Pass rate
81.0%
Around average — 8.4 pts ahead of the 72.6% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 137 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £24–£77
2003 Toyota Camry MOT pass rate
- 2003
- typical 115,575 mi
Most common fault
Suspension
23.9% 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 2020 95.5% pass
- Avoid 2001 77.5% pass
Across the 10 years on record, a spread of 18 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 77.6%
- Typical mileage
- 116k mi
The 2003 Toyota Camry MOT pass rate is 81.0% of its MOT tests — 8.4 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. Suspension is the biggest single reason it fails, at 23.9% of what testers record.
Check your postcode
MOT pass rates are national — type your postcode to see how Toyota Camry does in your corner of the country.
Expert verdict
Body & chassis: 2.2× the national share
Body & chassis accounts for 12.5% of everything recorded on the 2003 Toyota Camry, against 5.6% nationally — 6.9 points above. Suspension is still the single largest share at 23.9%, but at 21.0% nationally that one is ordinary. Look underneath for corrosion near the jacking points and suspension mounts; surface rust is normal, flaking metal is not.
- 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 81.0% — 8.4 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict.
- Failures here tend to be cheap ones. 60% of the repairs this model fails on cost under £30 in parts. The pass rate matters less than what a bad afternoon at the test centre actually costs you.
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 Camry? Get an email when these numbers change .
How does the 2003 Toyota Camry compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 72.6%, so this figure is 8.4 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 77.6%. The median 2003 Toyota Camry in this dataset had covered 115,575 mi.
Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 80.0% of the time, April–September 82.7%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Headlamp lens slightly defective", noted on 7.30% of tests.
- 137 recorded tests behind this page.
- 81.0% overall pass rate, 77.6% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the Toyota Camry, the average is 92.3% — best year 2020 (95.5%), worst 2001 (77.5%).
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
- 137
- Typical mileage (median)
- 115,575 mi
- Make and model
- Toyota Camry
- 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 Camry MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 64% so small gaps stay visible.
Regional pass rates for the Camry
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South East | 46 | 82.6% |
| East of England | 24 | 62.5% |
| London | 17 | 94.1% |
| West Midlands | 16 | 81.3% |
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 Camry
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 Camry
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 7.3% 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 windscreen 6.6% 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 suspension joints 4.4% of tests
“pins and bushes pin or bush 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.
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 Camry through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £24–£77 — and 60% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £24–£77
- Cheapest common item: malfunction indicator lamp inoperative or…
- £3–£12
- Dearest common item: catalyst emissions lambda reading after 2nd…
- £60–£250
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 70%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 60%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 137 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 Camry, side by side
10 model years on record, from 2000 to 2022. Across them the pass rate runs from 77.5% to 95.5% — a spread of 18 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2000 77.9% linkage ball joints ball joint…
- 2001 77.5% headlamp lens slightly defective
- 2002 82.4% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2003 81.0%headlamp lens slightly defective
- 2004 87.5% headlamp lens slightly defective
- 2012 93.2% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2019 94.6% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2020 95.5% wipers blade defective
- 2021 94.6% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2022 90.4% tread depth below requirements of…
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 Toyota Camry 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
- Porsche Boxster 80.4%
- Mercedes-Benz S-Class 81.7%
- Subaru Impreza 80.0%
- Jaguar Xj 78.8%
- Honda S2000 83.5%
- Mercedes-Benz Slk 78.3%
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 Toyota Camry 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 365 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 | 88 | 23.90% | 20.98% | +2.92 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 60 | 16.30% | 12.21% | +4.09 |
| Brakes | 49 | 13.30% | 20.89% | −7.59 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 46 | 12.50% | 5.57% | +6.93 |
| Tyres | 42 | 11.40% | 19.76% | −8.36 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 31 | 8.40% | 5.52% | +2.88 |
| Visibility | 20 | 5.40% | 4.97% | +0.43 |
| Non-component advisories | 13 | 3.50% | 4.18% | −0.68 |
| Identification of the vehicle | 12 | 3.30% | 1.76% | +1.54 |
| Steering | 4 | 1.10% | 2.57% | −1.47 |
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 | 7.3% | £5–25 |
| Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view Visibility | Minor | 6.6% | £80–200 |
| Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 5.8% | £5–20 |
| Pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn Suspension | Major | 4.4% | £40–150 |
| Ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated Suspension | Minor | 3.6% | £18–45 |
| Wipers does not clear the windscreen effectively Visibility | Major | 3.6% | £8–22 |
| Headlamp not working on dipped beam Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Rectified | 2.9% | £5–25 |
| Malfunction indicator lamp inoperative or indicates a malfunction Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 2.9% | £3–12 |
| Position lamp not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 2.9% | £5–25 |
| Catalyst emissions Lambda reading after 2nd fast idle outside specified limits Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 2.2% | £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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn Suspension | Advisory | 18.3% | £40–150 |
| Exhaust system has a major leak of exhaust gases Body, chassis, structure | Advisory | 17.5% | £45–120 |
| Engine oil leaks leaking excessively from engine Noise, emissions and leaks | Advisory | 13.9% | £200–700 |
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Advisory | 13.9% | £45–95 |
| Brake discs in such a condition that it is seriously weakened Brakes | Advisory | 12.4% | £45–110 |
| Brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick Brakes | Advisory | 9.5% | £18–45 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30-60k | 7 | 100.0% | 47,519 mi |
| 60-90k | 31 | 83.9% | 78,650 mi |
| 90-120k | 37 | 89.2% | 106,757 mi |
| 120k+ | 62 | 72.6% | 153,098 mi |
Source: 137 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 Camry MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2003 Toyota Camry?
81.0% of the 137 2003 Toyota Camry tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 72.6% for cars first used in 2003. First-attempt pass rate: 77.6%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2003 Toyota Camry?
The three most recorded items are headlamp lens slightly defective (7.30%), windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view (6.57%), registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources (5.84%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2003 Toyota Camry MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 100.0% of the time, falling to 72.6% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2003 Toyota Camry in this dataset had covered 115,575 mi.
Does the season affect the 2003 Toyota Camry MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 80.0% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 82.7%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.