2003 Suzuki Jimny: MOT pass rate and reliability

66.9% of 2003 Suzuki Jimnies pass the MOT first time, measured across 1,717 DVSA tests on that model year alone. The average one had covered 90,224 miles.

How the 2003 compares

  • Against all Suzuki Jimnies (73.8%, 23,699 tests): -6.9 points
  • Against all 2003 cars (64.7%): +2.2 points
  • National first-time pass rate, all cars and years: 77%

Every Suzuki Jimny 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 Suzuki Jimny:

Year Pass rate Tests Avg mileage
1999 64.4% 309 89,578
2000 65.7% 662 88,005
2001 66.7% 876 88,190
2002 67% 1,343 91,946
2003 66.9% 1,717 90,224
2004 65% 2,043 86,376
2005 65.3% 1,721 84,547
2006 65% 1,565 82,496
2007 67.8% 1,651 80,005
2008 71.3% 1,171 76,226
2009 74.9% 839 71,357
2010 72.2% 677 67,084
2011 73.9% 779 63,569
2012 78.1% 915 60,104
2013 80.5% 909 54,796
2014 81.5% 859 48,090
2015 78.6% 978 43,159
2016 85% 1,042 38,485
2017 84.6% 959 32,195
2018 85.3% 497 30,165
2019 95.6% 1,198 26,508
2020 95.4% 883 21,291

What this means if you are buying a 2003 Jimny

The 2003 is a weaker year for this model, passing 6.9 points less often than the Suzuki Jimny 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, the point where suspension bushes, drop links and exhaust corrosion start showing up as advisories before they become failures. On a 2003 Suzuki Jimny the average at test was 90,224 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 95.6%, and the weakest in our data is 1999 at 64.4%. That 31.2 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 Suzuki Jimny MOT data · Every model