Pass rate
79.2%
Around average — 7.0 pts ahead of the 72.2% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 2,620 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £19–£57
2004 Toyota Alphard MOT pass rate
- 2004
- typical 78,726 mi
Most common fault
Suspension
28.7% of faults · 21.0% nationally
mostly worn arm bushes, split ball-joint boots and broken coil springs.
Which year to buy
- Best 2022 93.8% pass
- Avoid 2016 77.3% pass
Across the 21 years on record, a spread of 16.5 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 74.7%
- Typical mileage
- 79k mi
The 2004 Toyota Alphard MOT pass rate is 79.2% of its MOT tests — 7.0 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. Suspension is the biggest single reason it fails, at 28.7% of what testers record.
Check your postcode
MOT pass rates are national — type your postcode to see how Toyota Alphard does in your corner of the country.
Expert verdict
Suspension: 1.4× the national share
Suspension accounts for 28.7% of everything recorded on the 2004 Toyota Alphard, against 21.0% nationally — 7.7 points above. Ask for the front and rear suspension to be checked on a ramp before you buy — worn bushes and broken springs are cheap to look at and expensive to discover at test time.
- 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 72.2% and this one manages 79.2% — 7.0 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict.
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 Toyota Alphard? Get an email when these numbers change .
How does the 2004 Toyota Alphard compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 72.2%, so this figure is 7.0 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 74.7%. The median 2004 Toyota Alphard in this dataset had covered 78,726 mi.
Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 80.0% of the time, April–September 78.6%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Headlamp lens slightly defective", noted on 6.26% of tests.
- 2,620 recorded tests behind this page.
- 79.2% overall pass rate, 74.7% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the Toyota Alphard, the average is 81.6% — best year 2022 (93.8%), worst 2016 (77.3%).
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
- 2,620
- Typical mileage (median)
- 78,726 mi
- Make and model
- Toyota Alphard
- Updated
- 2026-11-05
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 Alphard MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 66% so small gaps stay visible.
Regional pass rates for the Alphard
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South East | 612 | 78.4% |
| South West | 585 | 74.4% |
| Scotland | 376 | 79.5% |
| East of England | 317 | 83.9% |
| West Midlands | 193 | 82.4% |
| North West | 163 | 81.0% |
| Wales | 101 | 82.2% |
| Yorkshire | 101 | 81.2% |
| East Midlands | 75 | 78.7% |
| North East | 61 | 78.7% |
| London | 36 | 91.7% |
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 2004 Alphard
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 Alphard
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 6.3% 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 5.8% 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 wipers and washers 1.9% 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 2004 Alphard through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £19–£57 — and 50% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £19–£57
- Cheapest common item: rear fog lamp not working
- £3–£15
- 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
- 50%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 2,620 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 Alphard, side by side
21 model years on record, from 2002 to 2022. Across them the pass rate runs from 77.3% to 93.8% — a spread of 16.5 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2002 80.2% headlamp lens slightly defective
- 2003 77.4% headlamp lens slightly defective
- 2004 79.2%headlamp lens slightly defective
- 2005 80.4% headlamp lens slightly defective
- 2006 82.8% ball joint dust cover severely…
- 2007 83.3% ball joint dust cover severely…
- 2008 83.8% ball joint dust cover severely…
- 2009 87.1% ball joint dust cover severely…
- 2010 84.8% ball joint dust cover severely…
- 2011 85.0% linkage ball joint dust cover…
- 2012 87.0% ball joint dust cover severely…
- 2013 90.1% ball joint dust cover severely…
- 2014 83.6% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2015 77.3% ball joint dust cover severely…
- 2016 77.3% ball joint dust cover severely…
- 2017 77.7% headlamp lens slightly defective
- 2018 79.3% headlamp lens slightly defective
- 2019 79.8% headlamp lens slightly defective
- 2020 78.3% ball joint dust cover severely…
- 2021 81.6% ball joint dust cover severely…
- 2022 93.8% linkage ball joint dust cover…
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 Toyota Alphard 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
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 Toyota Alphard 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 5,045 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 | 1,461 | 28.70% | 20.98% | +7.72 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 1,000 | 19.70% | 12.21% | +7.49 |
| Tyres | 879 | 17.30% | 19.76% | −2.46 |
| Brakes | 728 | 14.30% | 20.89% | −6.59 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 287 | 5.60% | 5.52% | +0.08 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 235 | 4.60% | 5.57% | −0.97 |
| Visibility | 181 | 3.60% | 4.97% | −1.37 |
| Non-component advisories | 125 | 2.50% | 4.18% | −1.68 |
| Steering | 118 | 2.30% | 2.57% | −0.27 |
| Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | 31 | 0.60% | 0.82% | −0.22 |
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 | 6.3% | £5–25 |
| Ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated Suspension | Minor | 5.8% | £18–45 |
| Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 4.2% | £5–20 |
| Joints constant velocity boot severely deteriorated Body, chassis, structure | Minor | 3.4% | £80–250 |
| Linkage ball joint dust cover ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated Suspension | Minor | 3.0% | £18–45 |
| Headlamp aim projected beam image is obviously incorrect Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 2.3% | £30–80 |
| Rear fog lamp not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 2.2% | £3–15 |
| Ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt Suspension | Major | 2.0% | £18–45 |
| Wipers does not clear the windscreen effectively Visibility | Major | 1.9% | £8–22 |
| Position lamp not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 1.8% | £5–25 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn Suspension | Advisory | 20.5% | £40–150 |
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Advisory | 17.1% | £45–95 |
| Brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick Brakes | Advisory | 9.9% | £18–45 |
| Swivel pins and bushes swivel pin and/or bush excessively worn Suspension | Advisory | 9.2% | £40–150 |
| Has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Tyres | Advisory | 7.8% | £45–95 |
| Brake discs in such a condition that it is seriously weakened Brakes | Advisory | 7.2% | £45–110 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 42 | 92.9% | 22,308 mi |
| 30-60k | 519 | 82.7% | 50,173 mi |
| 60-90k | 1,096 | 80.8% | 74,185 mi |
| 90-120k | 518 | 74.7% | 103,077 mi |
| 120k+ | 444 | 75.2% | 150,298 mi |
Source: 2,620 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 Alphard MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2004 Toyota Alphard?
79.2% of the 2,620 2004 Toyota Alphard tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 72.2% for cars first used in 2004. First-attempt pass rate: 74.7%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2004 Toyota Alphard?
The three most recorded items are headlamp lens slightly defective (6.26%), ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated (5.80%), registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources (4.16%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2004 Toyota Alphard MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 92.9% of the time, falling to 75.2% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2004 Toyota Alphard in this dataset had covered 78,726 mi.
Does the season affect the 2004 Toyota Alphard MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 80.0% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 78.6%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.