Model Reports 4 min read Updated 18 Oct 2026

Ford Transit Connect 2003: reliability & common MOT faults

In 2025, 48 in every 100 first MOTs on a 2003 Ford Transit Connect were passes. Most common reason for a fail: Suspension mounting area (rear).

Summary

The 2003 Ford Transit Connect follows the pattern of the model years either side.

At a glance

How 1,656 first tests went in 2025.

Passed first time
48 in every 100
Did not pass first time
52 in every 100854 failed first-attempt tests
The typical car
22 yearsabout 140,312 miles
First tests counted
1,656

What failed most often

  1. Suspension mounting area (rear)21 in every 100 failed tests
  2. Drive shaft joints and boots (front)12 in every 100 failed tests
  3. Individual sidelight or tail light (front)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.

Note:

These are patterns across 2003 Ford Transit Connect vehicles in 2025, not a prediction that any one car will have them. Faults are grouped by part of the car. They come from MOT defect codes, not manufacturer bulletins, recalls or a diagnosis of any one car.

Suspension

Three faults. The strongest is the leaf spring (rear): 38 times as often as on similar cars.

Figures below are measured across the 844 of 854 failed first attempts (98.8%) 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.

Leaf spring (rear)

Failed on 26 first tests38 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

Modified spring anchor or shackle brackets with more mounting holes than the chassis are not a reason to reject leaf spring suspension, and neither is a missing bump stop rubber. A fractured main leaf is graded Dangerous. A spring that is fractured or seriously weakened is graded Major.

Anti-roll bar ball joint dust cover (front)

Failed on 26 first tests3.0 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

A missing anti-roll bar ball joint dust cover is Major, and so is one that no longer prevents the ingress of dirt. A cover that is only severely deteriorated is Minor. DVSA uses one wording for the dust cover on any suspension joint.

Suspension mounting area (rear)

Failed on 174 first tests2.9 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

The load bearing structure within a set distance of a sub-frame, spring or suspension component mounting is a prescribed area. Major applies when its strength or continuity is significantly reduced or it is inadequately repaired. Dangerous applies when it is so weakened that control of the vehicle is likely to be adversely affected.

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage.

Seat belts and restraints

One fault: seat belt mounting area (front), 7.8 times as often as on similar cars.

Seat belt mounting area (front)

Failed on 56 first tests7.8 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

What it means

A seat belt anchorage likely to become detached in the event of a collision is graded Dangerous. The load bearing structure near an anchorage, called a prescribed area, is Major when its strength or continuity is significantly reduced or it is inadequately repaired. Anchorage points are inspected for all seat belts fitted, except a belt with no corresponding seat.

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage.

Brakes

Two faults. The strongest is the brake efficiency below minimum (roller test): 4.3 times as often as on similar cars.

Brake efficiency below minimum (roller test)

Failed on 71 first tests4.3 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

What it means

Service brake efficiency below the minimum requirement is Major, and efficiency less than half of the required value is graded Dangerous. On a roller brake tester, if more than half of the wheels of a brake system lock, the efficiency requirement for that system counts as met.

Brake imbalance across an axle (roller test, efficiency check, rear)

Failed on 59 first tests2.9 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

A wheel giving less than a set share of the maximum effort from the other wheel on the same axle is Major. On a steered axle, less than half is graded Dangerous. Testers disregard an imbalance if the lower effort is the result of a locked wheel, or if the higher effort from a wheel is at or below a low set figure.

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage.

Body and structure

Two faults. The strongest is the chassis condition: 4.2 times as often as on similar cars.

Chassis condition

Failed on 22 first tests4.2 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

A main load-bearing structural member that is fractured, deformed, modified or inadequately repaired is Major when structural rigidity is significantly reduced, and Dangerous where steering or braking is likely to be adversely affected. Corrosion of the body, cab or chassis at a mounting point is Dangerous where overall security or stability is impaired.

Vehicle structure condition (rear)

Failed on 41 first tests3.3 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

What it means

Structure that is fractured, deformed, corroded, modified or inadequately repaired is failed on rigidity only if the overall structural rigidity of the vehicle is significantly reduced. Structure that is likely to affect steering or braking adversely is graded Dangerous. Prescribed areas are not covered here, as they are checked under other sections, including brakes and steering.

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage.

Lamps and electrical

Two faults. The strongest is the headlight levelling device: 3.3 times as often as on similar cars.

Headlight levelling device

Failed on 24 first tests3.3 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

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.

Number plate lights (rear)

Failed on 92 first tests2.8 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

Registration plate lamps must light up the rear registration plate and operate at the same time as the position lamps. A missing or inoperative lamp is Major when the plate has only one lamp or all its lamps are not working, and Minor when the plate has several lamps or light sources and not all have failed. A lamp throwing direct white light to the rear is also Minor.

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.

Brake pedal

Noted on 32 first tests7.3 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Anti-roll bar pins and bushes (rear)

Noted on 24 first tests3.8 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Anti-roll bar linkage ball joints (rear)

Noted on 26 first tests3.5 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Individual direction indicators (rear)

Noted on 22 first tests3.0 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

Suspension mounting area

Noted on 21 first tests3.0 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

Brake light

Noted on 21 first tests2.4 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Individual direction indicators (front)

Noted on 28 first tests2.4 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Coil spring (front)

Noted on 68 first tests2.2 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

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
48in every 100
Passed on the first test.
Fixed at the station
9in every 100
Failed, then fixed at the test station the same day.
Failed
43in every 100
Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.

First-attempt pass 48.4% of 1,656 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 56.8%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 9 fixed and the 43 not fixed make the 52 in every 100 that did not pass first time.

Same model, other years

Passed first time in every 100, all tested in 2025.

4060801002003201020152020Newer cars
406080100200320102020Newer cars

Newer cars are younger, so look for a jump rather than the climb.

YearPassed first timeFirst tests
2003 This car48 in every 1001,656
200448 in every 1002,349
200548 in every 1003,332
200646 in every 1004,900
200747 in every 1005,865
200848 in every 1005,473
200948 in every 1003,846
201049 in every 1004,020
201153 in every 1004,794
201253 in every 1004,871
201358 in every 1003,796
201465 in every 1009,833
201568 in every 10012,339
201670 in every 10013,126
201774 in every 10017,395
201875 in every 10015,680
201973 in every 10014,001
202073 in every 10010,444
202179 in every 10010,665
202279 in every 1007,683

FAQs

Short answers about how to read this model-year guide.

The 2003 Ford Transit Connect follows the pattern of the model years either side. Its main cause of failure was Suspension mounting area (rear), about 21 in every 100 failed tests. In 2025, 48.4% of 1,656 first MOTs on the 2003 Ford Transit Connect passed first time (PRS: items fixed at the station the same day, counted as a fail). The official-style rate including PRS is 56.8%. Among 854 failed first-attempt MOT tests (test year 2025), Leaf spring (rear) appears more often than on similar cars (3.1% of those tests; 26 observed failures; about 38× more often than similar cars). There is no single reliability score here; this is a pre-purchase checklist built from DVSA open data, not a guarantee for any individual car.
Ranked by how often they were actually recorded, the items that most often failed a 2003 Ford Transit Connect at the first attempt were Suspension mounting area (rear) (20.6%), Drive shaft joints and boots (front) (12.2%) and Individual sidelight or tail light (front) (12.1%), each as a share of the year's failed first attempts. That is what goes wrong most often on the car. The common faults table shows a different measure: faults that are unusual compared with similar cars.
Among failed first-attempt tests we highlight patterns that appear more often than on similar cars. Top example: Leaf spring (rear) (3.1% of those tests; 26 observed failures; about 38× more often than similar cars). These are statistical signals, not a diagnosis of any individual car.
Leaf spring (rear) shows up more often than on similar cars (3.1% of those tests; 26 observed failures; about 38× more often than similar cars). That does not prove a design fault. Age, mileage, and how the car was used still matter. Treat it as a pre-purchase checkpoint, not a manufacturer service bulletin.
Common MOT problem areas for the 2003 Ford Transit Connect include Leaf spring (rear), Seat belt mounting area (front), Brake efficiency below minimum (roller test). These are the faults that stand out compared with similar cars, not a complete list of what can go wrong on any individual car.
Advisories flag issues noted at the test and are not a fail rate. We show advisory patterns that appear more often than on similar cars among failed first-attempt tests, separate from common failure rows. Use them as early-warning checks, not as a pass/fail score.
This page highlights MOT failure patterns for the 2003 Ford Transit Connect (registration year) using UK DVSA open data for the selected test year. Patterns are compared with cars of a similar age and mileage. It is a buyer checklist from MOT defect statistics, not a full service history or manufacturer service-bulletin list.
No. MOT tests do not cover engine internals, gearboxes, or many electronic modules. Patterns here come from MOT defect statistics only and should not be read as engine or gearbox reliability scores.

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.

2024 2025

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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