At a glance
How 4,682 first tests went in 2025.
- Passed first time
- 52 in every 100
- Did not pass first time
- 48 in every 1002,230 failed first-attempt tests
- The typical car
- 22 yearsabout 81,122 miles
- First tests counted
- 4,682
What failed most often
- Petrol emissions (with catalyst)10 in every 100 failed tests
- Individual sidelight or tail light (front)10 in every 100 failed tests
- Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test)10 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 Peugeot 206 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.
Brakes
Two faults. The strongest is the brake load-sensing valve: 14 times as often as on similar cars.
Figures below are measured across the 2,227 of 2,230 failed first attempts (99.9%) 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.
Brake load-sensing valve
Also noted as an advisory
Testers also noted it as an advisory, worn but not yet failing, on 30 first tests, 13 times as often as on similar cars.
Brake imbalance across an axle (roller test, efficiency check, rear)
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. Advisories count notes recorded on failed first tests only.
Lamps and electrical
Three faults. The strongest is the side repeater indicators: 3.9 times as often as on similar cars.
Side repeater indicators
What it means
Sequential or dynamic direction indicators are not a reason to fail. Where a side repeater is required, it is allowed to be part of the front direction indicator if it has a marked wraparound lens, or an amber light coming through the front lens when viewed from a set distance to the side of the rear bumper. A lens defect with no effect on the emitted light is Minor, and one that adversely affects the light is Major.
Also noted as an advisory
Testers also noted it as an advisory, worn but not yet failing, on 84 first tests, 6.4 times as often as on similar cars.
Rear fog light
What it means
A missing obligatory rear fog lamp, one that is not working, or one that does not emit a steady red light is graded Major. A rear fog lamp adversely affected by the operation of any other lamp is Major too. The manual allows it to go out when main beam is switched on or when dipped beam headlamps are switched off.
Individual sidelight or tail light (rear)
What it means
A position lamp showing red light to the front or white light to the rear is Major. Rear lamps must show a steady red light, and front ones can show white, predominantly white with a blue tinge, or yellow if combined in a yellow headlamp. With a multiple light source, up to half not working is Minor and more than half is Major.
Also noted as an advisory
Testers also noted it as an advisory, worn but not yet failing, on 73 first tests, 9.0 times as often as on similar cars.
Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage. Advisories count notes recorded on failed first tests only.
Body and structure
Two faults. The strongest is the exhaust system (front): 3.3 times as often as on similar cars.
Exhaust system (front)
What it means
Exhaust fumes causing a danger to health of persons on board are graded Dangerous, and so is a silencer likely to become detached. Fumes entering the cabin are Major. One or more missing or defective mountings does not necessarily make the exhaust insecure, since testers assess the overall security of the system.
Also noted as an advisory
Testers also noted it as an advisory, worn but not yet failing, on 89 first tests, 2.6 times as often as on similar cars.
Exhaust system (rear)
What it means
Exhaust fumes causing a danger to health of persons on board are graded Dangerous, and so is a silencer likely to become detached. Fumes entering the cabin are Major. One or more missing or defective mountings does not necessarily make the exhaust insecure, since testers assess the overall security of the system.
Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage. Advisories count notes recorded on failed first tests only.
Suspension
Two faults. The strongest is the anti-roll bar linkage ball joints (front): 2.4 times as often as on similar cars.
Anti-roll bar linkage ball joints (front)
What it means
Excessive wear on an anti-roll bar linkage ball joint is Major. A joint likely to become detached is graded Dangerous.
Also noted as an advisory
Testers also noted it as an advisory, worn but not yet failing, on 111 first tests, 3.2 times as often as on similar cars.
Anti-roll bar linkage ball joint dust cover (front)
What it means
A suspension joint dust cover that is severely deteriorated is Minor. It becomes Major once it is missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt, so what matters is whether it still keeps dirt out. DVSA words this for any suspension joint dust cover, and files it here under anti-roll bars.
Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage. Advisories count notes recorded on failed first tests only.
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.
Anti-roll bar ball joint (front)
Coil spring (front)
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
- 52in 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
- 39in every 100
- Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.
First-attempt pass 52.4% of 4,682 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 61.4%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 9 fixed and the 39 not fixed make the 48 in every 100 that did not pass first time.
Petrol and diesel
Figures are in every 100 first tests. Cars with more miles usually fail more often, so the same-mileage figure gives every fuel the mileage mix of all the cars in this year.
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, 50 in every 100 passed first time.
| Year | Passed first time | First tests |
|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 50 in every 100 | 366 |
| 2000 | 53 in every 100 | 808 |
| 2001 | 52 in every 100 | 2,132 |
| 2002 | 51 in every 100 | 3,468 |
| 2003 This car | 52 in every 100 | 4,682 |
| 2004 | 53 in every 100 | 6,777 |
| 2005 | 54 in every 100 | 6,383 |
| 2006 | 54 in every 100 | 4,805 |
| 2007 | 56 in every 100 | 2,111 |
| 2008 | 55 in every 100 | 975 |
| 2009 | 49 in every 100 | 465 |
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 Peugeot 206.
Of 2003 Peugeot 206 vehicles with under 53,000 miles, 62 in every 100 passed their 2025 MOT first time. With 112,000 miles or more, 47 in every 100 did.
Petrol or diesel?
| Typical mileage | Passed first time, as tested | Passed first time, same mileage | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Petrol | 75,166 miles | 53 | 52 |
| Diesel | 108,864 miles | 50 | 54 |
Figures are in every 100 first tests. Petrol cars look better on the raw figures only because diesel cars have done more miles (typically 108,864 against 75,166). At the same mileage there is no clear difference between the two.
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 53,000 | 72,000–91,000 | 112,000 and over | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Petrol emissions (with catalyst) | 2.9 | 6.4 | 4.1 |
| Individual sidelight or tail light (front) | 1.6 | 4.9 | 6.8 |
| Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test) | 1.5 | 4.9 | 5.5 |
| Headlight aim | 3.2 | 5.3 | 5.1 |
| Suspension arm ball joint (front) | 1.7 | 4.7 | 6.4 |
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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