Pass rate
78.6%
Around average — 5.3 pts ahead of the 73.3% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 56 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £43–£110
2001 Mazda Tribute MOT pass rate
- 2001
- typical 105,665 mi
Only 56 tests of this exact model and year are in the DVSA data, below the 100 we ask for before a page goes in the index. The figures are still shown, because they are the only ones there are.
Check your postcode
Most common fault
Suspension
27.9% of faults · 21.0% nationally
mostly worn arm bushes, split ball-joint boots and broken coil springs.
Which year to buy
- Best 2001 78.6% pass · this year
- Avoid 2003 66.9% pass
Across the 4 years on record, a spread of 11.7 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 74.5%
- Typical mileage
- 106k mi
The 2001 Mazda Tribute MOT pass rate is 78.6% of its MOT tests — 5.3 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. Suspension is the biggest single reason it fails, at 27.9% of what testers record.
Expert verdict
Body & chassis: 2.5× the national share
Body & chassis accounts for 14.0% of everything recorded on the 2001 Mazda Tribute, against 5.6% nationally — 8.4 points above. Suspension is still the single largest share at 27.9%, but at 21.0% nationally that one is ordinary. Look underneath for corrosion near the jacking points and suspension mounts; surface rust is normal, flaking metal is not.
- Beats its own age and mileage. Once you allow for how old and how far these cars have been driven, the expected pass rate is 73.3% and this one manages 78.6% — 5.3 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict.
- When it fails, it costs. Only 19% 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 Tribute? Get an email when these numbers change .
How does the 2001 Mazda Tribute compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 73.3%, so this figure is 5.3 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 74.5%. The median 2001 Mazda Tribute in this dataset had covered 105,665 mi.
The single most recorded failure item is "Ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated", noted on 12.50% of tests.
- 56 recorded tests behind this page.
- 78.6% overall pass rate, 74.5% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the Mazda Tribute, the average is 70.8% — best year 2001 (78.6%), worst 2003 (66.9%).
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
- 56
- Typical mileage (median)
- 105,665 mi
- Make and model
- Mazda Tribute
- Updated
- 2026-11-07
Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data (2023–2025), OGL v3.0.
Top part to budget for
Ball Joint
Usually a DIY or independent-garage job.
Does mileage affect the Tribute MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 61% so small gaps stay visible.
Regional pass rates for the Tribute
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South East | 20 | 70.0% |
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 2001 Tribute
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 2001 Tribute
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 suspension joints 12.5% 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 corrosion 8.9% 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 8.9% 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 2001 Tribute through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £43–£110 — and 19% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £43–£110
- Cheapest common item: all direction indicators incorrect colour
- £3–£12
- Dearest common item: component mounting prescribed areas…
- £180–£450
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 70%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 19%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 56 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 Tribute, side by side
4 model years on record, from 2001 to 2004. Across them the pass rate runs from 66.9% to 78.6% — a spread of 11.7 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2001 78.6%ball joint dust cover severely…
- 2002 73.2% component mounting prescribed…
- 2003 66.9% component mounting prescribed…
- 2004 69.4% ball joint dust cover severely…
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 2001 Mazda Tribute 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 2001 cars with a similar record
- Land Rover Range Rover 78.9%
- Mercedes-Benz Clk 79.0%
- Jaguar Xkr 79.2%
- Subaru Impreza 79.3%
- BMW Z3 79.5%
- Lexus IS200 77.6%
Closest pass rates among 2001 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 2001 Mazda Tribute 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 178 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 | 50 | 27.90% | 20.98% | +6.92 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 25 | 14.00% | 5.57% | +8.43 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 24 | 13.40% | 12.21% | +1.19 |
| Brakes | 19 | 10.60% | 20.89% | −10.29 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 16 | 8.90% | 5.52% | +3.38 |
| Tyres | 14 | 7.80% | 19.76% | −11.96 |
| Steering | 14 | 7.80% | 2.57% | +5.23 |
| Non-component advisories | 8 | 4.50% | 4.18% | +0.32 |
| Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | 5 | 2.80% | 0.82% | +1.98 |
| Visibility | 3 | 1.70% | 4.97% | −3.27 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated Suspension | Minor | 12.5% | £18–45 |
| Component mounting prescribed areas prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength Suspension | Major | 8.9% | £180–450 |
| Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 8.9% | £5–20 |
| Track rod end ball joint has excessive play Steering | Major | 5.4% | £18–45 |
| Ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt Suspension | Major | 3.6% | £18–45 |
| Headlamp aim projected beam image is obviously incorrect Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 3.6% | £30–80 |
| Headlamp aim projected beam image is obviously incorrect Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Rectified | 3.6% | £30–80 |
| Linkage ball joint dust cover ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated Suspension | Minor | 3.6% | £18–45 |
| Track rod end ball joint dust cover damaged or deteriorated, but preventing the ingress of dirt Steering | Minor | 3.6% | £18–45 |
| All direction indicators incorrect colour Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 1.8% | £3–12 |
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 | 23.2% | £200–700 |
| Brake discs in such a condition that it is seriously weakened Brakes | Advisory | 12.5% | £45–110 |
| Individual direction indicators incorrect colour Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Advisory | 12.5% | £3–12 |
| Non-component advisories Play in steering rack inner joint(s) Non-component advisories | Advisory | 12.5% | £120–300 |
| Rigid brake pipes excessively corroded Brakes | Advisory | 12.5% | £80–180 |
| Has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Tyres | Advisory | 10.7% | £45–95 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30-60k | 9 | 100.0% | 53,565 mi |
| 60-90k | 14 | 85.7% | 74,657 mi |
| 90-120k | 7 | 71.4% | 101,924 mi |
| 120k+ | 26 | 69.2% | 143,241 mi |
Source: 56 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.
2001 Tribute MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2001 Mazda Tribute?
78.6% of the 56 2001 Mazda Tribute tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 73.3% for cars first used in 2001. First-attempt pass rate: 74.5%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2001 Mazda Tribute?
The three most recorded items are ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated (12.50%), component mounting prescribed areas prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength (8.93%), registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources (8.93%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2001 Mazda Tribute MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 100.0% of the time, falling to 69.2% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2001 Mazda Tribute in this dataset had covered 105,665 mi.