Pass rate
74.1%
Below average — 1.5 pts ahead of the 72.6% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 2,340 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £70–£178
2003 Toyota Hiace MOT pass rate
- 2003
- typical 154,262 mi
Most common fault
Suspension
32.1% of faults · 21.0% nationally
mostly worn arm bushes, split ball-joint boots and broken coil springs.
Which year to buy
- Best 2018 84.4% pass
- Avoid 2000 73.4% pass
Across the 22 years on record, a spread of 11 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 67.6%
- Typical mileage
- 154k mi
The 2003 Toyota Hiace MOT pass rate is 74.1% of its MOT tests — 1.5 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. Suspension is the biggest single reason it fails, at 32.1% of what testers record.
Check your postcode
MOT pass rates are national — type your postcode to see how Toyota Hiace does in your corner of the country.
Expert verdict
Suspension: 1.5× the national share
Suspension accounts for 32.1% of everything recorded on the 2003 Toyota Hiace, against 21.0% nationally — 11.1 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.
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 Hiace? Get an email when these numbers change .
How does the 2003 Toyota Hiace compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 72.6%, so this figure is 1.5 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 67.6%. The median 2003 Toyota Hiace in this dataset had covered 154,262 mi.
99% of the tests on this vehicle ran on Diesel, which passed 74.1% of the time. Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 73.3% of the time, April–September 75.2%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources", noted on 11.54% of tests.
- 2,340 recorded tests behind this page.
- 74.1% overall pass rate, 67.6% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the Toyota Hiace, the average is 76.9% — best year 2018 (84.4%), worst 2000 (73.4%).
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
- 2,340
- Typical mileage (median)
- 154,262 mi
- Make and model
- Toyota Hiace
- Updated
- 2026-11-05
Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data (2023–2025), OGL v3.0.
Top part to budget for
Number Plate Lamp
Usually a DIY or independent-garage job.
Does mileage affect the Hiace 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. Diesel is the most common here (99% of tests).
Regional pass rates for the Hiace
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South East | 492 | 77.2% |
| South West | 436 | 66.3% |
| North West | 284 | 72.9% |
| East of England | 250 | 79.6% |
| Yorkshire | 193 | 77.2% |
| East Midlands | 190 | 75.8% |
| West Midlands | 173 | 78.6% |
| Wales | 140 | 69.3% |
| Scotland | 78 | 66.7% |
| London | 62 | 85.5% |
| North East | 42 | 69.0% |
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 2003 Hiace
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 Hiace
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 11.5% 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.
-
Check corrosion 7.8% of tests
“component mounting prescribed areas prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength”
Look under the sills, around the jacking points and where the suspension mounts meet the body. Flaking, holed or crumbly metal fails; a brown stain on sound metal does not.
-
Check the windscreen 5.0% 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 Hiace through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £70–£178 — and 53% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £70–£178
- Cheapest common item: stop lamp not working
- £3–£12
- 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
- 53%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 2,340 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 Hiace, side by side
22 model years on record, from 2000 to 2021. Across them the pass rate runs from 73.4% to 84.4% — a spread of 11 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2000 73.4% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2001 74.4% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2002 76.6% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2003 74.1%registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2004 75.6% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2005 77.1% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2006 77.2% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2007 79.0% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2008 79.9% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2009 80.2% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2010 77.6% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2011 79.4% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2012 83.4% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2013 81.0% wipers does not clear the…
- 2014 84.1% rear fog lamp not working
- 2015 78.7% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2016 81.9% joints constant velocity boot…
- 2017 83.7% headlamp lens slightly defective
- 2018 84.4% ball joint dust cover severely…
- 2019 75.9% rear fog lamp not working
- 2020 79.2% joints constant velocity boot…
- 2021 76.9% service brake imbalance across an…
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 Hiace 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
- Audi A4 74.1%
- Vauxhall Agila 74.1%
- Volkswagen Lupo 74.1%
- Volvo S60 74.1%
- Volkswagen Bora 74.0%
- Nissan Almera 73.9%
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 Hiace 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 6,958 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 | 2,264 | 32.10% | 20.98% | +11.12 |
| Brakes | 1,105 | 15.70% | 20.89% | −5.19 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 930 | 13.20% | 12.21% | +0.99 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 769 | 10.90% | 5.57% | +5.33 |
| Tyres | 622 | 8.80% | 19.76% | −10.96 |
| Visibility | 398 | 5.60% | 4.97% | +0.63 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 353 | 5.00% | 5.52% | −0.52 |
| Identification of the vehicle | 263 | 3.70% | 1.76% | +1.94 |
| Non-component advisories | 160 | 2.30% | 4.18% | −1.88 |
| Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | 94 | 1.30% | 0.82% | +0.48 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 11.5% | £5–20 |
| Component mounting prescribed areas prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength Suspension | Major | 7.8% | £180–450 |
| Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view Visibility | Minor | 5.0% | £80–200 |
| Wipers does not clear the windscreen effectively Visibility | Major | 3.1% | £8–22 |
| Position lamp not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 3.0% | £5–25 |
| Integral vehicle structure condition corroded to the extent that the rigidity of the assembly is significantly reduced Body, chassis, structure | Major | 2.4% | £180–450 |
| Rigid brake pipes excessively corroded Brakes | Major | 2.3% | £80–180 |
| Stop lamp not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 2.1% | £3–12 |
| Wipers blade defective Visibility | Minor | 2.0% | £8–22 |
| Chassis condition or chassis has excessive corrosion, seriously affecting its strength within 30cm of a body mounting Body, chassis, structure | Major | 1.9% | £180–450 |
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 | 17.0% | £80–180 |
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Advisory | 13.7% | £45–95 |
| Wheel bearings has excessive play Suspension | Advisory | 11.5% | £20–55 |
| Component mounting prescribed areas prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength Suspension | Advisory | 10.3% | £180–450 |
| Registration plates inscription illegible Identification of the vehicle | Advisory | 10.2% | £20–80 |
| Coil spring corroded so that its cross sectional area is reduced and seriously weakened Suspension | Advisory | 9.1% | £25–65 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 13 | 69.2% | 25,372 mi |
| 30-60k | 60 | 83.3% | 44,916 mi |
| 60-90k | 208 | 79.3% | 77,933 mi |
| 90-120k | 352 | 77.0% | 105,321 mi |
| 120k+ | 1,692 | 72.6% | 180,600 mi |
Source: 2,340 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 Hiace MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2003 Toyota Hiace?
74.1% of the 2,340 2003 Toyota Hiace tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 72.6% for cars first used in 2003. First-attempt pass rate: 67.6%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2003 Toyota Hiace?
The three most recorded items are registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources (11.54%), component mounting prescribed areas prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength (7.82%), windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view (4.96%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2003 Toyota Hiace MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 69.2% of the time, falling to 72.6% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2003 Toyota Hiace in this dataset had covered 154,262 mi.
Which fuel type is most reliable for a 2003 Toyota Hiace?
Diesel: 74.1% pass rate across 2,322 tests. Petrol: 83.3% pass rate across 18 tests. Shares are of the tests on this vehicle that recorded each fuel type.
Does the season affect the 2003 Toyota Hiace MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 73.3% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 75.2%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.