Pass rate
91.8%
Above average — 19.2 pts ahead of the 72.6% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 267 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £42–£164
2003 TVR T350 MOT pass rate
- 2003
- typical 40,198 mi
Most common fault
Emissions & leaks
26.2% of faults · 5.5% nationally
Which year to buy
- Best 2005 97.0% pass
- Avoid 2003 91.8% pass · this year
Across the 3 years on record, a spread of 5.2 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 91.2%
- Typical mileage
- 40k mi
The 2003 TVR T350 MOT pass rate is 91.8% of its MOT tests — 19.2 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. Emissions & leaks is the biggest single reason it fails, at 26.2% of what testers record.
Check your postcode
MOT pass rates are national — type your postcode to see how TVR T350 does in your corner of the country.
Expert verdict
Emissions & leaks: 4.7× the national share
Emissions & leaks make up 26.2% of everything recorded on the 2003 TVR T350, against 5.5% nationally — 20.7 points above. A smoky diesel or a leaking joint fails on emissions more often than on wear, so ask for a recent emissions printout.
- 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 91.8% — 19.2 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict.
- When it fails, it costs. Only 22% of this model’s typical repairs come in under £30 in parts — the failures here tend to be the kind that need a garage rather than a bulb.
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 TVR T350? Get an email when these numbers change .
How does the 2003 TVR T350 compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 72.6%, so this figure is 19.2 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 91.2%. The median 2003 TVR T350 in this dataset had covered 40,198 mi.
Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 89.0% of the time, April–September 92.8%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Catalyst emissions Lambda reading after 2nd fast idle outside specified limits", noted on 1.50% of tests.
- 267 recorded tests behind this page.
- 91.8% overall pass rate, 91.2% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the TVR T350, the average is 93.8% — best year 2005 (97.0%), worst 2003 (91.8%).
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
- 267
- Typical mileage (median)
- 40,198 mi
- Make and model
- TVR T350
- Updated
- 2026-11-05
Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data (2023–2025), OGL v3.0.
Top part to budget for
Emissions Repair
Typically a garage job — get quotes before committing.
Does mileage affect the T350 MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 82% so small gaps stay visible.
Regional pass rates for the T350
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| East of England | 60 | 96.7% |
| South West | 40 | 95.0% |
| South East | 40 | 80.0% |
| Yorkshire | 36 | 88.9% |
| West Midlands | 34 | 94.1% |
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 T350
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 T350
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 exhaust and emissions 1.5% of tests
“catalyst emissions Lambda reading after 2nd fast idle outside specified limits”
Listen for a blow at idle and have someone rev it gently. Then look at the tailpipe smoke: blue is oil, white when warm is coolant, black is over-fuelling. Any of those and the emissions test is the least of it.
-
Check the wipers and washers 1.1% of tests
“washers not working”
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 lights 0.8% of tests
“headlamp aim too high”
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.
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 T350 through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £42–£164 — and 22% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £42–£164
- Cheapest common item: washers not working
- £5–£15
- Dearest common item: catalyst emissions lambda reading after 2nd…
- £60–£250
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 40%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 22%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 267 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 T350, side by side
3 model years on record, from 2003 to 2005. Across them the pass rate runs from 91.8% to 97.0% — a spread of 5.2 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2003 91.8%catalyst emissions lambda reading…
- 2004 94.2% catalyst emissions carbon…
- 2005 97.0% windscreen damaged but not…
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 TVR T350 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
- BMW M3 87.7%
- Porsche 911 85.5%
- Mercedes-Benz Sl 85.2%
- Honda S2000 83.5%
- Mercedes-Benz S-Class 81.7%
- Porsche Boxster 80.4%
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 TVR T350 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 80 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 21 | 26.20% | 5.52% | +20.68 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 19 | 23.80% | 12.21% | +11.59 |
| Suspension | 11 | 13.80% | 20.98% | −7.18 |
| Brakes | 9 | 11.20% | 20.89% | −9.69 |
| Tyres | 5 | 6.20% | 19.76% | −13.56 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 5 | 6.20% | 5.57% | +0.63 |
| Visibility | 4 | 5.00% | 4.97% | +0.03 |
| Steering | 3 | 3.80% | 2.57% | +1.23 |
| Identification of the vehicle | 2 | 2.50% | 1.76% | +0.74 |
| Non-component advisories | 1 | 1.20% | 4.18% | −2.98 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Catalyst emissions Lambda reading after 2nd fast idle outside specified limits Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 1.5% | £60–250 |
| Catalyst emissions carbon monoxide content after 2nd fast idle exceeds default limits Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 1.1% | £60–250 |
| Catalyst emissions carbon monoxide content at idle exceeds default limits Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 1.1% | £60–250 |
| Washers not working Visibility | Major | 1.1% | £5–15 |
| Emissions not tested unable to be completed Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 0.75% | £60–250 |
| Headlamp aim too high Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 0.75% | £30–80 |
| Rbt (sp) efficiency below requirements Brakes | Major | 0.75% | £45–110 |
| Rear fog lamp not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 0.75% | £3–15 |
| Catalyst emissions carbon monoxide content after 2nd fast idle exceeds manufacturer's specified limits Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 0.37% | £60–250 |
| Coil spring fractured or broken Suspension | Major | 0.37% | £25–65 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Engine oil leaks leaking excessively from engine Noise, emissions and leaks | Advisory | 1.9% | £200–700 |
| Has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Tyres | Advisory | 1.5% | £45–95 |
| Rigid brake pipes excessively damaged Brakes | Advisory | 1.5% | £80–180 |
| Pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn Suspension | Advisory | 1.1% | £40–150 |
| Transmission oil leaks leaking excessively from transmission Noise, emissions and leaks | Advisory | 0.75% | £200–700 |
| Brake discs in such a condition that it is seriously weakened Brakes | Advisory | 0.37% | £45–110 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 52 | 90.4% | 22,258 mi |
| 30-60k | 191 | 92.1% | 43,500 mi |
| 60-90k | 21 | 95.2% | 70,472 mi |
| 90-120k | 1 | 100.0% | 96,906 mi |
Source: 267 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 T350 MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2003 TVR T350?
91.8% of the 267 2003 TVR T350 tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 72.6% for cars first used in 2003. First-attempt pass rate: 91.2%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2003 TVR T350?
The three most recorded items are catalyst emissions lambda reading after 2nd fast idle outside specified limits (1.50%), catalyst emissions carbon monoxide content after 2nd fast idle exceeds default limits (1.12%), catalyst emissions carbon monoxide content at idle exceeds default limits (1.12%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2003 TVR T350 MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 90.4% of the time, falling to 100.0% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2003 TVR T350 in this dataset had covered 40,198 mi.
Does the season affect the 2003 TVR T350 MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 89.0% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 92.8%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.