Pass rate
76.0%
Around average — 2.0 pts ahead of the 74.0% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 4,043 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £33–£123
2009 MINI COOPER MOT pass rate
- 2009
- 2 trims combined
- typical 82,368 mi
Most common fault
Suspension
19.1% of faults · 21.0% nationally
mostly worn arm bushes, split ball-joint boots and broken coil springs.
Which year to buy
- Best 2023 96.9% pass
- Avoid 2001 68.1% pass
Across the 23 years on record, a spread of 28.8 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 70.5%
- Typical mileage
- 82k mi
The 2009 MINI COOPER MOT pass rate is 76.0% of its MOT tests — 2.0 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. Suspension is the biggest single reason it fails, at 19.1% 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
Emissions & leaks: 3.1× the national share
Emissions & leaks make up 17.2% of everything recorded on the 2009 MINI Cooper, against 5.5% nationally — 11.7 points above. Suspension is still the single largest share at 19.1%, 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.
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 .
Every MINI COOPER first registered in 2009 is combined here — 2 trim and body variants in total — so the sample is as large as the DVSA data allows.
How does the 2009 MINI COOPER compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 74.0%, so this figure is 2.0 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 70.5%. The median 2009 MINI COOPER in this dataset had covered 82,368 mi.
The most common fuel recorded here is Petrol — 86% of tests, with a 76.3% pass rate. Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 75.8% of the time, April–September 76.2%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Position lamp not working", noted on 4.50% of tests.
- 4,043 recorded tests behind this page.
- 76.0% overall pass rate, 70.5% 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
- 4,043
- Typical mileage (median)
- 82,368 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
Headlight Bulb
Usually a DIY or independent-garage job.
Does mileage affect the COOPER MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 63% so small gaps stay visible.
Fuel type and reliability
Pass rate by fuel type. Petrol is the most common here (86% of tests).
Regional pass rates for the COOPER
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South East | 1,032 | 78.3% |
| South West | 642 | 74.0% |
| East of England | 593 | 79.6% |
| West Midlands | 339 | 75.5% |
| East Midlands | 277 | 72.6% |
| North West | 272 | 71.3% |
| Yorkshire | 266 | 74.1% |
| London | 211 | 78.2% |
| Scotland | 179 | 69.8% |
| Wales | 155 | 77.4% |
| North East | 77 | 77.9% |
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 2009 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 2009 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 lights 4.5% of tests
“position lamp not working”
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 windscreen 3.8% 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 exhaust and emissions 3.6% 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.
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 2009 COOPER through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £33–£123 — and 53% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £33–£123
- Cheapest common item: malfunction indicator lamp inoperative or…
- £3–£12
- Dearest common item: catalyst emissions carbon monoxide content…
- £60–£250
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 50%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 53%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 4,043 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 2009 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 2009 cars with a similar record
- Volkswagen Passat 75.9%
- Saab 9-3 76.1%
- Volvo XC90 75.9%
- Jaguar Xf 75.8%
- Volkswagen Golf 75.7%
- Toyota RAV4 75.7%
Closest pass rates among 2009 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 2009 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 9,549 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 | 1,847 | 19.10% | 20.98% | −1.88 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 1,669 | 17.20% | 5.52% | +11.68 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 1,587 | 16.40% | 12.21% | +4.19 |
| Brakes | 1,558 | 16.10% | 20.89% | −4.79 |
| Tyres | 1,346 | 13.90% | 19.76% | −5.86 |
| Non-component advisories | 404 | 4.20% | 4.18% | +0.02 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 401 | 4.10% | 5.57% | −1.47 |
| Visibility | 396 | 4.10% | 4.97% | −0.87 |
| Road Wheels | 188 | 1.90% | 0.75% | +1.15 |
| Identification of the vehicle | 153 | 1.60% | 1.76% | −0.16 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Position lamp not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 4.5% | £5–25 |
| Position lamp with a multiple light source up to 1/2 not functioning Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 4.1% | £5–25 |
| Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 4.0% | £5–20 |
| Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view Visibility | Minor | 3.8% | £80–200 |
| Catalyst emissions carbon monoxide content after 2nd fast idle exceeds manufacturer's specified limits Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 3.6% | £60–250 |
| Catalyst emissions Lambda reading after 2nd fast idle outside specified limits Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 2.9% | £60–250 |
| Catalyst emissions hydrocarbon content after 2nd fast idle exceeds manufacturer's specified limits Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 2.5% | £60–250 |
| Headlamp lens slightly defective Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 2.4% | £5–25 |
| Catalyst emissions carbon monoxide content after 2nd fast idle exceeds default limits Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 2.4% | £60–250 |
| Malfunction indicator lamp inoperative or indicates a malfunction Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 2.3% | £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 | 16.8% | £200–700 |
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Advisory | 15.0% | £45–95 |
| Sub-frame corroded and seriously weakened Suspension | Advisory | 14.4% | £180–450 |
| Brake discs in such a condition that it is seriously weakened Brakes | Advisory | 11.8% | £45–110 |
| Has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Tyres | Advisory | 9.2% | £45–95 |
| Pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn Suspension | Advisory | 9.1% | £40–150 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 136 | 95.6% | 22,892 mi |
| 30-60k | 744 | 81.5% | 48,130 mi |
| 60-90k | 1,586 | 76.7% | 76,039 mi |
| 90-120k | 1,140 | 71.1% | 103,251 mi |
| 120k+ | 436 | 71.1% | 137,054 mi |
Source: 4,043 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.
2009 COOPER MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2009 MINI COOPER?
76.0% of the 4,043 2009 MINI COOPER tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 74.0% for cars first used in 2009. First-attempt pass rate: 70.5%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2009 MINI COOPER?
The three most recorded items are position lamp not working (4.50%), position lamp with a multiple light source up to 1/2 not functioning (4.13%), registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources (4.01%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2009 MINI COOPER MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 95.6% of the time, falling to 71.1% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2009 MINI COOPER in this dataset had covered 82,368 mi.
Which fuel type is most reliable for a 2009 MINI COOPER?
Petrol: 76.3% pass rate across 3,473 tests. Diesel: 74.4% pass rate across 570 tests. Shares are of the tests on this vehicle that recorded each fuel type.
Does the season affect the 2009 MINI COOPER MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 75.8% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 76.2%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.