Pass rate
69.2%
Below average — 4.6 pts behind the 73.8% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 1,902 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £67–£198
2000 Citroen Saxo MOT pass rate
- 2000
- typical 69,581 mi
Check your postcode
Most common fault
Brakes
17.7% of faults · 20.9% nationally
mostly worn pads and discs, corroded pipes and a handbrake that will not hold.
Which year to buy
- Best 2004 72.7% pass
- Avoid 2000 69.2% pass · this year
Across the 5 years on record, a spread of 3.5 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 60.4%
- Typical mileage
- 70k mi
The 2000 Citroen Saxo MOT pass rate is 69.2% of its MOT tests — 4.6 points behind what its age and mileage predict. Brakes is the biggest single reason it fails, at 17.7% of what testers record.
Expert verdict
Emissions & leaks: 2.6× the national share
Emissions & leaks make up 14.5% of everything recorded on the 2000 Citroen Saxo, against 5.5% nationally — 9.0 points above. Brakes are still the single largest share at 17.7%, but at 20.9% nationally that one is ordinary. A smoky diesel or a leaking joint fails on emissions more often than on wear, so ask for a recent emissions printout.
- Falls short of its own age and mileage. Like-for-like, cars this age and mileage expect about 73.8%; this one manages 69.2% — 4.6 points below. Age is a fair excuse; this is not age.
- When it fails, it costs. Only 17% of this model’s typical repairs come in under £30 in parts — the failures here tend to be the kind that need a garage rather than a bulb.
Written from this page's own figures: fault shares against the national composition, the like-for-like pass rate, and the priced repair list. How these are worked out
Watching a Citroen Saxo? Get an email when these numbers change .
How does the 2000 Citroen Saxo compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 73.8%, so this figure is 4.6 points behind what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 60.4%. The median 2000 Citroen Saxo in this dataset had covered 69,581 mi.
95% of the tests on this vehicle ran on Petrol, which passed 69.0% of the time. Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 69.1% of the time, April–September 69.2%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Catalyst emissions Lambda reading after 2nd fast idle outside specified limits", noted on 5.73% of tests.
- 1,902 recorded tests behind this page.
- 69.2% overall pass rate, 60.4% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the Citroen Saxo, the average is 70.7% — best year 2004 (72.7%), worst 2000 (69.2%).
Figures count every completed test on this vehicle-year in the dataset, including retests. See methodology for the exact definition.
This page's data
- Tests analysed
- 1,902
- Typical mileage (median)
- 69,581 mi
- Make and model
- Citroen Saxo
- Updated
- 2026-11-07
Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data (2023–2025), OGL v3.0.
Top part to budget for
Emissions Repair
Typically a garage job — get quotes before committing.
Does mileage affect the Saxo MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 58% so small gaps stay visible.
Fuel type and reliability
Pass rate by fuel type. Petrol is the most common here (95% of tests).
Where the Citroen Saxo is most common
Across all Saxo model years on record (2000–2004): 5,068 Citroen Saxo cars tested in a recordable postcode area, across 12,259 tests. Birmingham (B) has the most, with 176 cars tested there. Cars are counted by the postcode area of the MOT station, so this is where they were tested, not necessarily where their owners live.
| # | Postcode area | Cars | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Birmingham (B) | 176 | 75.3% |
| 2 | Portsmouth (PO) | 128 | 67.6% |
| 3 | Gloucester (GL) | 116 | 68.0% |
| 4 | Exeter (EX) | 107 | 62.0% |
| 5 | Poole (BH) | 105 | 68.0% |
| 6 | Peterborough (PE) | 101 | 68.3% |
| 7 | Bristol (BS) | 101 | 68.3% |
| 8 | Guildford (GU) | 99 | 72.2% |
| 9 | Sheffield (S) | 98 | 66.4% |
| 10 | Brighton (BN) | 87 | 71.5% |
| 11 | Reading (RG) | 87 | 72.9% |
| 12 | Ashford (TN) | 86 | 69.2% |
| 13 | Crawley (RH) | 86 | 76.1% |
| 14 | Coventry (CV) | 85 | 77.2% |
| 15 | Derby (DE) | 84 | 73.3% |
| 16 | Plymouth (PL) | 82 | 62.9% |
| 17 | Oxford (OX) | 80 | 67.6% |
| 18 | Southampton (SO) | 79 | 77.6% |
| 19 | Yeovil (BA) | 77 | 70.2% |
| 20 | Norwich (NR) | 75 | 63.7% |
The twenty areas with the most Citroen Saxo cars in the record, sorted by car count — sort the columns for a different question. Cars tested at a station whose postcode area could not be resolved are counted in the model's total but in no area, so the shares add up to slightly under 100% even across every area, and an area's cars are a subset of the model's. Pass rate is blank below 30 tests in an area, where a percentage is noise rather than a finding. How this model's pass rate varies by postcode →
Regional pass rates for the Saxo
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South East | 418 | 71.1% |
| South West | 343 | 63.8% |
| East of England | 264 | 71.6% |
| West Midlands | 213 | 73.7% |
| North West | 195 | 67.7% |
| Yorkshire | 167 | 64.1% |
| East Midlands | 141 | 68.1% |
| Wales | 67 | 73.1% |
| Scotland | 47 | 74.5% |
| North East | 27 | 74.1% |
| London | 20 | 75.0% |
Regions come from the postcode area recorded at the test station. Areas on region borders are assigned to the region with the majority of their population.
What fails a 2000 Saxo
Everything a tester recorded on this vehicle, grouped into the inspection sections that produced it. The notch on each bar is the national share, so you can see at a glance whether this car is unusual or just ordinary.
A test can record several items, so these percentages do not add up to 100%. The exact strings, with prices, are in the full DVSA record at the bottom of this page.
Before your test
Three checks worth doing on a 2000 Saxo
These are not generic tips — they are the faults recorded most often on this exact model, rewritten as things you can check yourself. All three take about ten minutes and cost nothing.
-
Check the exhaust and emissions 5.7% of tests
“catalyst emissions Lambda reading after 2nd fast idle outside specified limits”
Listen for a blow at idle and have someone rev it gently. Then look at the tailpipe smoke: blue is oil, white when warm is coolant, black is over-fuelling. Any of those and the emissions test is the least of it.
-
Check corrosion 4.5% of tests
“component mounting prescribed areas prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength”
Look under the sills, around the jacking points and where the suspension mounts meet the body. Flaking, holed or crumbly metal fails; a brown stain on sound metal does not.
-
Check the lights 3.8% of tests
“registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources”
Switch everything on and walk round the car: both headlamps on dip and main, every indicator, both brake lights, reverse, fog and the two number-plate lamps. A bulb is a few pounds and a five-minute job.
Shares are the proportion of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item, so they overlap: one test can record several.
What it costs to get a 2000 Saxo through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £67–£198 — and 17% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £67–£198
- Cheapest common item: stop lamp not working
- £3–£12
- Dearest common item: component mounting prescribed areas…
- £180–£450
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 30%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 17%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 1,902 MOT tests on this vehicle. They exclude diagnostics, retest fees and garage labour where the part is a DIY fit, and they are not figures from the DVSA dataset. Older and higher-mileage examples cost more than the average. How these estimates are built → · All MOT repair costs → · Cheapest cars to put through a test →
Every year of the Saxo, side by side
5 model years on record, from 2000 to 2004. Across them the pass rate runs from 69.2% to 72.7% — a spread of 3.5 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2000 69.2%catalyst emissions lambda reading…
- 2001 71.4% service brake imbalance across an…
- 2002 70.0% service brake imbalance across an…
- 2003 71.6% joints constant velocity boot…
- 2004 72.7% joints constant velocity boot…
Colour is the pass rate on a fixed scale, so a block means the same thing on any model. Each year links to its own page with the full fault breakdown.
Compare the 2000 Citroen Saxo with another year
The raw pass rate mostly measures age. The year comparison adds the like-for-like figure, the mileage bands and the repair bill.
Other 2000 cars with a similar record
- Ford Focus 69.3%
- Nissan Micra 69.4%
- Renault Clio 69.0%
- Honda Cr-V 68.7%
- Honda Accord 69.8%
- Ford Mondeo 70.1%
Closest pass rates among 2000 cars with at least 2,000 tests, so a small sample cannot flatter itself into the list. See the full rankings: best and worst MOT pass rates.
The full DVSA record for the 2000 Citroen Saxo 10 failure items · 6 advisories · 10 inspection categories · mileage brackets · all of it in the page, none of it above the fold
Every inspection category
Shares of the 5,322 individual items recorded on this vehicle, and the same share across all cars nationally. A single test can record several items, so a row is not a percentage of tests.
| Category | Items | This car | Nationally | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brakes | 960 | 17.70% | 20.89% | −3.19 |
| Suspension | 934 | 17.20% | 20.98% | −3.78 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 787 | 14.50% | 5.52% | +8.98 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 665 | 12.30% | 12.21% | +0.09 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 651 | 12.00% | 5.57% | +6.43 |
| Tyres | 568 | 10.50% | 19.76% | −9.26 |
| Visibility | 278 | 5.10% | 4.97% | +0.13 |
| Identification of the vehicle | 193 | 3.60% | 1.76% | +1.84 |
| Steering | 162 | 3.00% | 2.57% | +0.43 |
| Non-component advisories | 124 | 2.30% | 4.18% | −1.88 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Catalyst emissions Lambda reading after 2nd fast idle outside specified limits Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 5.7% | £60–250 |
| Service brake imbalance across an axle Brakes | Major | 5.1% | £45–110 |
| Catalyst emissions carbon monoxide content after 2nd fast idle exceeds manufacturer's specified limits Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 4.9% | £60–250 |
| Component mounting prescribed areas prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength Suspension | Major | 4.5% | £180–450 |
| Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 3.8% | £5–20 |
| Exhaust system has a major leak of exhaust gases Body, chassis, structure | Major | 3.7% | £45–120 |
| Steering rack gaiter missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt Steering | Major | 3.6% | £120–300 |
| Stop lamp not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 3.4% | £3–12 |
| Service brake performance efficiency below requirements Brakes | Major | 3.2% | £60–150 |
| Joints constant velocity boot severely deteriorated Body, chassis, structure | Minor | 3.1% | £80–250 |
Severity is as recorded: Major and Dangerous fail the test outright; Minor and Advisory do not. Costs are estimates from typical UK parts prices — see how they are built.
What testers noted without failing the car
Advisories are the early warnings — the same parts a year or two before they fail. Reading them is how you tell a car that has been maintained from one that has been patched.
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Engine oil leaks leaking excessively from engine Noise, emissions and leaks | Advisory | 17.3% | £200–700 |
| Has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Tyres | Advisory | 15.8% | £45–95 |
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Advisory | 9.8% | £45–95 |
| Registration plates inscription illegible Identification of the vehicle | Advisory | 9.4% | £20–80 |
| Exhaust system has a major leak of exhaust gases Body, chassis, structure | Advisory | 8.8% | £45–120 |
| Rigid brake pipes excessively corroded Brakes | Advisory | 8.6% | £80–180 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 135 | 77.8% | 22,547 mi |
| 30-60k | 602 | 69.3% | 46,723 mi |
| 60-90k | 627 | 68.4% | 74,621 mi |
| 90-120k | 358 | 66.5% | 103,747 mi |
| 120k+ | 159 | 71.1% | 146,507 mi |
Source: 1,902 recorded tests on this vehicle-year. Every row above is recomputed from the same DVSA extract as the rest of the page — see the methodology.
2000 Saxo MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2000 Citroen Saxo?
69.2% of the 1,902 2000 Citroen Saxo tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 73.8% for cars first used in 2000. First-attempt pass rate: 60.4%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2000 Citroen Saxo?
The three most recorded items are catalyst emissions lambda reading after 2nd fast idle outside specified limits (5.73%), service brake imbalance across an axle (5.10%), catalyst emissions carbon monoxide content after 2nd fast idle exceeds manufacturer's specified limits (4.89%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2000 Citroen Saxo MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 77.8% of the time, falling to 71.1% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2000 Citroen Saxo in this dataset had covered 69,581 mi.
Which fuel type is most reliable for a 2000 Citroen Saxo?
Petrol: 69.0% pass rate across 1,813 tests. Diesel: 73.0% pass rate across 89 tests. Shares are of the tests on this vehicle that recorded each fuel type.
Does the season affect the 2000 Citroen Saxo MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 69.1% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 69.2%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.