Model Reports 4 min read Updated 18 Oct 2026

Peugeot 307 2003: reliability & common MOT faults

In 2025, 47 in every 100 first MOTs on a 2003 Peugeot 307 were passes. Most common reason for a fail: Individual sidelight or tail light (front).

Summary

The 2003 Peugeot 307 follows the pattern of the model years either side.

At a glance

How 1,632 first tests went in 2025.

Passed first time
47 in every 100
Did not pass first time
53 in every 100867 failed first-attempt tests
The typical car
22 yearsabout 101,272 miles
First tests counted
1,632

What failed most often

  1. Individual sidelight or tail light (front)12 in every 100 failed tests
  2. Drive shaft joints and boots (front)11 in every 100 failed tests
  3. Headlight aim9 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 Peugeot 307 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.

Lamps and electrical

Four faults. The strongest is the horn: 5.7 times as often as on similar cars.

Figures below are measured across the 866 of 867 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.

Horn

Failed on 80 first tests5.7 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

What it means

A horn that does not work, or is likely to be confused with an emergency vehicle siren, is graded Major. Gongs, bells, sirens and anything with more than one tone, which includes a horn that alternates between its notes, are not allowed, except a gong, bell or siren on vehicles first used before a set date. Sound defects are Minor for named cases such as a bell or harsh sound, and Major under a general row.

Side repeater indicators

Failed on 48 first tests3.4 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

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 39 first tests, 7.5 times as often as on similar cars.

Individual sidelight or tail light (rear)

Failed on 89 first tests2.8 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

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.

Individual direction indicators (front)

Failed on 39 first tests2.7 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

Direction indicators must be amber, though vehicles first used before a set date may have white at the front and red at the rear when the indicators are combined with stop or position lamps, and sequential or dynamic ones are not a reason to fail. A lamp that is missing, inoperative or has more than half of a multiple light source not functioning is graded Major. A flashing rate outside the permitted range is graded Minor.

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 shock absorbers (rear): 2.7 times as often as on similar cars.

Shock absorbers (rear)

Failed on 50 first tests2.7 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

Slight seepage that leaves a film of fluid on a shock absorber does not fail it. Severe leakage, or damage so that it does not function, is Major. A shock absorber missing or likely to become detached is graded Dangerous, though a missing one is only rejected if shock absorbers were fitted as standard.

Anti-roll bar linkage ball joint dust cover (front)

Failed on 66 first tests2.5 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

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.

Brakes

One fault: anti-lock braking system (ABS), 2.3 times as often as on similar cars.

Anti-lock braking system (ABS)

Failed on 51 first tests2.3 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

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.

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.

Swivel pins and bushes (rear)

Noted on 40 first tests4.1 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Track rod end (front)

Noted on 41 first tests2.6 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Anti-roll bar linkage ball joints (front)

Noted on 40 first tests2.6 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Brake discs (rear)

Noted on 135 first tests2.5 times as often as similar carsWear pattern

Non-component advisories (front)

Noted on 61 first tests2.5 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Brake pads (rear)

Noted on 50 first tests2.2 times as often as similar carsWear pattern

Exhaust system (front)

Noted on 31 first tests2.1 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
47in every 100
Passed on the first test.
Fixed at the station
11in every 100
Failed, then fixed at the test station the same day.
Failed
42in every 100
Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.

First-attempt pass 46.9% of 1,632 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 57.5%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 11 fixed and the 42 not fixed make the 53 in every 100 that did not pass first time.

Petrol and diesel

First testsPassed first time, as tested
Petrol1,00845
Diesel62450

Figures are in every 100 first tests.

Same model, other years

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

4060801002002200320042005200620072008Older carsNewer cars
4060801002003Newer cars

Newer cars are younger, so look for a jump rather than the climb. A year earlier (2024), when these cars were a year younger, 48 in every 100 passed first time.

YearPassed first timeFirst tests
200247 in every 100996
2003 This car47 in every 1001,632
200448 in every 1002,421
200547 in every 1003,253
200650 in every 1005,130
200749 in every 1005,519
200851 in every 1001,398

FAQs

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

The 2003 Peugeot 307 follows the pattern of the model years either side. Its main cause of failure was Individual sidelight or tail light (front), about 12 in every 100 failed tests. In 2025, 46.9% of 1,632 first MOTs on the 2003 Peugeot 307 passed first time (PRS: items fixed at the station the same day, counted as a fail). The official-style rate including PRS is 57.5%. Among 867 failed first-attempt MOT tests (test year 2025), Horn appears more often than on similar cars (9.2% of those tests; 80 observed failures; about 5.7× 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 Peugeot 307 at the first attempt were Individual sidelight or tail light (front) (11.8%), Drive shaft joints and boots (front) (10.6%) and Headlight aim (9.4%), 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: Horn (9.2% of those tests; 80 observed failures; about 5.7× more often than similar cars). These are statistical signals, not a diagnosis of any individual car.
Horn shows up more often than on similar cars (9.2% of those tests; 80 observed failures; about 5.7× 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 Peugeot 307 include Horn, Side repeater indicators, Individual sidelight or tail light (rear). 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 Peugeot 307 (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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