Smart Fortwo 2004: MOT failure rate for its age

40.2% of 5,368 MOT tests of the Smart Fortwo 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 99.7 (95% CI 95.5–103.9; 100 = normal for this model at that age): the 2004 build year is no different from other years of the same model at the same age.

Smart Fortwo built in 2004 at a glance
Measure	Value	Unit	Compared with	Years	Tests
Failed first time	40.2	%	all ages tested	2019–2024	5368
Index against this model at the same age (95% CI 95.5–103.9)	99.7	index	100 = normal for this model at that age	2019–2024	5368
Rank among this model's 18 build years	9	of 18	1 = fails least for its age	2019–2024	5368
Tested in 2024	630	tests	median 67,301 miles	2024	630

Built 2004 against Smart Fortwo normal for the age: first-time MOT failure share at each age, age 15: 39.7% vs 41.4%; age 16: 41% vs 39.6%; age 17: 41.4% vs 40%; age 18: 37.7% vs 39.5%; age 19: 40.5% vs 41.1%; age 20: 40.8% vs 39.4%. Axis from 0% to 50%. DVSA MOT bulk data, 2019–2024.

Check a 2004 Smart Fortwo by registration · All Smart Fortwo 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 Smart Fortwo 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.

Smart Fortwo 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	1,232	39.7	37–42.5	41.4	95.8
16	981	41	37.9–44.1	39.6	103.4
17	922	41.4	38.3–44.6	40	103.6
18	843	37.7	34.5–41	39.5	95.4
19	760	40.5	37.1–44.1	41.1	98.6
20	630	40.8	37–44.7	39.4	103.5

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 5,368 (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 Smart Fortwo?

The most common failure group on cars built in 2004 is lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment: 43.6 items per 100 first tests, against 14.2 across all build years of the Smart Fortwo. These counts are not age-adjusted: cars built in 2004 were tested at ages 15 to 20.

Failure items per 100 first tests, Smart Fortwo built 2004 against the Smart Fortwo 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	43.6	14.2	2,342
Suspension	23	10	1,233
Brakes	17	9.5	912
Visibility	13.6	7.8	730
Noise, emissions and leaks	12.3	4.2	658

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 5,368 (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 18 published build years of the Smart Fortwo, 2004 ranks 9 (1 = fails least for its age). 2003: index 101.5. 2005: index 109.7.

Smart Fortwo build years: index against the model at the same age (2019–2024)
Build year	Index (100 = normal)	95% interval	Verdict	Tests
2002	106.2	93.0–119.4	no different (rough estimate)	558
2003	101.5	93.1–109.9	no different (rough estimate)	1,343
2004	99.7	95.5–103.9	no different	5,368
2005	109.7	105.5–113.9	worse	6,098
2006	104.7	100.9–108.5	worse	7,185
2007	103.3	100.6–106.1	worse	14,353
2008	103.3	101.4–105.2	worse	29,795
2009	103.2	101.4–105.0	worse	36,100
2010	106.4	104.5–108.4	worse	34,072
2011	95.2	92.9–97.4	better	23,700
2012	91.8	89.1–94.6	better	16,141
2013	96.1	93.5–98.8	better	20,631
2014	93.9	91.3–96.6	better	22,779
2015	90.6	86.8–94.3	better	13,197
2016	98.9	96.2–101.5	no different	34,193
2017	96.5	93.3–99.7	better	25,276
2018	102.3	97.6–107.0	no different	13,525
2019	94.1	86.8–101.4	no different	5,751

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 310,065 (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). Smart Fortwo 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/smart-fortwo/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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