Mitsubishi Lancer 2004: MOT failure rate for its age

15.6% of 2,097 MOT tests of the Mitsubishi Lancer first registered in 2004 failed at the first attempt (2019–2024; retests excluded). Against this model's own normal rate at the same ages the index is 45.9 (95% CI 40.9–50.8; 100 = normal for this model at that age): the 2004 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 2004 at a glance
Measure	Value	Unit	Compared with	Years	Tests
Failed first time	15.6	%	all ages tested	2019–2024	2097
Index against this model at the same age (95% CI 40.9–50.8)	45.9	index	100 = normal for this model at that age	2019–2024	2097
Rank among this model's 11 build years	2	of 11	1 = fails least for its age	2019–2024	2097
Tested in 2024	374	tests	median 74,479 miles	2024	374

Built 2004 against Mitsubishi Lancer normal for the age: first-time MOT failure share at each age, age 15: 16.4% vs 38.7%; age 16: 18.5% vs 36.8%; age 17: 12.6% vs 32.7%; age 18: 14.9% vs 29.2%; age 19: 15.7% vs 31.5%; age 20: 13.1% vs n/a%. Axis from 0% to 40%. DVSA MOT bulk data, 2019–2024.

Check a 2004 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 2004 Mitsubishi Lancer fail at each age?

Cars built in 2004 were tested at ages 15 to 20 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 2004: 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)
15	476 (rough estimate)	16.4	13.3–20	38.7	42.4
16	383 (rough estimate)	18.5	15–22.7	36.8	50.3
17	438 (rough estimate)	12.6	9.8–16	32.7	38.4
18	417 (rough estimate)	14.9	11.8–18.6	29.2	50.9
19	383 (rough estimate)	15.7	12.4–19.6	31.5	49.7
20	374 (rough estimate)	13.1	10.1–16.9	not available	not available

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 2,471 (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 2004 Mitsubishi Lancer?

The most common failure group on cars built in 2004 is lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment: 13.3 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 2004 were tested at ages 15 to 20.

Failure items per 100 first tests, Mitsubishi Lancer built 2004 against the Mitsubishi Lancer in all build years (2019–2024, not age-adjusted)
Failure group	Built 2004, per 100	All build years, per 100	Items
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment	13.3	27.3	328
Noise, emissions and leaks	10.8	7.2	267
Suspension	6.3	22.1	156
Brakes	4.2	16.4	105
Visibility	4.1	8.8	101

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 2,471 (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 2004 compare with the years around it?

Among the 11 published build years of the Mitsubishi Lancer, 2004 ranks 2 (1 = fails least for its age). 2003: index 51.3. 2005: index 100.2.

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 2004 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/2004/

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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