Pass rate
77.4%
Around average — 4.8 pts ahead of the 72.6% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 53 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £19–£63
2003 Volkswagen Phaeton MOT pass rate
- 2003
- typical 78,325 mi
Only 53 tests of this exact model and year are in the DVSA data, below the 100 we ask for before a page goes in the index. The figures are still shown, because they are the only ones there are.
Most common fault
Brakes
23.7% of faults · 20.9% nationally
mostly worn pads and discs, corroded pipes and a handbrake that will not hold.
Which year to buy
- Best 2014 87.1% pass
- Avoid 2004 73.0% pass
Across the 12 years on record, a spread of 14.1 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 72.7%
- Typical mileage
- 78k mi
The 2003 Volkswagen Phaeton MOT pass rate is 77.4% of its MOT tests — 4.8 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. Brakes is the biggest single reason it fails, at 23.7% of what testers record.
Check your postcode
MOT pass rates are national — type your postcode to see how Volkswagen Phaeton does in your corner of the country.
Expert verdict
Emissions & leaks: 2.7× the national share
Emissions & leaks make up 14.9% of everything recorded on the 2003 Volkswagen Phaeton, against 5.5% nationally — 9.4 points above. Brakes are still the single largest share at 23.7%, but at 20.9% nationally that one is ordinary. 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 77.4% — 4.8 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict.
- Failures here tend to be cheap ones. 65% 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 Volkswagen Phaeton? Get an email when these numbers change .
How does the 2003 Volkswagen Phaeton compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 72.6%, so this figure is 4.8 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 72.7%. The median 2003 Volkswagen Phaeton in this dataset had covered 78,325 mi.
The single most recorded failure item is "Malfunction indicator lamp inoperative or indicates a malfunction", noted on 9.43% of tests.
- 53 recorded tests behind this page.
- 77.4% overall pass rate, 72.7% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the Volkswagen Phaeton, the average is 82.0% — best year 2014 (87.1%), worst 2004 (73.0%).
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
- 53
- Typical mileage (median)
- 78,325 mi
- Make and model
- Volkswagen Phaeton
- Updated
- 2026-11-05
Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data (2023–2025), OGL v3.0.
Top part to budget for
Indicator Bulb
Usually a DIY or independent-garage job.
Does mileage affect the Phaeton MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 64% so small gaps stay visible.
What fails a 2003 Phaeton
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 Phaeton
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 9.4% of tests
“malfunction indicator lamp inoperative or indicates a malfunction”
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 brakes 3.8% of tests
“brake discs significantly and obviously worn”
Look through the spokes of each wheel at the pad — less than 3mm of friction material, or a lip on the disc edge, is the usual failure. Check the handbrake holds on a slope with a few clicks, not at the top of its travel.
-
Check the wipers and washers 3.8% 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 2003 Phaeton through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £19–£63 — and 65% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £19–£63
- 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
- 80%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 65%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 53 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 Phaeton, side by side
12 model years on record, from 2003 to 2014. Across them the pass rate runs from 73.0% to 87.1% — a spread of 14.1 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2003 77.4%malfunction indicator lamp…
- 2004 73.0% malfunction indicator lamp…
- 2005 79.2% rbt (sp) efficiency below…
- 2006 81.4% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2007 82.4% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2008 82.0% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2009 81.6% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2010 81.3% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2011 83.9% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2012 84.3% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2013 82.8% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2014 87.1% headlamp not working on dipped…
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 Volkswagen Phaeton 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
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 Volkswagen Phaeton 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 114 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 | 27 | 23.70% | 20.89% | +2.81 |
| Suspension | 18 | 15.80% | 20.98% | −5.18 |
| Tyres | 18 | 15.80% | 19.76% | −3.96 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 17 | 14.90% | 12.21% | +2.69 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 17 | 14.90% | 5.52% | +9.38 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 6 | 5.30% | 5.57% | −0.27 |
| Visibility | 6 | 5.30% | 4.97% | +0.33 |
| Identification of the vehicle | 3 | 2.60% | 1.76% | +0.84 |
| Non-component advisories | 1 | 0.90% | 4.18% | −3.28 |
| Steering | 1 | 0.90% | 2.57% | −1.67 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Malfunction indicator lamp inoperative or indicates a malfunction Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 9.4% | £3–12 |
| Headlamp lens slightly defective Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 5.7% | £5–25 |
| Side repeaters with a multiple light source up to 1/2 not functioning Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 5.7% | £3–15 |
| Bonnet cannot be secured in the closed position Visibility | Major | 3.8% | £20–80 |
| Brake discs significantly and obviously worn Brakes | Major | 3.8% | £45–110 |
| Joints constant velocity boot severely deteriorated Body, chassis, structure | Minor | 3.8% | £80–250 |
| Position lamp not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 3.8% | £5–25 |
| Wipers blade defective Visibility | Minor | 3.8% | £8–22 |
| Ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated Suspension | Minor | 1.9% | £18–45 |
| Catalyst emissions Lambda reading after 2nd fast idle outside specified limits Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 1.9% | £60–250 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Advisory | 26.4% | £45–95 |
| Brake discs in such a condition that it is seriously weakened Brakes | Advisory | 17.0% | £45–110 |
| Engine oil leaks leaking excessively from engine Noise, emissions and leaks | Advisory | 11.3% | £200–700 |
| Sub-frame corroded and seriously weakened Suspension | Advisory | 9.4% | £180–450 |
| Anti-roll bar corroded and seriously weakened Suspension | Advisory | 7.5% | £12–30 |
| Service brake performance excessively binding Brakes | Advisory | 7.5% | £60–150 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30-60k | 7 | 85.7% | 53,034 mi |
| 60-90k | 22 | 72.7% | 72,155 mi |
| 90-120k | 13 | 84.6% | 98,060 mi |
| 120k+ | 11 | 72.7% | 147,634 mi |
Source: 53 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 Phaeton MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2003 Volkswagen Phaeton?
77.4% of the 53 2003 Volkswagen Phaeton tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 72.6% for cars first used in 2003. First-attempt pass rate: 72.7%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2003 Volkswagen Phaeton?
The three most recorded items are malfunction indicator lamp inoperative or indicates a malfunction (9.43%), headlamp lens slightly defective (5.66%), side repeaters with a multiple light source up to 1/2 not functioning (5.66%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2003 Volkswagen Phaeton MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 85.7% of the time, falling to 72.7% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2003 Volkswagen Phaeton in this dataset had covered 78,325 mi.