2003 Ford Ka: MOT pass rate and reliability
59% of 2003 Ford Kas pass the MOT first time, measured across 1,448 DVSA tests on that model year alone. The average one had covered 56,491 miles.
How the 2003 compares
- Against all Ford Kas (72.7%, 180,034 tests): -13.7 points
- Against all 2003 cars (64.7%): -5.7 points
- National first-time pass rate, all cars and years: 77%
Every Ford Ka 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 Ka:
| Year | Pass rate | Tests | Avg mileage |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 58.2% | 447 | 50,415 |
| 2002 | 56.8% | 836 | 49,616 |
| 2003 | 59% | 1,448 | 56,491 |
| 2004 | 56.2% | 1,941 | 53,945 |
| 2005 | 58% | 2,343 | 53,246 |
| 2006 | 57.2% | 2,799 | 53,858 |
| 2007 | 57.6% | 3,901 | 54,889 |
| 2008 | 56.4% | 4,944 | 55,444 |
| 2009 | 62% | 17,284 | 76,846 |
| 2010 | 63.5% | 18,130 | 74,608 |
| 2011 | 68.1% | 15,774 | 69,670 |
| 2012 | 70.8% | 16,884 | 63,785 |
| 2013 | 73.9% | 18,456 | 59,060 |
| 2014 | 76.3% | 18,483 | 53,040 |
| 2015 | 76% | 13,271 | 46,917 |
| 2016 | 78.9% | 8,280 | 42,320 |
| 2017 | 88.2% | 13,306 | 37,692 |
| 2018 | 87.3% | 11,017 | 32,403 |
| 2019 | 92.2% | 10,028 | 26,279 |
What this means if you are buying a 2003 Ka
The 2003 is a weaker year for this model, passing 13.7 points less often than the Ford Ka 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 around average, so condition and service history will tell you more than the odometer does. On a 2003 Ford Ka the average at test was 56,491 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 2019 at 92.2%, and the weakest in our data is 2004 at 56.2%. That 36.0 point spread across the model's life is why comparing a 2003 car against a newer one tells you very little.
Nearby model years
- 2001 Ford Ka - 58.2%
- 2002 Ford Ka - 56.8%
- 2004 Ford Ka - 56.2%
- 2005 Ford Ka - 58%
- 2006 Ford Ka - 57.2%