Subaru Impreza 2004: MOT failure rate for its age

27.8% of 12,482 MOT tests of the Subaru Impreza 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 93.3 (95% CI 90.2–96.4; 100 = normal for this model at that age): the 2004 Subaru Impreza fails less often than other build years of the same model at the same age.

Subaru Impreza built in 2004 at a glance
Measure	Value	Unit	Compared with	Years	Tests
Failed first time	27.8	%	all ages tested	2019–2024	12482
Index against this model at the same age (95% CI 90.2–96.4)	93.3	index	100 = normal for this model at that age	2019–2024	12482
Rank among this model's 16 build years	4	of 16	1 = fails least for its age	2019–2024	12482
Tested in 2024	1741	tests	median 103,847 miles	2024	1741

Built 2004 against Subaru Impreza normal for the age: first-time MOT failure share at each age, age 15: 29.5% vs 31.5%; age 16: 28.7% vs 29.7%; age 17: 30.7% vs 30.7%; age 18: 25.6% vs 29%; age 19: 26.6% vs 29.2%; age 20: 24.6% vs 28.1%. Axis from 0% to 40%. DVSA MOT bulk data, 2019–2024.

Check a 2004 Subaru Impreza by registration · All Subaru Impreza 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 Subaru Impreza 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.

Subaru Impreza 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	2,540	29.5	27.7–31.3	31.5	93.7
16	2,111	28.7	26.8–30.7	29.7	96.6
17	2,177	30.7	28.8–32.7	30.7	100
18	2,025	25.6	23.8–27.6	29	88.3
19	1,888	26.6	24.7–28.7	29.2	91.3
20	1,741	24.6	22.6–26.7	28.1	87.4

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 12,482 (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 Subaru Impreza?

The most common failure group on cars built in 2004 is lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment: 28.2 items per 100 first tests, against 24.6 across all build years of the Subaru Impreza. These counts are not age-adjusted: cars built in 2004 were tested at ages 15 to 20.

Failure items per 100 first tests, Subaru Impreza built 2004 against the Subaru Impreza 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	28.2	24.6	3,521
Suspension	21	20	2,627
Noise, emissions and leaks	14	13.9	1,749
Brakes	11	10.7	1,368
Body, chassis, structure	9.4	10.6	1,176

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 12,482 (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 16 published build years of the Subaru Impreza, 2004 ranks 4 (1 = fails least for its age). 2003: index 102.0. 2005: index 95.3.

Subaru Impreza build years: index against the model at the same age (2019–2024)
Build year	Index (100 = normal)	95% interval	Verdict	Tests
1998	103.6	94.1–113.2	no different (rough estimate)	1,455
1999	99.0	92.6–105.4	no different (rough estimate)	3,137
2000	97.2	92.1–102.3	no different	4,836
2001	114.3	109.5–119.1	worse	6,418
2002	105.2	101.1–109.2	worse	8,306
2003	102.0	98.8–105.2	no different	12,636
2004	93.3	90.2–96.4	better	12,482
2005	95.3	92.5–98.2	better	15,286
2006	98.3	95.0–101.5	no different	12,157
2007	100.6	97.4–103.8	no different	12,984
2008	99.7	95.4–104.0	no different	7,326
2009	92.4	87.4–97.3	better	5,259
2010	97.6	92.5–102.8	no different	5,354
2011	89.4	77.1–101.6	no different (rough estimate)	882
2012	52.0	33.7–70.3	better (rough estimate)	234
2014	97.4	73.4–121.5	no different (rough estimate)	272

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 109,024 (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). Subaru Impreza 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/subaru-impreza/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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