Pass rate
68.1%
Below average — 5.2 pts behind the 73.3% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 160 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £27–£77
2001 MINI COOPER MOT pass rate
- 2001
- typical 92,586 mi
Most common fault
Brakes
27.0% of faults · 20.9% nationally
mostly worn pads and discs, corroded pipes and a handbrake that will not hold.
Which year to buy
- Best 2023 96.9% pass
- Avoid 2001 68.1% pass · this year
Across the 23 years on record, a spread of 28.8 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 58.5%
- Typical mileage
- 93k mi
The 2001 MINI COOPER MOT pass rate is 68.1% of its MOT tests — 5.2 points behind what its age and mileage predict. Brakes is the biggest single reason it fails, at 27.0% of what testers record.
Check your postcode
MOT pass rates are national — type your postcode to see how MINI COOPER does in your corner of the country.
Expert verdict
Brakes: 1.3× the national share
Brakes make up 27.0% of everything recorded on the 2001 MINI Cooper, against 20.9% nationally — 6.1 points above. Have the discs and pads measured rather than glanced at, and ask whether the handbrake holds on a slope.
- Falls short of its own age and mileage. Like-for-like, cars this age and mileage expect about 73.3%; this one manages 68.1% — 5.2 points below. Age is a fair excuse; this is not age.
- Failures here tend to be cheap ones. 60% of the repairs this model fails on cost under £30 in parts. The pass rate matters less than what a bad afternoon at the test centre actually costs you.
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 MINI COOPER? Get an email when these numbers change .
How does the 2001 MINI COOPER compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 73.3%, so this figure is 5.2 points behind what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 58.5%. The median 2001 MINI COOPER in this dataset had covered 92,586 mi.
Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 70.9% of the time, April–September 65.4%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view", noted on 13.13% of tests.
- 160 recorded tests behind this page.
- 68.1% overall pass rate, 58.5% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the MINI COOPER, the average is 89.6% — best year 2023 (96.9%), worst 2001 (68.1%).
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
- 160
- Typical mileage (median)
- 92,586 mi
- Make and model
- MINI COOPER
- Updated
- 2026-11-05
Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data (2023–2025), OGL v3.0.
Top part to budget for
Windscreen
Typically a garage job — get quotes before committing.
Does mileage affect the COOPER MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 55% so small gaps stay visible.
Regional pass rates for the COOPER
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| East Midlands | 26 | 61.5% |
| West Midlands | 26 | 65.4% |
| East of England | 25 | 72.0% |
| North West | 21 | 66.7% |
| South West | 21 | 71.4% |
| 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 COOPER
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 COOPER
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 windscreen 13.1% of tests
“windscreen damaged”
Check the driver’s side of the screen within the swept area for chips and cracks; anything larger than 10mm in the driver’s central view is a fail. Most chips can be resin-repaired for far less than a new screen.
-
Check the lights 11.9% 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.
-
Check the suspension joints 4.4% of tests
“ball joint excessively worn”
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 2001 COOPER through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £27–£77 — and 60% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £27–£77
- Cheapest common item: srs malfunction indicator lamp warning lamp…
- £3–£12
- Dearest common item: joints constant velocity boot severely…
- £80–£250
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 70%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 60%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 160 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 COOPER, side by side
23 model years on record, from 2001 to 2023. Across them the pass rate runs from 68.1% to 96.9% — a spread of 28.8 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2001 68.1%windscreen damaged but not…
- 2002 68.8% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2003 71.4% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2004 70.6% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2005 70.9% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2006 72.1% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2007 73.3% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2008 73.2% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2009 76.0% position lamp not working
- 2010 80.0% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2011 82.4% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2012 84.6% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2013 84.6% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2014 86.8% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2015 88.3% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2016 89.3% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2017 89.7% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2018 90.9% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2019 92.0% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2020 92.3% has a cut in excess of the…
- 2021 92.1% has a cut in excess of the…
- 2022 92.9% has a cut in excess of the…
- 2023 96.9% 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 2001 MINI COOPER 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
- Citroen Xsara 68.1%
- Volkswagen Beetle 67.8%
- Ford Fiesta 69.0%
- Vauxhall Corsa 69.1%
- Honda Accord 69.5%
- Peugeot 206 69.8%
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 MINI COOPER 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 706 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 | 195 | 27.00% | 20.89% | +6.11 |
| Suspension | 125 | 17.30% | 20.98% | −3.68 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 100 | 13.80% | 12.21% | +1.59 |
| Tyres | 61 | 8.40% | 19.76% | −11.36 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 56 | 7.70% | 5.52% | +2.18 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 53 | 7.30% | 5.57% | +1.73 |
| Visibility | 41 | 5.70% | 4.97% | +0.73 |
| Non-component advisories | 27 | 3.70% | 4.18% | −0.48 |
| Steering | 26 | 3.60% | 2.57% | +1.03 |
| Identification of the vehicle | 22 | 3.00% | 1.76% | +1.24 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view Visibility | Minor | 13.1% | £80–200 |
| Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 11.9% | £5–20 |
| Headlamp lens slightly defective Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 7.5% | £5–25 |
| Srs malfunction indicator lamp warning lamp indicates a fault Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | Major | 6.9% | £3–12 |
| Stop lamp not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 6.9% | £3–12 |
| Joints constant velocity boot severely deteriorated Body, chassis, structure | Minor | 6.3% | £80–250 |
| Anti-lock braking system warning lamp indicates an ABS fault Brakes | Major | 5.6% | £3–15 |
| Headlamp aim projected beam image is obviously incorrect Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 5.6% | £30–80 |
| Position lamp not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 5.0% | £5–25 |
| Ball joint excessively worn Suspension | Major | 4.4% | £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 | 31.9% | £80–180 |
| Engine oil leaks leaking excessively from engine Noise, emissions and leaks | Advisory | 28.1% | £200–700 |
| Brake discs in such a condition that it is seriously weakened Brakes | Advisory | 23.8% | £45–110 |
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Advisory | 15.6% | £45–95 |
| Coil spring corroded so that its cross sectional area is reduced and seriously weakened Suspension | Advisory | 13.8% | £25–65 |
| Registration plates inscription illegible Identification of the vehicle | Advisory | 12.5% | £20–80 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 3 | 66.7% | 21,442 mi |
| 30-60k | 22 | 86.4% | 46,738 mi |
| 60-90k | 30 | 73.3% | 79,409 mi |
| 90-120k | 33 | 63.6% | 100,766 mi |
| 120k+ | 31 | 71.0% | 131,792 mi |
Source: 160 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 COOPER MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2001 MINI COOPER?
68.1% of the 160 2001 MINI COOPER tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 73.3% for cars first used in 2001. First-attempt pass rate: 58.5%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2001 MINI COOPER?
The three most recorded items are windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view (13.13%), registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources (11.88%), headlamp lens slightly defective (7.50%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2001 MINI COOPER MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 66.7% of the time, falling to 71.0% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2001 MINI COOPER in this dataset had covered 92,586 mi.
Does the season affect the 2001 MINI COOPER MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 70.9% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 65.4%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.