2003 Toyota Avensis: MOT pass rate and reliability

69.2% of 2003 Toyota Avensis pass the MOT first time, measured across 1,971 DVSA tests on that model year alone. The average one had covered 115,634 miles.

How the 2003 compares

  • Against all Toyota Avensis (74.3%, 63,174 tests): -5.1 points
  • Against all 2003 cars (64.7%): +4.5 points
  • National first-time pass rate, all cars and years: 77%

Every Toyota Avensis 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 Toyota Avensis:

Year Pass rate Tests Avg mileage
1998 68% 275 123,664
1999 63.9% 402 121,995
2000 68.7% 451 110,860
2001 72.1% 656 108,951
2002 65.5% 898 111,714
2003 69.2% 1,971 115,634
2004 70.4% 2,745 116,965
2005 68.9% 3,605 124,085
2006 66.8% 4,687 128,670
2007 68.6% 5,195 132,536
2008 69.2% 5,193 127,268
2009 71.9% 5,265 128,933
2010 73.7% 5,635 128,538
2011 76.3% 4,462 125,033
2012 77.1% 4,870 128,270
2013 78.1% 3,217 132,404
2014 79.2% 3,099 129,638
2015 82.4% 3,241 115,030
2016 85.9% 3,631 97,049
2017 86.8% 2,514 85,918
2018 85.8% 1,154 95,443

What this means if you are buying a 2003 Avensis

The 2003 is a weaker year for this model, passing 5.1 points less often than the Toyota Avensis 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 high mileage, so timing belts, clutches, suspension bushes and corrosion are the items worth budgeting for rather than the MOT itself. On a 2003 Toyota Avensis the average at test was 115,634 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 2017 at 86.8%, and the weakest in our data is 1999 at 63.9%. That 22.9 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 Toyota Avensis MOT data · Every model