Pass rate
71.1%
Below average — 1.5 pts behind the 72.6% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 2,422 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £28–£81
2003 Toyota Previa MOT pass rate
- 2003
- typical 142,311 mi
Most common fault
Suspension
27.8% of faults · 21.0% nationally
mostly worn arm bushes, split ball-joint boots and broken coil springs.
Which year to buy
- Best 2015 83.6% pass
- Avoid 2000 69.5% pass
Across the 17 years on record, a spread of 14.1 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 62.8%
- Typical mileage
- 142k mi
The 2003 Toyota Previa MOT pass rate is 71.1% of its MOT tests — 1.5 points behind what its age and mileage predict. Suspension is the biggest single reason it fails, at 27.8% of what testers record.
Check your postcode
MOT pass rates are national — type your postcode to see how Toyota Previa does in your corner of the country.
Expert verdict
Suspension: 1.3× the national share
Suspension accounts for 27.8% of everything recorded on the 2003 Toyota Previa, against 21.0% nationally — 6.8 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.
- 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 Previa? Get an email when these numbers change .
How does the 2003 Toyota Previa compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 72.6%, so this figure is 1.5 points behind what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 62.8%. The median 2003 Toyota Previa in this dataset had covered 142,311 mi.
The most common fuel recorded here is Petrol — 80% of tests, with a 70.9% pass rate. Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 71.8% of the time, April–September 70.3%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Headlamp lens slightly defective", noted on 8.51% of tests.
- 2,422 recorded tests behind this page.
- 71.1% overall pass rate, 62.8% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the Toyota Previa, the average is 72.8% — best year 2015 (83.6%), worst 2000 (69.5%).
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
- 2,422
- Typical mileage (median)
- 142,311 mi
- Make and model
- Toyota Previa
- 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 Previa 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 (80% of tests).
Regional pass rates for the Previa
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| London | 844 | 73.3% |
| South East | 696 | 71.4% |
| West Midlands | 202 | 76.2% |
| East of England | 183 | 71.0% |
| North West | 168 | 64.3% |
| South West | 128 | 57.0% |
| Yorkshire | 70 | 72.9% |
| East Midlands | 61 | 70.5% |
| Wales | 45 | 68.9% |
| North East | 17 | 58.8% |
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 Previa
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 Previa
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 8.5% 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 4.6% 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 3.7% 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 2003 Previa through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £28–£81 — and 58% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £28–£81
- Cheapest common item: malfunction indicator lamp inoperative or…
- £3–£12
- Dearest common item: component mounting prescribed areas…
- £180–£450
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 70%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 58%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 2,422 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 Previa, side by side
17 model years on record, from 2000 to 2016. Across them the pass rate runs from 69.5% to 83.6% — a spread of 14.1 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2000 69.5% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2001 70.6% headlamp lens slightly defective
- 2002 71.9% headlamp lens slightly defective
- 2003 71.1%headlamp lens slightly defective
- 2004 72.5% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2005 74.3% headlamp lens slightly defective
- 2006 74.0% headlamp lens slightly defective
- 2007 76.4% headlamp lens slightly defective
- 2008 79.8% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2009 75.5% catalyst emissions lambda reading…
- 2010 70.3% headlamp lens slightly defective
- 2011 74.8% headlamp lens slightly defective
- 2012 80.3% headlamp lens slightly defective
- 2013 78.2% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2014 76.1% headlamp lens slightly defective
- 2015 83.6% ball joint dust cover severely…
- 2016 77.6% rear fog lamp not working
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 Previa 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
- Renault Scenic 71.0%
- MINI Mini 70.9%
- Rover 75 70.9%
- Audi A2 71.3%
- Jaguar X-Type 71.4%
- Volvo XC90 70.7%
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 Previa 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 10,691 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 | 3,002 | 27.80% | 20.98% | +6.82 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 1,822 | 16.90% | 12.21% | +4.69 |
| Brakes | 1,732 | 16.10% | 20.89% | −4.79 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 1,130 | 10.50% | 5.52% | +4.98 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 1,068 | 9.90% | 5.57% | +4.33 |
| Tyres | 857 | 7.90% | 19.76% | −11.86 |
| Visibility | 347 | 3.20% | 4.97% | −1.77 |
| Identification of the vehicle | 271 | 2.50% | 1.76% | +0.74 |
| Non-component advisories | 254 | 2.40% | 4.18% | −1.78 |
| Steering | 208 | 1.90% | 2.57% | −0.67 |
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 | 8.5% | £5–25 |
| Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 8.2% | £5–20 |
| Joints constant velocity boot severely deteriorated Body, chassis, structure | Minor | 4.6% | £80–250 |
| Ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated Suspension | Minor | 4.6% | £18–45 |
| Position lamp not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 4.5% | £5–25 |
| Headlamp aim projected beam image is obviously incorrect Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 4.0% | £30–80 |
| Linkage ball joint dust cover ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated Suspension | Minor | 3.9% | £18–45 |
| Wipers does not clear the windscreen effectively Visibility | Major | 3.7% | £8–22 |
| Malfunction indicator lamp inoperative or indicates a malfunction Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 3.5% | £3–12 |
| Component mounting prescribed areas prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength Suspension | Major | 3.3% | £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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coil spring corroded so that its cross sectional area is reduced and seriously weakened Suspension | Advisory | 33.9% | £25–65 |
| Engine oil leaks leaking excessively from engine Noise, emissions and leaks | Advisory | 30.1% | £200–700 |
| Pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn Suspension | Advisory | 27.8% | £40–150 |
| Rigid brake pipes excessively corroded Brakes | Advisory | 21.4% | £80–180 |
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Advisory | 18.5% | £45–95 |
| Headlamp has a product on the lens so that the light output is severely reduced Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Advisory | 14.9% | £5–25 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 6 | 83.3% | 18,768 mi |
| 30-60k | 39 | 76.9% | 49,547 mi |
| 60-90k | 215 | 71.6% | 77,167 mi |
| 90-120k | 514 | 75.1% | 106,195 mi |
| 120k+ | 1,638 | 69.7% | 165,189 mi |
Source: 2,422 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 Previa MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2003 Toyota Previa?
71.1% of the 2,422 2003 Toyota Previa tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 72.6% for cars first used in 2003. First-attempt pass rate: 62.8%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2003 Toyota Previa?
The three most recorded items are headlamp lens slightly defective (8.51%), registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources (8.22%), joints constant velocity boot severely deteriorated (4.62%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2003 Toyota Previa MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 83.3% of the time, falling to 69.7% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2003 Toyota Previa in this dataset had covered 142,311 mi.
Which fuel type is most reliable for a 2003 Toyota Previa?
Petrol: 70.9% pass rate across 1,946 tests. Diesel: 71.8% pass rate across 443 tests. LPG: 73.3% pass rate across 30 tests. Shares are of the tests on this vehicle that recorded each fuel type.
Does the season affect the 2003 Toyota Previa MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 71.8% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 70.3%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.