Model Reports 4 min read Updated 18 Oct 2026

Peugeot Partner 2004: reliability & common MOT faults

In 2025, 50 in every 100 first MOTs on a 2004 Peugeot Partner were passes. Most common reason for a fail: Individual sidelight or tail light (front).

Summary

With 953 first tests, there are too few to say whether the 2004 Peugeot Partner differs from the model years either side.

At a glance

How 953 first tests went in 2025.

Passed first time
50 in every 100
Did not pass first time
50 in every 100477 failed first-attempt tests
The typical car
21 yearsabout 120,950 miles
First tests counted
953

What failed most often

  1. Individual sidelight or tail light (front)12 in every 100 failed tests
  2. Airbag warning light12 in every 100 failed tests
  3. Brake light11 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 2004 Peugeot Partner 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: 39 times as often as on similar cars.

Figures below are measured across the 473 of 477 failed first attempts (99.2%) 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

Failed on 29 first tests39 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

A load sensing valve that is seized or inoperative is Major when ABS is functioning, and graded Dangerous when ABS is not fitted or inoperative. A valve missing where fitted as standard is graded Dangerous too. A linkage that is obviously incorrectly adjusted is Major.

Brake efficiency below minimum (roller test)

Failed on 23 first tests4.0 times as often as similar carsPossible 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.

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

Lamps and electrical

Three faults. The strongest is the horn: 5.8 times as often as on similar cars.

Horn

Failed on 47 first tests5.8 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 41 first tests4.8 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 21 first tests, 7.9 times as often as on similar cars.

Individual sidelight or tail light (rear)

Failed on 31 first tests2.0 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.

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage. Advisories count notes recorded on failed first tests only.

Seat belts and restraints

One fault: airbag warning light, 3.4 times as often as on similar cars.

Airbag warning light

Failed on 56 first tests3.4 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

What it means

The airbag warning lamp (SRS MIL in DVSA's wording) is failed only if it indicates a system malfunction, which is Major. A lamp lit to show the passenger airbag is disabled is not to be regarded as a defect. Dashboard messages are not a defect in their own right, though they can help the tester confirm a malfunction.

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.

Flexible brake hoses (rear)

Noted on 44 first tests2.9 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Anti-roll bar linkage ball joints (front)

Noted on 23 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
50in 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
41in every 100
Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.

First-attempt pass 49.9% of 953 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 59.3%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 9 fixed and the 41 not fixed make the 50 in every 100 that did not pass first time.

Same model, other years

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

4060801002004201020152020Newer cars
406080100200420102020Newer 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, 51 in every 100 passed first time.

YearPassed first timeFirst tests
200248 in every 100427
200348 in every 100814
2004 This car50 in every 100953
200551 in every 1001,180
200654 in every 1001,639
200751 in every 1001,849
200850 in every 1002,297
200950 in every 1003,280
201051 in every 1004,432
201152 in every 1005,938
201259 in every 10010,027
201353 in every 1008,587
201458 in every 10012,849
201561 in every 10012,262
201659 in every 10012,508
201760 in every 10013,059
201861 in every 10013,167
201973 in every 10011,981
202078 in every 1009,489
202172 in every 10010,020
202274 in every 1006,506

FAQs

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

With 953 first tests, there are too few to say whether the 2004 Peugeot Partner differs from 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, 49.9% of 953 first MOTs on the 2004 Peugeot Partner passed first time (PRS: items fixed at the station the same day, counted as a fail). The official-style rate including PRS is 59.3%. Among 477 failed first-attempt MOT tests (test year 2025), Brake load-sensing valve appears more often than on similar cars (6.1% of those tests; 29 observed failures; about 39× 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 2004 Peugeot Partner at the first attempt were Individual sidelight or tail light (front) (12.5%), Airbag warning light (11.8%) and Brake light (11.4%), 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: Brake load-sensing valve (6.1% of those tests; 29 observed failures; about 39× more often than similar cars). These are statistical signals, not a diagnosis of any individual car.
Brake load-sensing valve shows up more often than on similar cars (6.1% of those tests; 29 observed failures; about 39× 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 2004 Peugeot Partner include Brake load-sensing valve, Horn, Side repeater indicators. 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 2004 Peugeot Partner (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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