Mercedes-Benz M-Class 2003: MOT failure rate for its age

44.5% of 7,555 MOT tests of the Mercedes-Benz M-Class first registered in 2003 failed at the first attempt (2019–2024; retests excluded). Against this model's own normal rate at the same ages the index is 107.6 (95% CI 103.9–111.2; 100 = normal for this model at that age): the 2003 Mercedes-Benz M-Class fails more often than other build years of the same model at the same age.

Mercedes-Benz M-Class built in 2003 at a glance
Measure	Value	Unit	Compared with	Years	Tests
Failed first time	44.5	%	all ages tested	2019–2024	7555
Index against this model at the same age (95% CI 103.9–111.2)	107.6	index	100 = normal for this model at that age	2019–2024	7555
Rank among this model's 17 build years	12	of 17	1 = fails least for its age	2019–2024	7555
Tested in 2024	930	tests	median 128,667 miles	2024	930

Built 2003 against Mercedes-Benz M-Class normal for the age: first-time MOT failure share at each age, age 16: 47.5% vs 41%; age 17: 46.9% vs 39.7%; age 18: 46.8% vs 42.2%; age 19: 41.2% vs 41.4%; age 20: 43.6% vs 41.8%; age 21: 41.2% vs 40.5%. Axis from 0% to 50%. DVSA MOT bulk data, 2019–2024.

Check a 2003 Mercedes-Benz M-Class by registration · All Mercedes-Benz M-Class MOT statistics · Download the build-year table (CSV)

Data release dvsa-2024-v2 (24 Sep 2026) · page updated 30 Sep 2026 · full dataset (v5).

How does the 2003 Mercedes-Benz M-Class fail at each age?

Cars built in 2003 were tested at ages 16 to 21 between 2019 and 2024. Each row compares their first-time failure share with what this model normally shows at that age, after allowing for the overall failure level of each test year.

Mercedes-Benz M-Class built 2003: first-time MOT failure by age, against the model's normal rate at that age (2019–2024)
Age	Tests	Failed, %	95% interval	Normal for this model at that age, %	Index (100 = normal)
16	967	47.5	44.3–50.6	41	115.9
17	731	46.9	43.3–50.5	39.7	118.2
18	2,065	46.8	44.7–49	42.2	110.9
19	1,606	41.2	38.8–43.6	41.4	99.6
20	1,256	43.6	40.9–46.4	41.8	104.3
21	930	41.2	38.1–44.4	40.5	101.8

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 7,555 (initial tests) · Method: normal rate = this model's first-time failure share at that age across its build years (cells of 400+ tests), adjusted for each test year's overall level; cells of 30+ tests, under 500 marked rough · Updated: 30 Sep 2026 · Release: dvsa-2024-v2 · CSV

What fails most on the 2003 Mercedes-Benz M-Class?

The most common failure group on cars built in 2003 is lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment: 62.3 items per 100 first tests, against 23 across all build years of the Mercedes-Benz M-Class. These counts are not age-adjusted: cars built in 2003 were tested at ages 16 to 21.

Failure items per 100 first tests, Mercedes-Benz M-Class built 2003 against the Mercedes-Benz M-Class in all build years (2019–2024, not age-adjusted)
Failure group	Built 2003, per 100	All build years, per 100	Items
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment	62.3	23	4,710
Suspension	32.8	12	2,481
Brakes	28.7	15.3	2,171
Steering	17.7	4	1,335
Visibility	15.3	7.1	1,157

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 7,555 (initial tests of this build year) · Method: failure items grouped by DVSA's top-level defect groups, per 100 initial tests; groups with 30+ items · Updated: 30 Sep 2026 · Release: dvsa-2024-v2 · CSV

How does 2003 compare with the years around it?

Among the 17 published build years of the Mercedes-Benz M-Class, 2003 ranks 12 (1 = fails least for its age). 2002: index 99.3. 2004: index 111.4.

Mercedes-Benz M-Class build years: index against the model at the same age (2019–2024)
Build year	Index (100 = normal)	95% interval	Verdict	Tests
1999	103.9	95.7–112.1	no different (rough estimate)	1,366
2000	102.1	96.9–107.2	no different (rough estimate)	3,415
2001	100.7	96.0–105.3	no different	4,192
2002	99.3	95.6–103.0	no different	6,834
2003	107.6	103.9–111.2	worse	7,555
2004	111.4	108.1–114.7	worse	9,649
2005	107.8	103.9–111.7	worse	7,240
2006	92.6	89.9–95.2	better	14,156
2007	95.3	92.6–98.0	better	14,629
2008	102.8	99.9–105.7	no different	14,585
2009	108.4	105.1–111.7	worse	12,357
2010	110.8	107.6–114.0	worse	14,815
2011	108.1	104.8–111.4	worse	14,985
2012	93.4	90.0–96.8	better	13,822
2013	87.9	85.3–90.5	better	26,049
2014	95.8	92.8–98.7	better	23,547
2015	92.7	89.2–96.1	better	19,161

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 208,357 (initial tests) · Method: observed failures against those expected for the same model at the same ages, test-year level adjusted; verdict follows the printed one-decimal bound · Updated: 30 Sep 2026 · Release: dvsa-2024-v2 · CSV

How to cite this page

MOT Risk Index (2026). Mercedes-Benz M-Class 2003 MOT statistics (data release dvsa-2024-v2; full dataset motriskindex-families-2024-v5, DOI 10.5281/zenodo.22975051), updated 30 September 2026. motriskindex.co.uk/cars/mercedes-m-class/2003/

How every figure is calculated: methodology. Age, test year and build year are tied together (age = test year − build year), so the test-year level is taken as observed, not estimated.

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