Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 2003: MOT failure rate for its age

42.5% of 4,933 MOT tests of the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 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 105.6 (95% CI 101.0–110.1; 100 = normal for this model at that age): the 2003 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter fails more often than other build years of the same model at the same age.

Mercedes-Benz Sprinter built in 2003 at a glance
Measure	Value	Unit	Compared with	Years	Tests
Failed first time	42.5	%	all ages tested	2019–2024	4933
Index against this model at the same age (95% CI 101.0–110.1)	105.6	index	100 = normal for this model at that age	2019–2024	4933
Rank among this model's 23 build years	17	of 23	1 = fails least for its age	2019–2024	4933
Tested in 2024	823	tests	median 131,729 miles	2024	823

Built 2003 against Mercedes-Benz Sprinter normal for the age: first-time MOT failure share at each age, age 16: 48.3% vs 42%; age 17: 42.6% vs 39.3%; age 18: 43.2% vs 40.6%; age 19: 42.3% vs 39.7%; age 20: 41.5% vs 39.8%; age 21: 37.9% vs 39.9%. Axis from 0% to 50%. DVSA MOT bulk data, 2019–2024.

Check a 2003 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter by registration · All Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 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 Sprinter 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 Sprinter 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	677	48.3	44.6–52.1	42	115.1
17	545	42.6	38.5–46.8	39.3	108.2
18	986	43.2	40.1–46.3	40.6	106.4
19	988	42.3	39.3–45.4	39.7	106.5
20	914	41.5	38.3–44.7	39.8	104.1
21	823	37.9	34.7–41.3	39.9	95.1

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 4,933 (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 Sprinter?

The most common failure group on cars built in 2003 is lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment: 62 items per 100 first tests, against 29.5 across all build years of the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter. 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 Sprinter built 2003 against the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 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	29.5	3,060
Brakes	43.2	24.8	2,133
Suspension	28.9	12.7	1,427
Body, chassis, structure	20.2	7.6	998
Visibility	19.5	12.1	963

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 4,933 (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 23 published build years of the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter, 2003 ranks 17 (1 = fails least for its age). 2002: index 104.1. 2004: index 105.8.

Mercedes-Benz Sprinter build years: index against the model at the same age (2019–2024)
Build year	Index (100 = normal)	95% interval	Verdict	Tests
1998	115.6	95.6–135.7	no different (rough estimate)	261
1999	105.8	92.4–119.1	no different (rough estimate)	556
2000	109.0	100.3–117.7	worse (rough estimate)	1,358
2001	99.5	93.9–105.1	no different (rough estimate)	3,007
2002	104.1	99.6–108.6	no different	4,878
2003	105.6	101.0–110.1	worse	4,933
2004	105.8	101.5–110.0	worse	5,667
2005	101.4	97.0–105.8	no different	5,234
2006	100.1	95.5–104.6	no different	4,817
2007	101.0	96.6–105.4	no different	5,461
2008	100.1	95.8–104.5	no different	5,864
2009	90.7	85.8–95.6	better	4,364
2010	93.2	88.7–97.7	better	5,792
2011	98.7	93.9–103.5	no different	5,758
2012	109.8	104.8–114.8	worse	6,305
2013	98.9	93.8–104.0	no different	6,003
2014	104.7	99.6–109.8	no different	7,028
2015	92.6	87.9–97.4	better	8,059
2016	107.1	101.0–113.3	worse	6,212
2017	89.4	83.6–95.2	better	6,485
2018	98.3	90.7–105.9	no different	4,430
2019	105.4	95.7–115.1	no different (rough estimate)	3,109
2020	101.0	88.6–113.3	no different (rough estimate)	1,876

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 107,457 (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 Sprinter 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-sprinter/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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