Toyota RAV4 2003: MOT failure rate for its age

39.6% of 39,233 MOT tests of the Toyota RAV4 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 100.5 (95% CI 99.0–102.1; 100 = normal for this model at that age): the 2003 build year is no different from other years of the same model at the same age.

Toyota RAV4 built in 2003 at a glance
Measure	Value	Unit	Compared with	Years	Tests
Failed first time	39.6	%	all ages tested	2019–2024	39233
Index against this model at the same age (95% CI 99.0–102.1)	100.5	index	100 = normal for this model at that age	2019–2024	39233
Rank among this model's 23 build years	11	of 23	1 = fails least for its age	2019–2024	39233
Tested in 2024	4486	tests	median 115,463 miles	2024	4486

Built 2003 against Toyota RAV4 normal for the age: first-time MOT failure share at each age, age 16: 40% vs 41.7%; age 17: 40% vs 39.4%; age 18: 40% vs 39%; age 19: 39.1% vs 37.7%; age 20: 38.7% vs 38.4%; age 21: 39.2% vs 38.7%. Axis from 0% to 50%. DVSA MOT bulk data, 2019–2024.

Check a 2003 Toyota RAV4 by registration · All Toyota RAV4 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 Toyota RAV4 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.

Toyota RAV4 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	9,036	40	38.9–41	41.7	95.9
17	7,602	40	38.9–41.1	39.4	101.5
18	6,851	40	38.8–41.1	39	102.6
19	6,021	39.1	37.9–40.3	37.7	103.7
20	5,237	38.7	37.4–40.1	38.4	100.8
21	4,486	39.2	37.8–40.7	38.7	101.3

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 39,233 (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 Toyota RAV4?

The most common failure group on cars built in 2003 is lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment: 41.5 items per 100 first tests, against 17.6 across all build years of the Toyota RAV4. These counts are not age-adjusted: cars built in 2003 were tested at ages 16 to 21.

Failure items per 100 first tests, Toyota RAV4 built 2003 against the Toyota RAV4 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	41.5	17.6	16,278
Suspension	25.7	16	10,098
Brakes	17.7	11.8	6,957
Noise, emissions and leaks	11.5	4.7	4,498
Visibility	10.6	8.4	4,157

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 39,233 (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 Toyota RAV4, 2003 ranks 11 (1 = fails least for its age). 2002: index 101.1. 2004: index 96.2.

Toyota RAV4 build years: index against the model at the same age (2019–2024)
Build year	Index (100 = normal)	95% interval	Verdict	Tests
1998	100.5	95.2–105.7	no different (rough estimate)	3,307
1999	103.3	98.3–108.3	no different (rough estimate)	3,763
2000	103.4	99.3–107.5	no different	5,777
2001	102.5	99.9–105.0	no different	14,923
2002	101.1	99.3–102.9	no different	29,409
2003	100.5	99.0–102.1	no different	39,233
2004	96.2	94.8–97.7	better	47,043
2005	94.4	93.0–95.8	better	50,197
2006	103.5	101.9–105.0	worse	42,972
2007	105.9	104.3–107.6	worse	43,903
2008	106.0	104.1–107.9	worse	34,802
2009	101.4	99.0–103.8	no different	21,555
2010	97.6	95.3–99.8	better	25,352
2011	98.5	96.0–101.1	no different	23,653
2012	95.5	92.7–98.3	better	20,996
2013	92.6	90.4–94.8	better	37,067
2014	100.7	98.3–103.1	no different	38,033
2015	105.3	102.5–108.1	worse	33,987
2016	94.6	92.1–97.0	better	46,987
2017	105.2	102.3–108.1	worse	41,548
2018	112.2	108.6–115.8	worse	29,757
2019	80.0	76.7–83.3	better	28,051
2020	90.9	86.8–94.9	better	24,440

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 686,755 (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). Toyota RAV4 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/toyota-rav4/2003/

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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