Vauxhall Meriva 2003: MOT failure rate for its age

55.0% of 6,045 MOT tests of the Vauxhall Meriva 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 98.8 (95% CI 95.5–102.2; 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.

Vauxhall Meriva built in 2003 at a glance
Measure	Value	Unit	Compared with	Years	Tests
Failed first time	55.0	%	all ages tested	2019–2024	6045
Index against this model at the same age (95% CI 95.5–102.2)	98.8	index	100 = normal for this model at that age	2019–2024	6045
Rank among this model's 15 build years	5	of 15	1 = fails least for its age	2019–2024	6045
Tested in 2024	355	tests	median 85,356 miles	2024	355

Built 2003 against Vauxhall Meriva normal for the age: first-time MOT failure share at each age, age 16: 55.9% vs 59.5%; age 17: 55.1% vs 54.1%; age 18: 55.9% vs 54.5%; age 19: 53.1% vs 52%; age 20: 51.2% vs 49.7%; age 21: 53.2% vs n/a%. Axis from 0% to 60%. DVSA MOT bulk data, 2019–2024.

Check a 2003 Vauxhall Meriva by registration · All Vauxhall Meriva 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 Vauxhall Meriva 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.

Vauxhall Meriva 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	2,277	55.9	53.8–57.9	59.5	93.8
17	1,457	55.1	52.5–57.7	54.1	101.8
18	1,072	55.9	52.9–58.8	54.5	102.6
19	727	53.1	49.5–56.7	52	102
20	512	51.2	46.8–55.5	49.7	102.9
21	355 (rough estimate)	53.2	48–58.4	not available	not available

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 6,400 (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 Vauxhall Meriva?

The most common failure group on cars built in 2003 is suspension: 49.3 items per 100 first tests, against 24.5 across all build years of the Vauxhall Meriva. These counts are not age-adjusted: cars built in 2003 were tested at ages 16 to 21.

Failure items per 100 first tests, Vauxhall Meriva built 2003 against the Vauxhall Meriva in all build years (2019–2024, not age-adjusted)
Failure group	Built 2003, per 100	All build years, per 100	Items
Suspension	49.3	24.5	3,157
Brakes	43.7	17.5	2,797
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment	35.4	20	2,267
Body, chassis, structure	14.8	8.9	945
Visibility	14.6	8.5	935

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 6,400 (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 15 published build years of the Vauxhall Meriva, 2003 ranks 5 (1 = fails least for its age). 2004: index 102.4.

Vauxhall Meriva build years: index against the model at the same age (2019–2024)
Build year	Index (100 = normal)	95% interval	Verdict	Tests
2003	98.8	95.5–102.2	no different	6,045
2004	102.4	100.8–104.1	worse	26,884
2005	103.5	102.0–105.0	worse	31,961
2006	104.4	103.0–105.7	worse	43,305
2007	106.4	105.1–107.7	worse	45,818
2008	108.4	107.0–109.7	worse	47,454
2009	111.1	109.6–112.6	worse	42,966
2010	99.9	98.8–101.1	no different	73,265
2011	88.9	87.9–89.8	better	101,366
2012	89.9	88.6–91.3	better	58,567
2013	99.5	97.9–101.2	no different	49,164
2014	89.7	87.9–91.4	better	46,886
2015	95.7	93.8–97.6	better	50,276
2016	99.5	97.2–101.9	no different	39,437
2017	101.4	98.1–104.7	no different	23,345

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 686,739 (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). Vauxhall Meriva 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/vauxhall-meriva/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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