Pass rate
73.2%
Below average — 0.6 pts behind the 73.8% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 9,918 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £52–£170
2000 Mazda Mx-5 MOT pass rate
- 2000
- typical 90,605 mi
Check your postcode
Most common fault
Suspension
23.9% of faults · 21.0% nationally
mostly worn arm bushes, split ball-joint boots and broken coil springs.
Which year to buy
- Best 2022 97.2% pass
- Avoid 2000 73.2% pass · this year
Across the 23 years on record, a spread of 24 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 67.5%
- Typical mileage
- 91k mi
The 2000 Mazda Mx-5 MOT pass rate is 73.2% of its MOT tests — about what its age and mileage predict. Suspension is the biggest single reason it fails, at 23.9% of what testers record.
Expert verdict
Emissions & leaks: 2.5× the national share
Emissions & leaks make up 13.7% of everything recorded on the 2000 Mazda Mx-5, against 5.5% nationally — 8.2 points above. Suspension is still the single largest share at 23.9%, but at 21.0% 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.
- When it fails, it costs. Only 20% 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 Mazda Mx-5? Get an email when these numbers change .
How does the 2000 Mazda Mx-5 compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 73.8%, so this figure is 0.6 points behind what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 67.5%. The median 2000 Mazda Mx-5 in this dataset had covered 90,605 mi.
Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 73.0% of the time, April–September 73.4%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Catalyst emissions carbon monoxide content after 2nd fast idle exceeds manufacturer's specified limits", noted on 5.16% of tests.
- 9,918 recorded tests behind this page.
- 73.2% overall pass rate, 67.5% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the Mazda Mx-5, the average is 82.1% — best year 2022 (97.2%), worst 2000 (73.2%).
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
- 9,918
- Typical mileage (median)
- 90,605 mi
- Make and model
- Mazda Mx-5
- 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 Mx-5 MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 61% so small gaps stay visible.
Where the Mazda Mx-5 is most common
Across all Mx-5 model years on record (2000–2022): 116,981 Mazda Mx-5 cars tested in a recordable postcode area, across 275,642 tests. Birmingham (B) has the most, with 2,700 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) | 2,700 | 85.1% |
| 2 | Reading (RG) | 2,363 | 84.8% |
| 3 | Coventry (CV) | 2,350 | 83.3% |
| 4 | Sheffield (S) | 2,339 | 84.0% |
| 5 | Bristol (BS) | 2,243 | 78.3% |
| 6 | Ashford (TN) | 2,206 | 82.1% |
| 7 | Guildford (GU) | 2,161 | 80.6% |
| 8 | Portsmouth (PO) | 2,143 | 80.0% |
| 9 | Peterborough (PE) | 2,141 | 83.8% |
| 10 | Nottingham (NG) | 2,012 | 81.5% |
| 11 | Gloucester (GL) | 1,966 | 79.5% |
| 12 | Southampton (SO) | 1,965 | 82.8% |
| 13 | Leicester (LE) | 1,934 | 83.1% |
| 14 | Norwich (NR) | 1,884 | 82.1% |
| 15 | Chelmsford (CM) | 1,824 | 85.9% |
| 16 | Poole (BH) | 1,812 | 81.0% |
| 17 | Brighton (BN) | 1,811 | 78.3% |
| 18 | Northampton (NN) | 1,811 | 82.7% |
| 19 | Derby (DE) | 1,801 | 85.3% |
| 20 | Ipswich (IP) | 1,736 | 83.0% |
The twenty areas with the most Mazda Mx-5 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 Mx-5
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South East | 2,271 | 73.8% |
| South West | 1,744 | 69.1% |
| East of England | 1,421 | 75.2% |
| West Midlands | 910 | 75.5% |
| North West | 822 | 73.4% |
| Yorkshire | 792 | 72.0% |
| East Midlands | 707 | 75.1% |
| Wales | 520 | 75.4% |
| Scotland | 387 | 69.0% |
| North East | 224 | 73.2% |
| London | 120 | 81.7% |
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 Mx-5
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 Mx-5
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 5.2% of tests
“catalyst emissions carbon monoxide content after 2nd fast idle exceeds manufacturer's 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 the suspension joints 4.9% of tests
“ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated”
With the car parked on level ground, rock the top of each front wheel in and out while someone watches the suspension arm. Clunks, or rubber boots split and greasy, are what testers record here.
-
Check the lights 4.5% 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 Mx-5 through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £52–£170 — and 20% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £52–£170
- Cheapest common item: registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the…
- £5–£20
- 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
- 20%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 9,918 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 Mx-5, side by side
23 model years on record, from 2000 to 2022. Across them the pass rate runs from 73.2% to 97.2% — a spread of 24 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2000 73.2%catalyst emissions carbon…
- 2001 75.5% ball joint dust cover severely…
- 2002 75.2% ball joint dust cover severely…
- 2003 73.6% ball joint dust cover severely…
- 2004 74.2% ball joint dust cover severely…
- 2005 74.7% ball joint dust cover severely…
- 2006 75.6% component mounting prescribed…
- 2007 78.5% coil spring fractured or broken
- 2008 78.8% coil spring fractured or broken
- 2009 80.5% coil spring fractured or broken
- 2010 81.9% coil spring fractured or broken
- 2011 83.2% coil spring fractured or broken
- 2012 85.6% coil spring fractured or broken
- 2013 86.3% coil spring fractured or broken
- 2014 87.5% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2015 90.2% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2016 90.7% service brake performance…
- 2017 93.0% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2018 93.7% wipers blade defective
- 2019 94.9% wipers blade defective
- 2020 95.4% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2021 96.6% has a cut in excess of the…
- 2022 97.2% windscreen damaged but not…
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 Mazda Mx-5 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
- Toyota MR2 73.4%
- Volkswagen Lupo 73.4%
- Ford Puma 73.4%
- Audi A4 73.5%
- Suzuki Jimny 72.9%
- Audi A3 73.5%
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 Mazda Mx-5 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 24,956 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Suspension | 6,054 | 23.90% | 20.98% | +2.92 |
| Brakes | 5,631 | 22.20% | 20.89% | +1.31 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 3,461 | 13.70% | 5.52% | +8.18 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 2,855 | 11.30% | 12.21% | −0.91 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 2,350 | 9.30% | 5.57% | +3.73 |
| Tyres | 1,936 | 7.60% | 19.76% | −12.16 |
| Visibility | 848 | 3.30% | 4.97% | −1.67 |
| Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | 733 | 2.90% | 0.82% | +2.08 |
| Steering | 625 | 2.50% | 2.57% | −0.07 |
| Identification of the vehicle | 463 | 1.80% | 1.76% | +0.04 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Catalyst emissions carbon monoxide content after 2nd fast idle exceeds manufacturer's specified limits Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 5.2% | £60–250 |
| Ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated Suspension | Minor | 4.9% | £18–45 |
| Catalyst emissions Lambda reading after 2nd fast idle outside specified limits Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 4.5% | £60–250 |
| Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 4.5% | £5–20 |
| Catalyst emissions carbon monoxide content after 2nd fast idle exceeds default limits Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 3.3% | £60–250 |
| Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view Visibility | Minor | 3.0% | £80–200 |
| Prescribed areas prescribed area strength or continuity significantly reduced Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | Major | 2.9% | £40–120 |
| Headlamp lens slightly defective Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 2.7% | £5–25 |
| Component mounting prescribed areas prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength Suspension | Major | 2.6% | £180–450 |
| Service brake performance excessively binding Brakes | Major | 2.3% | £60–150 |
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 | 13.3% | £200–700 |
| Rigid brake pipes excessively corroded Brakes | Advisory | 11.3% | £80–180 |
| Suspension arm corroded and seriously weakened Suspension | Advisory | 10.8% | £35–85 |
| Brake discs in such a condition that it is seriously weakened Brakes | Advisory | 9.9% | £45–110 |
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Advisory | 8.4% | £45–95 |
| Sub-frame corroded and seriously weakened Suspension | Advisory | 7.8% | £180–450 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 272 | 85.7% | 21,758 mi |
| 30-60k | 1,527 | 80.4% | 48,096 mi |
| 60-90k | 3,091 | 74.6% | 75,989 mi |
| 90-120k | 2,898 | 69.5% | 103,199 mi |
| 120k+ | 2,117 | 69.7% | 146,174 mi |
Source: 9,918 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 Mx-5 MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2000 Mazda Mx-5?
73.2% of the 9,918 2000 Mazda Mx-5 tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 73.8% for cars first used in 2000. First-attempt pass rate: 67.5%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2000 Mazda Mx-5?
The three most recorded items are catalyst emissions carbon monoxide content after 2nd fast idle exceeds manufacturer's specified limits (5.16%), ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated (4.92%), catalyst emissions lambda reading after 2nd fast idle outside specified limits (4.50%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2000 Mazda Mx-5 MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 85.7% of the time, falling to 69.7% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2000 Mazda Mx-5 in this dataset had covered 90,605 mi.
Does the season affect the 2000 Mazda Mx-5 MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 73.0% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 73.4%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.