Pass rate
72.5%
Below average — 0.3 pts ahead of the 72.2% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 2,817 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £18–£56
2004 Toyota Previa MOT pass rate
- 2004
- typical 141,078 mi
Most common fault
Suspension
28.2% 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
- 64.4%
- Typical mileage
- 141k mi
The 2004 Toyota Previa MOT pass rate is 72.5% of its MOT tests — about what its age and mileage predict. Suspension is the biggest single reason it fails, at 28.2% 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 28.2% of everything recorded on the 2004 Toyota Previa, against 21.0% nationally — 7.2 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. 63% 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 2004 Toyota Previa compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 72.2%, so this figure is 0.3 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 64.4%. The median 2004 Toyota Previa in this dataset had covered 141,078 mi.
85% of the tests on this vehicle ran on Petrol, which passed 71.9% of the time. Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 72.3% of the time, April–September 72.6%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources", noted on 7.81% of tests.
- 2,817 recorded tests behind this page.
- 72.5% overall pass rate, 64.4% 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
- 2,817
- Typical mileage (median)
- 141,078 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
Number Plate Lamp
Usually a DIY or independent-garage job.
Does mileage affect the Previa MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 63% so small gaps stay visible.
Fuel type and reliability
Pass rate by fuel type. Petrol is the most common here (85% of tests).
Regional pass rates for the Previa
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| London | 1,021 | 73.8% |
| South East | 783 | 73.6% |
| East of England | 245 | 69.4% |
| West Midlands | 227 | 78.4% |
| North West | 185 | 69.7% |
| South West | 124 | 63.7% |
| East Midlands | 87 | 69.0% |
| Yorkshire | 56 | 71.4% |
| Wales | 38 | 68.4% |
| Scotland | 27 | 51.9% |
| North East | 23 | 65.2% |
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 2004 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 2004 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 7.8% 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 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 3.6% of tests
“wipers blade defective”
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 Previa through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £18–£56 — and 63% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £18–£56
- Cheapest common item: malfunction indicator lamp inoperative or…
- £3–£12
- Dearest common item: joints constant velocity boot severely…
- £80–£250
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 70%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 63%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 2,817 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 2004 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 2004 cars with a similar record
- Honda Civic 72.5%
- Skoda Octavia 72.5%
- Mitsubishi Shogun 72.6%
- Honda Accord 72.6%
- Suzuki Ignis 72.6%
- Honda Jazz 72.3%
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 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 12,187 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 | 3,471 | 28.20% | 20.98% | +7.22 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 2,029 | 16.50% | 12.21% | +4.29 |
| Brakes | 1,984 | 16.10% | 20.89% | −4.79 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 1,301 | 10.60% | 5.52% | +5.08 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 1,199 | 9.70% | 5.57% | +4.13 |
| Tyres | 980 | 8.00% | 19.76% | −11.76 |
| Visibility | 387 | 3.10% | 4.97% | −1.87 |
| Identification of the vehicle | 313 | 2.50% | 1.76% | +0.74 |
| Non-component advisories | 283 | 2.30% | 4.18% | −1.88 |
| Steering | 240 | 2.00% | 2.57% | −0.57 |
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 | 7.8% | £5–20 |
| Headlamp lens slightly defective Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 7.2% | £5–25 |
| Ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated Suspension | Minor | 5.8% | £18–45 |
| Joints constant velocity boot severely deteriorated Body, chassis, structure | Minor | 4.4% | £80–250 |
| Malfunction indicator lamp inoperative or indicates a malfunction Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 4.0% | £3–12 |
| Headlamp aim projected beam image is obviously incorrect Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 3.9% | £30–80 |
| Position lamp not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 3.9% | £5–25 |
| Wipers blade defective Visibility | Minor | 3.6% | £8–22 |
| Exhaust system has a major leak of exhaust gases Body, chassis, structure | Major | 3.4% | £45–120 |
| Stop lamp not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 3.4% | £3–12 |
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 | 30.9% | £40–150 |
| Coil spring corroded so that its cross sectional area is reduced and seriously weakened Suspension | Advisory | 30.9% | £25–65 |
| Engine oil leaks leaking excessively from engine Noise, emissions and leaks | Advisory | 28.1% | £200–700 |
| Rigid brake pipes excessively corroded Brakes | Advisory | 21.1% | £80–180 |
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Advisory | 18.2% | £45–95 |
| Headlamp has a product on the lens so that the light output is severely reduced Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Advisory | 13.6% | £5–25 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30-60k | 39 | 89.7% | 46,850 mi |
| 60-90k | 213 | 77.9% | 78,373 mi |
| 90-120k | 556 | 74.3% | 106,142 mi |
| 120k+ | 1,999 | 71.1% | 161,526 mi |
Source: 2,817 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 Previa MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2004 Toyota Previa?
72.5% of the 2,817 2004 Toyota Previa tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 72.2% for cars first used in 2004. First-attempt pass rate: 64.4%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2004 Toyota Previa?
The three most recorded items are registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources (7.81%), headlamp lens slightly defective (7.24%), ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated (5.75%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2004 Toyota Previa MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 89.7% of the time, falling to 71.1% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2004 Toyota Previa in this dataset had covered 141,078 mi.
Which fuel type is most reliable for a 2004 Toyota Previa?
Petrol: 71.9% pass rate across 2,403 tests. Diesel: 75.4% pass rate across 357 tests. LPG: 77.8% pass rate across 54 tests. Shares are of the tests on this vehicle that recorded each fuel type.
Does the season affect the 2004 Toyota Previa MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 72.3% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 72.6%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.