At a glance
How 3,830 first tests went in 2025.
- Passed first time
- 60 in every 100
- Did not pass first time
- 40 in every 1001,525 failed first-attempt tests
- The typical car
- 22 yearsabout 108,407 miles
- First tests counted
- 3,830
What failed most often
- Individual sidelight or tail light (front)16 in every 100 failed tests
- Petrol engine warning light13 in every 100 failed tests
- Petrol emissions (with catalyst)12 in every 100 failed tests
How we count this. Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Only Class 4 cars on their first MOT of the year are counted. A car that fails and is fixed at the test station still counts as a fail in the first-attempt rate. These are raw results, not adjusted for age, mileage, or peer mix. The MOT does not test engine or gearbox internals.
These are patterns across 2003 Audi TT vehicles in 2025, not a prediction that any one car will have them. Faults are grouped by part of the car. A wear pattern follows age and use more than the way the car was built. They come from MOT defect codes, not manufacturer bulletins, recalls or a diagnosis of any one car.
Brakes
Two faults and one wear pattern. The strongest is the electronic stability control: 5.8 times as often as on similar cars.
Figures below are measured across the 1,522 of 1,525 failed first attempts (99.8%) that recorded an odometer reading in 2025. Mileage is needed to compare like with like.
We only list faults with at least 20 failures and a rate of about 2.0 times that of similar cars, which keeps one-off results out of the list.
Electronic stability control
What it means
An ESC warning lamp is failed only when the tester is certain it indicates an ESC malfunction, because the lamp takes various forms and the owner's handbook may need checking. The system is also called ESP, VDC or DSC, among many other names. Every failure row is Major, covering the lamp, wheel speed sensors, wiring, other components and the switch.
Anti-lock braking system (ABS)
What it means
ABS is failed as removed only where it has obviously been removed, because not every vehicle in the age range where removal is not permitted has ABS. A warning lamp that does not light or shows an ABS fault is Major, as is a missing or excessively damaged wheel speed sensor. Every failure row for this component is Major.
Brake discs (rear)
What it means
A brake disc or drum must be significantly worn before it is rejected, and being worn below the manufacturer's recommended limits is not a reason in itself. Significantly and obviously worn is Major, as is contamination with oil or grease. A disc or drum that is fractured, insecure, seriously weakened or missing is graded Dangerous.
Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage.
Suspension
Two faults. The strongest is the suspension arm pins and bushes (front): 2.7 times as often as on similar cars.
Suspension arm pins and bushes (front)
What it means
Pins and bushes on suspension arms fail as Major when they are excessively worn. They are graded Dangerous when likely to become detached. DVSA uses the same wording for a suspension joint.
Also noted as an advisory
Testers also noted it as an advisory, worn but not yet failing, on 267 first tests, 2.4 times as often as on similar cars.
Coil spring (rear)
What it means
A missing bump stop rubber is not a reason to fail a coil spring. When the vehicle is jacked and lowered, a spring that does not correctly locate as the suspension returns to its normal running position is rejected as insecurely attached. A missing spring is Major, and graded Dangerous where directional control is affected.
Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage. Advisories count notes recorded on failed first tests only.
Lamps and electrical
One fault: headlight levelling device, 2.6 times as often as on similar cars.
Headlight levelling device
What it means
A headlamp levelling device that is inoperative is graded Major, and so is a manual levelling device that cannot be operated from the driver's seat. Vehicles with high intensity discharge or LED dipped beam headlamps may have a self-levelling system, and if fitted it must work. Where it is not easy to tell, testers give the benefit of the doubt, and motor caravans are not checked.
Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage.
Tyres
One wear pattern: tyre tread depth (rear), 2.2 times as often as on similar cars.
Tyre tread depth (rear)
What it means
Only primary grooves count when tread depth is assessed: those holding the wear indicators, or cut as deep as those when new. Shallower secondary grooves are ignored. Tread depth below the minimum for the vehicle is Dangerous, and so is a pattern not visible over the whole tread, but that second row applies only to vehicles that need the lower minimum.
Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage.
Steering
One fault: steering rack (front), 2.1 times as often as on similar cars.
Steering rack (front)
What it means
Steering gear casing retaining devices dangerously loose, or visible relative movement to the chassis or bodywork, is graded Dangerous. A casing not properly attached, or fractured, is Major, but a fracture that affects the stability or attachment of the casing is Dangerous. A gaiter damaged but still keeping dirt out is Minor, and Major once missing or no longer doing so.
Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage.
Noise, emissions and leaks
One fault: petrol engine warning light, 2.1 times as often as on similar cars.
Petrol engine warning light
What it means
The malfunction indicator lamp (MIL) on a petrol engine is a Major failure when it is illuminated indicating a malfunction. The detail line DVSA gives for the same row also names an inoperative lamp. The test covers only certain petrol vehicles, depending on their age, size and fuel type.
Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage.
Advisories
Other things testers noted as worn or close to failing, more often than on similar cars.
An advisory is a note from the tester about something that has not failed yet. It is an early warning, not a fail. Advisories for the faults above are shown with those faults.
Individual sidelight or tail light (rear)
Suspension arm (rear)
Suspension sub-frame (front)
Other suspension component (rear)
Suspension sub-frame (rear)
Brake discs
Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Counts cover advisories recorded on failed first tests only, compared with cars of the same age and mileage.
MOT pass rates
How first tests ended, and how the pass rates are counted.
- Passed first time
- 60in every 100
- Passed on the first test.
- Fixed at the station
- 7in every 100
- Failed, then fixed at the test station the same day.
- Failed
- 33in every 100
- Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.
First-attempt pass 60.2% of 3,830 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 66.6%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 7 fixed and the 33 not fixed make the 40 in every 100 that did not pass first time.
Same model, other years
Passed first time in every 100, all tested in 2025.
Newer cars are younger, so look for a jump rather than the climb. A year earlier (2024), when these cars were a year younger, 57 in every 100 passed first time.
| Year | Passed first time | First tests |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 61 in every 100 | 1,374 |
| 2001 | 60 in every 100 | 2,149 |
| 2002 | 60 in every 100 | 3,272 |
| 2003 This car | 60 in every 100 | 3,830 |
| 2004 | 61 in every 100 | 3,905 |
| 2005 | 61 in every 100 | 3,106 |
| 2006 | 60 in every 100 | 2,550 |
| 2007 | 65 in every 100 | 7,101 |
| 2008 | 68 in every 100 | 6,518 |
| 2009 | 71 in every 100 | 5,533 |
| 2010 | 71 in every 100 | 6,044 |
| 2011 | 75 in every 100 | 6,029 |
| 2012 | 81 in every 100 | 5,350 |
| 2013 | 82 in every 100 | 6,077 |
| 2014 | 81 in every 100 | 3,781 |
| 2015 | 85 in every 100 | 8,229 |
| 2016 | 87 in every 100 | 8,819 |
| 2017 | 88 in every 100 | 7,149 |
| 2018 | 89 in every 100 | 3,934 |
| 2019 | 91 in every 100 | 4,450 |
| 2020 | 92 in every 100 | 2,875 |
| 2021 | 92 in every 100 | 2,357 |
| 2022 | 92 in every 100 | 2,500 |
If you are buying one
What this year's MOT record means for the decision in front of you.
Mileage matters most on a 2003 Audi TT.
Of 2003 Audi TT vehicles with under 81,000 miles, 68 in every 100 passed their 2025 MOT first time. With 137,000 miles or more, 55 in every 100 did.
What to check at your mileage
How often each fault turned up on a failed first test, by the car's mileage. Read it as: what is likely to need looking at on a car like the one in front of you.
| Under 81,000 | 100,000–117,000 | 137,000 and over | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Individual sidelight or tail light (front) | 3.0 | 6.7 | 7.1 |
| Petrol engine warning light | 3.0 | 4.7 | 6.3 |
| Petrol emissions (with catalyst) | 2.2 | 4.8 | 6.3 |
| Drive shaft joints and boots (front) | 3.6 | 5.1 | 4.8 |
| Suspension arm pins and bushes (front) | 2.6 | 5.1 | 4.6 |
Faults per 100 first tests, by the car's mileage at the test.
When a car fails
of failed cars had one item to fix.
of failed cars had three or more items to fix.
of all first tests had a defect the tester marked dangerous (unsafe to drive away).
Every figure here is a first-attempt MOT rate from DVSA open data for this model line, for cars of this model year tested in 2025. Each mileage band holds a fifth of the tests. MOTs do not test engine or gearbox internals, so this is a pre-purchase checklist, not a full reliability score.
FAQs
Short answers about how to read this model-year guide.
About this data
How this page is built and what it can (and can't) say.
These figures come from UK MOT open data for this model year. We surface common failure patterns against similar cars, not a full reliability score, and not a pass/fail verdict on any individual vehicle.
What we include
UK Class 4 cars only. Normal MOT tests (not retests); first test per vehicle per calendar year; results pass, PRS, or fail.
Same-day repairs
PRS means the car failed items that were fixed at the test station and then passed the same day. We count PRS as a first-attempt fail in headline rates so same-day repairs do not hide problems.
How we compare
We compare this model year with other Class 4 cars of similar age and mileage in the same test year. This model family is left out of the peer group so the car is not measured against itself.
What this does not cover
- MOTs do not cover engine internals, gearboxes, or many electronics; this is not a full reliability score.
- Common faults come from MOT defect stats, not manufacturer TSBs or recalls.
- Age and mileage matching reduces, but does not remove, differences in how cars were used and maintained.
- If the data for a car is too thin to say anything useful, we say so rather than guess.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
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