Model Reports 5 min read Updated 18 Oct 2026

Toyota Yaris 2003: reliability & common MOT faults

In 2025, 53 in every 100 first MOTs on a 2003 Toyota Yaris were passes. Most common reason for a fail: Individual sidelight or tail light (front).

Summary

At the same mileage, a diesel 2003 Toyota Yaris passed first time more often than a petrol one: 62 in every 100 against 53 in every 100.

At a glance

How 9,228 first tests went in 2025.

Passed first time
53 in every 100
Did not pass first time
47 in every 1004,319 failed first-attempt tests
The typical car
22 yearsabout 91,664 miles
First tests counted
9,228

What failed most often

  1. Individual sidelight or tail light (front)13 in every 100 failed tests
  2. Headlight aim11 in every 100 failed tests
  3. Anti-roll bar linkage pins and bushes (front)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.

Note:

These are patterns across 2003 Toyota Yaris 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.

Suspension

Two faults. The strongest is the anti-roll bar linkage pins and bushes (front): 19 times as often as on similar cars.

Figures below are measured across the 4,306 of 4,319 failed first attempts (99.7%) 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.

Anti-roll bar linkage pins and bushes (front)

Failed on 420 first tests19 times as often as similar carsStrong evidence

What it means

Excessive wear in an anti-roll bar linkage pin or bush is Major. If the pin or bush is likely to become detached, it is graded Dangerous. The wording is DVSA's general one for a suspension pin, bush or joint.

Also noted as an advisory

Testers also noted it as an advisory, worn but not yet failing, on 821 first tests, 23 times as often as on similar cars.

Wheel bearings (rear)

Failed on 198 first tests3.2 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

What it means

Excessive play in a wheel bearing, or a bearing that is excessively rough, is Major. Play so excessive that the bearing is likely to break up or directional control is impaired is Dangerous, and so is a bearing so rough that it is likely to overheat or break up.

Also noted as an advisory

Testers also noted it as an advisory, worn but not yet failing, on 159 first tests, 3.1 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.

Brakes

Two faults. The strongest is the handbrake lever: 3.5 times as often as on similar cars.

Handbrake lever

Failed on 116 first tests3.5 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

What it means

A parking brake lever pivot or ratchet mechanism that is obviously worn is graded Minor. It is Major when worn to the extent that the brake may inadvertently release, and also when the ratchet is not holding correctly. A lever must have obvious excessive travel before being rejected.

Also noted as an advisory

Testers also noted it as an advisory, worn but not yet failing, on 22 first tests, 4.3 times as often as on similar cars.

Flexible brake hoses (front)

Failed on 231 first tests3.2 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

What it means

Testers reject a flexible brake hose for being excessively damaged or chafed only if it is severe enough to expose the reinforcement. Slight damage, chafing or twisting is graded Minor. A leak is graded Dangerous on a hydraulic braking system and Major on an air system, and a hose damaged and likely to fail is also Dangerous.

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

Two faults and one wear pattern. The strongest is the number plate lights (rear): 2.9 times as often as on similar cars.

Number plate lights (rear)

Failed on 397 first tests2.9 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.

Headlight aim not tested (front)

Failed on 34 first tests2.1 times as often as similar carsWear pattern

What it means

Headlamp aim recorded as not tested, or unable to be tested, is a Major failure. These results must only be used where it becomes apparent during the test that the item cannot be tested, and this could not have been identified before starting. The reason must be included in the additional information box.

Rear fog light

Failed on 110 first tests2.1 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

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.

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 175 first tests3.9 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Suspension sub-frame mounting area (rear)

Noted on 114 first tests3.1 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

Suspension mounting area (rear)

Noted on 459 first tests3.0 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Anti-roll bar pins and bushes (front)

Noted on 128 first tests2.9 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

Handbrake efficiency on trikes, quads and pre-1968 vehicles (roller test)

Noted on 24 first tests2.8 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
53in every 100
Passed on the first test.
Fixed at the station
12in every 100
Failed, then fixed at the test station the same day.
Failed
35in every 100
Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.

First-attempt pass 53.2% of 9,228 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 64.8%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 12 fixed and the 35 not fixed make the 47 in every 100 that did not pass first time.

Petrol and diesel

First testsTypical mileagePassed first time, as testedPassed first time, same mileage
Petrol8,76690,203 miles5353
Diesel462132,402 miles5662

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.

40608010020002003201020152020Older carsNewer cars
4060801002000200320102020Newer cars

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

YearPassed first timeFirst tests
199952 in every 100789
200055 in every 1002,689
200155 in every 1005,605
200256 in every 1007,169
2003 This car53 in every 1009,228
200454 in every 10011,038
200554 in every 10013,843
200654 in every 10014,734
200755 in every 10018,423
200856 in every 10020,176
200963 in every 10023,051
201062 in every 10017,516
201166 in every 10015,471
201267 in every 10026,595
201369 in every 10028,189
201472 in every 10028,423
201579 in every 10030,019
201681 in every 10027,852
201781 in every 10026,164
201884 in every 10027,274
201986 in every 10027,244
202088 in every 10020,094
202191 in every 10023,209
202292 in every 10020,982

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 Yaris.

Of 2003 Yaris vehicles with under 62,000 miles, 66 in every 100 passed their 2025 MOT first time. With 127,000 miles or more, 45 in every 100 did.

Under 62,0001,854 tests
66
62,000–82,0001,824 tests
56
82,000–101,000 Typical car1,794 tests
52
101,000–127,0001,891 tests
48
127,000 and over1,842 tests
45

Petrol or diesel?

Typical mileagePassed first time,
as tested		Passed first time,
same mileage
Petrol90,203 miles5353
Diesel132,402 miles5662

Figures are in every 100 first tests. At the same mileage, diesel passed more often (62 against 53 in every 100).

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 62,00082,000–101,000127,000 and over
Individual sidelight or tail light (front)1.87.28.7
Headlight aim3.35.25.6
Anti-roll bar linkage pins and bushes (front)3.23.76.1
Brake light2.94.36.0
Number plate lights2.44.16.1

Faults per 100 first tests, by the car's mileage at the test.

When a car fails

18in every 100

of failed cars had one item to fix.

61in every 100

of failed cars had three or more items to fix.

9in every 100

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.

At the same mileage, a diesel 2003 Toyota Yaris passed first time more often than a petrol one: 62 in every 100 against 53 in every 100. In 2025, 53.2% of 9,228 first MOTs on the 2003 Toyota Yaris passed first time (PRS: items fixed at the station the same day, counted as a fail). The official-style rate including PRS is 64.8%. Among 4,319 failed first-attempt MOT tests (test year 2025), Anti-roll bar linkage pins and bushes (front) appears more often than on similar cars (9.8% of those tests; 420 observed failures; about 19× 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 Toyota Yaris at the first attempt were Individual sidelight or tail light (front) (12.7%), Headlight aim (10.9%) and Anti-roll bar linkage pins and bushes (front) (9.8%), 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: Anti-roll bar linkage pins and bushes (front) (9.8% of those tests; 420 observed failures; about 19× more often than similar cars). These are statistical signals, not a diagnosis of any individual car.
Anti-roll bar linkage pins and bushes (front) shows up more often than on similar cars (9.8% of those tests; 420 observed failures; about 19× 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 Toyota Yaris include Anti-roll bar linkage pins and bushes (front), Handbrake lever, Wheel bearings (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 Toyota Yaris (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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