2003 Ford Fiesta: MOT pass rate and reliability

64.1% of 2003 Ford Fiestas pass the MOT first time, measured across 15,352 DVSA tests on that model year alone. The average one had covered 95,757 miles.

How the 2003 compares

  • Against all Ford Fiestas (72.2%, 1,345,355 tests): -8.1 points
  • Against all 2003 cars (64.7%): -0.6 points
  • National first-time pass rate, all cars and years: 77%

Every Ford Fiesta model year

Pass rates fall as cars age, so the only fair comparison for a 2003 car is other cars of the same age. The full run for the Ford Fiesta:

Year Pass rate Tests Avg mileage
1991 83.3% 294 52,612
1995 69.5% 272 52,138
1996 63.9% 310 51,739
1997 60.1% 536 56,009
1998 56.7% 1,211 56,083
1999 57.1% 1,479 67,111
2000 59.4% 1,475 70,956
2001 61.5% 2,609 70,240
2002 64% 7,211 86,603
2003 64.1% 15,352 95,757
2004 62.9% 20,390 96,441
2005 62% 24,726 95,879
2006 61.8% 41,739 95,567
2007 63.9% 51,571 94,561
2008 63.2% 55,984 93,412
2009 62.7% 91,395 95,202
2010 63.8% 86,188 93,751
2011 65.7% 84,525 89,127
2012 66.3% 98,624 82,026
2013 69.3% 112,610 76,425
2014 72.9% 122,480 69,926
2015 75.3% 125,784 62,712
2016 76.3% 114,318 55,957
2017 82.2% 90,396 48,181
2018 88.1% 93,330 41,228
2019 89.4% 73,968 34,157
2020 90.4% 20,410 29,330
2021 93.1% 3,922 22,635
2022 92.9% 211 19,217

What this means if you are buying a 2003 Fiesta

The 2003 is a weaker year for this model, passing 8.1 points less often than the Ford Fiesta average. Some of that is simply age, so compare it against the 2003 figure for all cars above rather than against newer examples. Check the exact car with the free MOT history checker before you buy, and run its VIN and mileage through our free VIN decoder and clocking check.

What a 23-year-old car fails on

A 2003 car is 23 years old now, and age drives the failure mix more than the badge does. Across all cars tested, these are the categories that actually cause failures:

  • Lights and electrical: 10.36% of all cars tested
  • Suspension: 8.65% of all cars tested
  • Tyres: 6.23% of all cars tested
  • Brakes: 6.1% of all cars tested
  • Visibility: wipers, washers, glass: 4.65% of all cars tested
  • Body, chassis and structure: 3.18% of all cars tested

That is above average and into the range where cambelts and water pumps are due if they have not already been done, so ask for the service history rather than take the mileage on trust. On a 2003 Ford Fiesta the average at test was 95,757 miles, so treat anything far above that as a car that has worked harder than its peers, and anything far below as one worth checking for the faults that come from standing still.

The strongest year for this model is 2021 at 93.1%, and the weakest in our data is 1998 at 56.7%. That 36.4 point spread across the model's life is why comparing a 2003 car against a newer one tells you very little.

Nearby model years

All Ford Fiesta MOT data · Every model