Pass rate
73.9%
Below average — 1.3 pts ahead of the 72.6% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 21,082 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £36–£98
2003 Toyota Corolla MOT pass rate
- 2003
- typical 101,853 mi
Check your postcode
Most common fault
Brakes
23.4% of faults · 20.9% nationally
mostly worn pads and discs, corroded pipes and a handbrake that will not hold.
Which year to buy
- Best 2025 99.5% pass
- Avoid 2003 73.9% pass · this year
Across the 24 years on record, a spread of 25.6 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 66.7%
- Typical mileage
- 102k mi
The 2003 Toyota Corolla MOT pass rate is 73.9% of its MOT tests — 1.3 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. Brakes is the biggest single reason it fails, at 23.4% of what testers record.
Expert verdict
Lamps & electrics: 1.4× the national share
Lamps & electrics make up 17.7% of everything recorded on the 2003 Toyota Corolla, against 12.2% nationally — 5.5 points above. Brakes are still the single largest share at 23.4%, but at 20.9% 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.
- Failures here tend to be cheap ones. 58% 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 Corolla? Get an email when these numbers change .
How does the 2003 Toyota Corolla compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 72.6%, so this figure is 1.3 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 66.7%. The median 2003 Toyota Corolla in this dataset had covered 101,853 mi.
95% of the tests on this vehicle ran on Petrol, which passed 74.0% of the time. Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 73.8% of the time, April–September 74.0%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Headlamp lens slightly defective", noted on 7.36% of tests.
- 21,082 recorded tests behind this page.
- 73.9% overall pass rate, 66.7% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the Toyota Corolla, the average is 84.4% — best year 2025 (99.5%), worst 2003 (73.9%).
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
- 21,082
- Typical mileage (median)
- 101,853 mi
- Make and model
- Toyota Corolla
- 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 Corolla MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 61% so small gaps stay visible.
Fuel type and reliability
Pass rate by fuel type. Petrol is the most common here (95% of tests).
Where the Toyota Corolla is most common
Across all Corolla model years on record (2000–2025): 168,023 Toyota Corolla cars tested in a recordable postcode area, across 365,996 tests. Birmingham (B) has the most, with 7,594 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 | Birmingham (B) | 7,594 | 88.9% |
| 2 | Manchester (M) | 4,877 | 85.3% |
| 3 | Sheffield (S) | 4,458 | 88.0% |
| 4 | Leicester (LE) | 4,117 | 85.4% |
| 5 | Nottingham (NG) | 3,446 | 84.5% |
| 6 | Bristol (BS) | 3,352 | 78.9% |
| 7 | Derby (DE) | 3,137 | 87.1% |
| 8 | Bradford (BD) | 3,050 | 84.5% |
| 9 | Peterborough (PE) | 2,810 | 84.9% |
| 10 | Bolton (BL) | 2,773 | 85.5% |
| 11 | Reading (RG) | 2,572 | 84.4% |
| 12 | Leeds (LS) | 2,386 | 84.2% |
| 13 | London (NW) | 2,377 | 87.9% |
| 14 | London (E) | 2,284 | 88.0% |
| 15 | Newcastle upon Tyne (NE) | 2,272 | 86.4% |
| 16 | Coventry (CV) | 2,260 | 85.3% |
| 17 | Northampton (NN) | 2,227 | 84.1% |
| 18 | Ashford (TN) | 2,160 | 82.6% |
| 19 | Cardiff (CF) | 2,148 | 83.4% |
| 20 | Brighton (BN) | 2,130 | 78.6% |
The twenty areas with the most Toyota Corolla 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 Corolla
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South East | 5,483 | 76.6% |
| North West | 2,633 | 72.6% |
| South West | 2,465 | 67.7% |
| East of England | 2,111 | 74.5% |
| East Midlands | 1,872 | 74.5% |
| Yorkshire | 1,735 | 73.9% |
| West Midlands | 1,639 | 76.2% |
| London | 1,545 | 79.6% |
| Wales | 704 | 68.3% |
| Scotland | 476 | 63.0% |
| North East | 419 | 70.2% |
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 Corolla
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 Corolla
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 7.4% 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 wipers and washers 2.9% 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.
-
Check the windscreen 2.6% 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.
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 Corolla through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £36–£98 — and 58% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £36–£98
- Cheapest common item: registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the…
- £5–£20
- Dearest common item: component mounting prescribed areas…
- £180–£450
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 50%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 58%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 21,082 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 Corolla, side by side
24 model years on record, from 2000 to 2025. Across them the pass rate runs from 73.9% to 99.5% — a spread of 25.6 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2000 76.7% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2001 76.7% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2002 75.8% headlamp lens slightly defective
- 2003 73.9%headlamp lens slightly defective
- 2004 74.1% headlamp lens slightly defective
- 2005 76.6% headlamp lens slightly defective
- 2006 78.0% headlamp lens slightly defective
- 2007 78.6% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2008 79.4% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2009 79.6% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2010 82.1% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2011 82.1% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2014 89.5% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2015 87.0% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2016 84.1% position lamp incorrect colour
- 2017 92.6% wipers does not clear the…
- 2018 90.5% window excessively tinted but not…
- 2019 92.9% wipers blade defective
- 2020 93.4% wipers blade defective
- 2021 93.7% wipers blade defective
- 2022 94.5% wipers blade defective
- 2023 95.7% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2024 97.7% has a cut in excess of the…
- 2025 99.5% has a cut in excess of the…
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 Corolla 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
- Nissan Almera 73.9%
- Volkswagen Bora 74.0%
- Audi A4 74.1%
- Vauxhall Agila 74.1%
- Volkswagen Lupo 74.1%
- Volvo S60 74.1%
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 Corolla 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 68,004 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 | 16,117 | 23.40% | 20.89% | +2.51 |
| Suspension | 15,054 | 21.90% | 20.98% | +0.92 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 12,151 | 17.70% | 12.21% | +5.49 |
| Tyres | 7,402 | 10.80% | 19.76% | −8.96 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 4,886 | 7.10% | 5.52% | +1.58 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 4,647 | 6.80% | 5.57% | +1.23 |
| Identification of the vehicle | 2,935 | 4.30% | 1.76% | +2.54 |
| Visibility | 2,832 | 4.10% | 4.97% | −0.87 |
| Non-component advisories | 1,453 | 2.10% | 4.18% | −2.08 |
| Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | 527 | 0.80% | 0.82% | −0.02 |
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 | 7.4% | £5–25 |
| Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 6.1% | £5–20 |
| Headlamp aim projected beam image is obviously incorrect Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 4.7% | £30–80 |
| Service brake performance excessively binding Brakes | Major | 3.3% | £60–150 |
| Wipers does not clear the windscreen effectively Visibility | Major | 2.9% | £8–22 |
| Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view Visibility | Minor | 2.6% | £80–200 |
| Wipers blade defective Visibility | Minor | 2.6% | £8–22 |
| Component mounting prescribed areas prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength Suspension | Major | 2.5% | £180–450 |
| Position lamp not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 2.5% | £5–25 |
| Joints constant velocity boot severely deteriorated Body, chassis, structure | Minor | 2.4% | £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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rigid brake pipes excessively corroded Brakes | Advisory | 15.4% | £80–180 |
| Engine oil leaks leaking excessively from engine Noise, emissions and leaks | Advisory | 15.1% | £200–700 |
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Advisory | 14.6% | £45–95 |
| Has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Tyres | Advisory | 13.9% | £45–95 |
| Coil spring corroded so that its cross sectional area is reduced and seriously weakened Suspension | Advisory | 13.3% | £25–65 |
| Registration plates inscription illegible Identification of the vehicle | Advisory | 12.8% | £20–80 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 194 | 87.6% | 23,374 mi |
| 30-60k | 2,127 | 82.4% | 48,272 mi |
| 60-90k | 5,475 | 77.4% | 76,312 mi |
| 90-120k | 6,681 | 72.3% | 104,730 mi |
| 120k+ | 6,595 | 69.6% | 147,492 mi |
Source: 21,082 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 Corolla MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2003 Toyota Corolla?
73.9% of the 21,082 2003 Toyota Corolla tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 72.6% for cars first used in 2003. First-attempt pass rate: 66.7%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2003 Toyota Corolla?
The three most recorded items are headlamp lens slightly defective (7.36%), registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources (6.10%), headlamp aim projected beam image is obviously incorrect (4.71%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2003 Toyota Corolla MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 87.6% of the time, falling to 69.6% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2003 Toyota Corolla in this dataset had covered 101,853 mi.
Which fuel type is most reliable for a 2003 Toyota Corolla?
Petrol: 74.0% pass rate across 20,108 tests. Diesel: 73.1% pass rate across 963 tests. LPG: 72.7% pass rate across 11 tests. Shares are of the tests on this vehicle that recorded each fuel type.
Does the season affect the 2003 Toyota Corolla MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 73.8% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 74.0%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.