Mitsubishi Lancer 2003: MOT failure rate for its age

17.4% of 1,100 MOT tests of the Mitsubishi Lancer 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 51.3 (95% CI 44.0–58.6; 100 = normal for this model at that age): the 2003 Mitsubishi Lancer fails less often than other build years of the same model at the same age. This is a rough estimate from a smaller sample.

Mitsubishi Lancer built in 2003 at a glance
Measure	Value	Unit	Compared with	Years	Tests
Failed first time	17.4	%	all ages tested	2019–2024	1100
Index against this model at the same age (95% CI 44.0–58.6)	51.3	index	100 = normal for this model at that age	2019–2024	1100
Rank among this model's 11 build years	3	of 11	1 = fails least for its age	2019–2024	1100
Tested in 2024	237	tests	median 76,058 miles	2024	237

Built 2003 against Mitsubishi Lancer normal for the age: first-time MOT failure share at each age, age 16: 18.2% vs 39.7%; age 17: 15.3% vs 33%; age 18: 19% vs 30.2%; age 19: 16.9% vs 31.3%; age 20: 14.8% vs n/a%; age 21: 14.3% vs n/a%. Axis from 0% to 40%. DVSA MOT bulk data, 2019–2024.

Check a 2003 Mitsubishi Lancer by registration · All Mitsubishi Lancer 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 Mitsubishi Lancer 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.

Mitsubishi Lancer 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	314 (rough estimate)	18.2	14.3–22.8	39.7	45.7
17	262 (rough estimate)	15.3	11.4–20.1	33	46.3
18	263 (rough estimate)	19	14.7–24.2	30.2	63
19	261 (rough estimate)	16.9	12.8–21.9	31.3	53.8
20	257 (rough estimate)	14.8	11–19.6	not available	not available
21	237 (rough estimate)	14.3	10.5–19.4	not available	not available

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 1,594 (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 Mitsubishi Lancer?

The most common failure group on cars built in 2003 is lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment: 14.6 items per 100 first tests, against 27.3 across all build years of the Mitsubishi Lancer. These counts are not age-adjusted: cars built in 2003 were tested at ages 16 to 21.

Failure items per 100 first tests, Mitsubishi Lancer built 2003 against the Mitsubishi Lancer 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	14.6	27.3	233
Noise, emissions and leaks	11	7.2	175
Suspension	6.9	22.1	110
Brakes	6.3	16.4	100
Visibility	5.3	8.8	84

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 1,594 (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 11 published build years of the Mitsubishi Lancer, 2003 ranks 3 (1 = fails least for its age). 2002: index 38.8. 2004: index 45.9.

Mitsubishi Lancer build years: index against the model at the same age (2019–2024)
Build year	Index (100 = normal)	95% interval	Verdict	Tests
2001	60.8	48.5–73.1	better (rough estimate)	472
2002	38.8	24.2–53.4	better (rough estimate)	210
2003	51.3	44.0–58.6	better (rough estimate)	1,100
2004	45.9	40.9–50.8	better (rough estimate)	2,097
2005	100.2	96.6–103.7	no different	8,665
2006	104.8	101.1–108.5	worse	8,169
2007	97.0	93.2–100.8	no different	6,910
2008	94.9	91.9–97.9	better	10,841
2009	101.6	98.1–105.1	no different	8,426
2010	104.2	101.3–107.2	worse	12,290
2011	99.7	96.2–103.2	no different	8,733

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 67,913 (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). Mitsubishi Lancer 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/mitsubishi-lancer/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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