Pass rate
74.0%
Below average — 1.1 pts ahead of the 72.9% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 600 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £43–£111
2002 MG Zt MOT pass rate
- 2002
- typical 91,964 mi
Check your postcode
Most common fault
Suspension
31.7% of faults · 21.0% nationally
mostly worn arm bushes, split ball-joint boots and broken coil springs.
Which year to buy
- Best 2007 76.8% pass
- Avoid 2001 71.5% pass
Across the 7 years on record, a spread of 5.3 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 67.9%
- Typical mileage
- 92k mi
The 2002 MG Zt MOT pass rate is 74.0% of its MOT tests — 1.1 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. Suspension is the biggest single reason it fails, at 31.7% of what testers record.
Expert verdict
Suspension: 1.5× the national share
Suspension accounts for 31.7% of everything recorded on the 2002 MG Zt, against 21.0% nationally — 10.7 points above. Ask for the front and rear suspension to be checked on a ramp before you buy — worn bushes and broken springs are cheap to look at and expensive to discover at test time.
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 MG Zt? Get an email when these numbers change .
How does the 2002 MG Zt compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 72.9%, so this figure is 1.1 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 67.9%. The median 2002 MG Zt in this dataset had covered 91,964 mi.
The most common fuel recorded here is Petrol — 92% of tests, with a 74.5% pass rate. Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 74.1% of the time, April–September 73.9%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources", noted on 9.33% of tests.
- 600 recorded tests behind this page.
- 74.0% overall pass rate, 67.9% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the MG Zt, the average is 75.0% — best year 2007 (76.8%), worst 2001 (71.5%).
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
- 600
- Typical mileage (median)
- 91,964 mi
- Make and model
- MG Zt
- Updated
- 2026-11-07
Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data (2023–2025), OGL v3.0.
Top part to budget for
Number Plate Lamp
Usually a DIY or independent-garage job.
Does mileage affect the Zt MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 62% so small gaps stay visible.
Fuel type and reliability
Pass rate by fuel type. Petrol is the most common here (92% of tests).
Where the MG Zt is most common
Across all Zt model years on record (2001–2007): 2,172 MG Zt cars tested in a recordable postcode area, across 5,250 tests. Birmingham (B) has the most, with 99 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) | 99 | 79.3% |
| 2 | Peterborough (PE) | 69 | 76.5% |
| 3 | Derby (DE) | 54 | 84.4% |
| 4 | Sheffield (S) | 53 | 78.6% |
| 5 | Coventry (CV) | 53 | 73.3% |
| 6 | Nottingham (NG) | 49 | 74.6% |
| 7 | Huddersfield (HD) | 48 | 97.5% |
| 8 | Southampton (SO) | 42 | 73.1% |
| 9 | Stoke On Trent (ST) | 38 | 71.9% |
| 10 | Newcastle upon Tyne (NE) | 38 | 76.5% |
| 11 | Stourbridge (DY) | 38 | 73.4% |
| 12 | Bristol (BS) | 37 | 78.4% |
| 13 | Leicester (LE) | 35 | 71.3% |
| 14 | Reading (RG) | 35 | 76.1% |
| 15 | Chelmsford (CM) | 32 | 78.0% |
| 16 | Wrexham (LL) | 32 | 79.3% |
| 17 | Walsall (WS) | 31 | 80.3% |
| 18 | Manchester (M) | 30 | 72.9% |
| 19 | Guildford (GU) | 30 | 81.8% |
| 20 | Norwich (NR) | 29 | 79.5% |
The twenty areas with the most MG Zt 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 Zt
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| West Midlands | 115 | 67.8% |
| South East | 90 | 83.3% |
| East of England | 84 | 83.3% |
| South West | 82 | 72.0% |
| North West | 77 | 71.4% |
| East Midlands | 45 | 75.6% |
| Yorkshire | 36 | 63.9% |
| Wales | 35 | 65.7% |
| Scotland | 21 | 71.4% |
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 2002 Zt
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 2002 Zt
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 lights 9.3% 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.
-
Check corrosion 5.8% 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 suspension joints 3.7% of tests
“linkage ball joint dust cover 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.
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 2002 Zt through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £43–£111 — and 42% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £43–£111
- Cheapest common item: srs malfunction indicator lamp warning lamp…
- £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
- 42%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 600 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 Zt, side by side
7 model years on record, from 2001 to 2007. Across them the pass rate runs from 71.5% to 76.8% — a spread of 5.3 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2001 71.5% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2002 74.0%registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2003 74.3% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2004 75.7% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2005 75.8% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2006 75.7% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2007 76.8% registration plate lamp(s)…
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 2002 MG Zt 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 2002 cars with a similar record
- Toyota YARIS 74.0%
- Toyota Celica 74.1%
- Skoda Octavia 74.1%
- Toyota MR2 74.2%
- Toyota Avensis 73.8%
- Volkswagen Bora 74.2%
Closest pass rates among 2002 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 2002 MG Zt 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 1,528 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 | 492 | 31.70% | 20.98% | +10.72 |
| Brakes | 364 | 23.50% | 20.89% | +2.61 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 205 | 13.20% | 12.21% | +0.99 |
| Tyres | 136 | 8.80% | 19.76% | −10.96 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 120 | 7.70% | 5.57% | +2.13 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 60 | 3.90% | 5.52% | −1.62 |
| Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | 40 | 2.60% | 0.82% | +1.78 |
| Non-component advisories | 39 | 2.50% | 4.18% | −1.68 |
| Steering | 38 | 2.50% | 2.57% | −0.07 |
| Visibility | 34 | 2.20% | 4.97% | −2.77 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 9.3% | £5–20 |
| Component mounting prescribed areas prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength Suspension | Major | 5.8% | £180–450 |
| Rbt (sp) efficiency below requirements Brakes | Major | 4.0% | £45–110 |
| Srs malfunction indicator lamp warning lamp indicates a fault Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | Major | 3.8% | £3–12 |
| Linkage ball joint dust cover ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated Suspension | Minor | 3.7% | £18–45 |
| Headlamp lens slightly defective Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 3.2% | £5–25 |
| Ball joint excessively worn Suspension | Major | 2.8% | £18–45 |
| Service brake performance excessively binding Brakes | Major | 2.3% | £60–150 |
| Exhaust system has a major leak of exhaust gases Body, chassis, structure | Major | 2.2% | £45–120 |
| Linkage ball joint dust cover ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt Suspension | Major | 2.2% | £18–45 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rigid brake pipes excessively corroded Brakes | Advisory | 19.7% | £80–180 |
| Brake discs in such a condition that it is seriously weakened Brakes | Advisory | 14.0% | £45–110 |
| Suspension arm corroded and seriously weakened Suspension | Advisory | 12.7% | £35–85 |
| Sub-frame corroded and seriously weakened Suspension | Advisory | 11.0% | £180–450 |
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Advisory | 9.8% | £45–95 |
| Has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Tyres | Advisory | 9.3% | £45–95 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 13 | 92.3% | 21,272 mi |
| 30-60k | 78 | 84.6% | 47,550 mi |
| 60-90k | 194 | 73.7% | 74,483 mi |
| 90-120k | 163 | 70.6% | 104,403 mi |
| 120k+ | 152 | 71.1% | 151,391 mi |
Source: 600 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.
2002 Zt MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2002 MG Zt?
74.0% of the 600 2002 MG Zt tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 72.9% for cars first used in 2002. First-attempt pass rate: 67.9%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2002 MG Zt?
The three most recorded items are registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources (9.33%), component mounting prescribed areas prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength (5.83%), rbt (sp) efficiency below requirements (4.00%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2002 MG Zt MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 92.3% of the time, falling to 71.1% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2002 MG Zt in this dataset had covered 91,964 mi.
Which fuel type is most reliable for a 2002 MG Zt?
Petrol: 74.5% pass rate across 554 tests. Diesel: 70.7% pass rate across 41 tests. Shares are of the tests on this vehicle that recorded each fuel type.
Does the season affect the 2002 MG Zt MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 74.1% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 73.9%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.