | 83.8% |
| 9 | Nottingham (NG) | 659 | 83.0% |
| 10 | Glasgow (G) | 655 | 83.9% |
| 11 | Swansea (SA) | 652 | 85.2% |
| 12 | Bradford (BD) | 645 | 86.0% |
| 13 | Bristol (BS) | 590 | 82.4% |
| 14 | Edinburgh (EH) | 583 | 80.9% |
| 15 | Gloucester (GL) | 576 | 85.7% |
| 16 | Warrington (WA) | 560 | 87.0% |
| 17 | Leeds (LS) | 557 | 86.5% |
| 18 | York (YO) | 550 | 83.8% |
| 19 | Doncaster (DN) | 542 | 85.7% |
| 20 | Plymouth (PL) | 541 | 85.2% |
The twenty areas with the most Suzuki Ignis cars in the record, sorted by car count — sort the columns for a different question. Cars tested at a station whose postcode area could not be resolved are counted in the model's total but in no area, so the shares add up to slightly under 100% even across every area, and an area's cars are a subset of the model's. Pass rate is blank below 30 tests in an area, where a percentage is noise rather than a finding. How this model's pass rate varies by postcode →
Regional pass rates for the Ignis
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South East | 737 | 74.6% |
| South West | 488 | 68.6% |
| West Midlands | 358 | 72.9% |
| East of England | 353 | 73.1% |
| North West | 347 | 71.5% |
| Yorkshire | 297 | 69.7% |
| East Midlands | 228 | 74.6% |
| Wales | 204 | 65.7% |
| Scotland | 145 | 63.4% |
| North East | 139 | 69.1% |
| London | 87 | 85.1% |
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 Ignis
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 Ignis
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 5.9% of tests
“headlamp lens slightly defective”
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 suspension joints 5.2% of tests
“ball joint excessively worn”
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 brake pipes 3.6% of tests
“rigid brake pipes excessively corroded”
Brake pipes run under the car, usually in front of the rear wheels. Flaking or crusty metal is what fails; a light dusting of surface rust does not. Worth asking a garage to look while it is on a ramp.
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 Ignis through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £34–£89 — and 36% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £34–£89
- Cheapest common item: stop lamp not working
- £3–£12
- Dearest common item: joints constant velocity boot severely…
- £80–£250
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 60%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 36%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 3,383 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 Ignis, side by side
17 model years on record, from 2000 to 2023. Across them the pass rate runs from 67.3% to 100.0% — a spread of 32.7 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2000 67.3% service brake imbalance across an…
- 2001 71.6% ball joint dust cover severely…
- 2002 72.8% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2003 71.7%headlamp lens slightly defective
- 2004 72.6% headlamp lens slightly defective
- 2005 71.3% headlamp lens slightly defective
- 2006 72.8% headlamp lens slightly defective
- 2007 72.9% rigid brake pipes excessively…
- 2008 76.1% headlamp lens slightly defective
- 2016 84.9% coil spring fractured or broken
- 2017 86.0% coil spring fractured or broken
- 2018 89.2% coil spring fractured or broken
- 2019 91.8% coil spring fractured or broken
- 2020 95.4% wipers does not clear the…
- 2021 96.4% wipers does not clear the…
- 2022 96.9% wipers does not clear the…
- 2023 100.0% windscreen damaged but not…
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 Suzuki Ignis 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 Civic 71.7%
- Mitsubishi L200 71.7%
- Toyota Celica 71.7%
- Nissan Micra 71.6%
- Renault Megane 71.6%
- Citroen Saxo 71.6%
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 Suzuki Ignis 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 10,219 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brakes | 2,613 | 25.30% | 20.89% | +4.41 |
| Suspension | 2,295 | 22.30% | 20.98% | +1.32 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 1,358 | 13.20% | 12.21% | +0.99 |
| Tyres | 1,142 | 11.10% | 19.76% | −8.66 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 816 | 7.90% | 5.57% | +2.33 |
| Non-component advisories | 528 | 5.10% | 4.18% | +0.92 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 403 | 3.90% | 5.52% | −1.62 |
| Visibility | 380 | 3.70% | 4.97% | −1.27 |
| Identification of the vehicle | 370 | 3.60% | 1.76% | +1.84 |
| Steering | 314 | 3.00% | 2.57% | +0.43 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Headlamp lens slightly defective Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 5.9% | £5–25 |
| Ball joint excessively worn Suspension | Major | 5.2% | £18–45 |
| Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 4.8% | £5–20 |
| Service brake imbalance across an axle Brakes | Major | 4.2% | £45–110 |
| Ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated Suspension | Minor | 3.8% | £18–45 |
| Rigid brake pipes excessively corroded Brakes | Major | 3.6% | £80–180 |
| Stop lamp not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 3.1% | £3–12 |
| Joints constant velocity boot severely deteriorated Body, chassis, structure | Minor | 3.0% | £80–250 |
| Service brake performance excessively binding Brakes | Major | 2.7% | £60–150 |
| Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view Visibility | Minor | 2.6% | £80–200 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rigid brake pipes excessively corroded Brakes | Advisory | 26.5% | £80–180 |
| Coil spring corroded so that its cross sectional area is reduced and seriously weakened Suspension | Advisory | 14.4% | £25–65 |
| Has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Tyres | Advisory | 14.1% | £45–95 |
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Advisory | 13.2% | £45–95 |
| Non-component advisories Play in steering rack inner joint(s) Non-component advisories | Advisory | 11.9% | £120–300 |
| Registration plates inscription illegible Identification of the vehicle | Advisory | 10.0% | £20–80 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 67 | 89.6% | 24,296 mi |
| 30-60k | 570 | 79.1% | 48,098 mi |
| 60-90k | 1,203 | 72.2% | 75,164 mi |
| 90-120k | 982 | 69.0% | 103,099 mi |
| 120k+ | 559 | 65.5% | 141,383 mi |
Source: 3,383 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 Ignis MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2003 Suzuki Ignis?
71.7% of the 3,383 2003 Suzuki Ignis tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 72.6% for cars first used in 2003. First-attempt pass rate: 62.9%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2003 Suzuki Ignis?
The three most recorded items are headlamp lens slightly defective (5.91%), ball joint excessively worn (5.17%), registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources (4.79%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2003 Suzuki Ignis MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 89.6% of the time, falling to 65.5% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2003 Suzuki Ignis in this dataset had covered 86,522 mi.
Does the season affect the 2003 Suzuki Ignis MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 71.5% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 71.9%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.