Pass rate
72.7%
Below average — 0.2 pts behind the 72.9% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 264 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £74–£203
2002 Mitsubishi Colt MOT pass rate
- 2002
- typical 70,348 mi
Check your postcode
Most common fault
Suspension
20.7% of faults · 21.0% nationally
mostly worn arm bushes, split ball-joint boots and broken coil springs.
Which year to buy
- Best 2013 82.1% pass
- Avoid 2001 68.5% pass
Across the 14 years on record, a spread of 13.6 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 65.7%
- Typical mileage
- 70k mi
The 2002 Mitsubishi Colt MOT pass rate is 72.7% of its MOT tests — about what its age and mileage predict. Suspension is the biggest single reason it fails, at 20.7% of what testers record.
Expert verdict
Body & chassis: 2.5× the national share
Body & chassis accounts for 14.0% of everything recorded on the 2002 Mitsubishi Colt, against 5.6% nationally — 8.4 points above. Suspension is still the single largest share at 20.7%, 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.
- When it fails, it costs. Only 23% 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.
- Based on a small sample. 264 tests back this page. That is enough to publish and to index, not enough to treat the decimal places as precise — read the pattern, not the second digit.
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 Mitsubishi Colt? Get an email when these numbers change .
How does the 2002 Mitsubishi Colt compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 72.9%, so this figure is 0.2 points behind what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 65.7%. The median 2002 Mitsubishi Colt in this dataset had covered 70,348 mi.
Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 71.7% of the time, April–September 73.9%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Component mounting prescribed areas prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength", noted on 8.71% of tests.
- 264 recorded tests behind this page.
- 72.7% overall pass rate, 65.7% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the Mitsubishi Colt, the average is 73.1% — best year 2013 (82.1%), worst 2001 (68.5%).
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
- 264
- Typical mileage (median)
- 70,348 mi
- Make and model
- Mitsubishi Colt
- Updated
- 2026-11-07
Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data (2023–2025), OGL v3.0.
Top part to budget for
Corrosion Welding Repair
Typically a garage job — get quotes before committing.
Does mileage affect the Colt MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 56% so small gaps stay visible.
Where the Mitsubishi Colt is most common
Across all Colt model years on record (2000–2013): 32,053 Mitsubishi Colt cars tested in a recordable postcode area, across 86,318 tests. Birmingham (B) has the most, with 1,052 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) | 1,052 | 79.4% |
| 2 | Bristol (BS) | 1,050 | 69.3% |
| 3 | Exeter (EX) | 858 | 71.1% |
| 4 | Gloucester (GL) | 834 | 73.2% |
| 5 | Cardiff (CF) | 700 | 69.2% |
| 6 | Sheffield (S) | 611 | 75.7% |
| 7 | Nottingham (NG) | 605 | 71.3% |
| 8 | Coventry (CV) | 576 | 76.2% |
| 9 | Swindon (SN) | 540 | 72.0% |
| 10 | Manchester (M) | 531 | 76.0% |
| 11 | Leicester (LE) | 530 | 75.2% |
| 12 | Plymouth (PL) | 505 | 71.0% |
| 13 | Portsmouth (PO) | 482 | 71.5% |
| 14 | Swansea (SA) | 482 | 72.3% |
| 15 | Peterborough (PE) | 482 | 75.2% |
| 16 | Northampton (NN) | 463 | 71.8% |
| 17 | Yeovil (BA) | 447 | 70.7% |
| 18 | Reading (RG) | 427 | 74.8% |
| 19 | Newcastle upon Tyne (NE) | 425 | 69.9% |
| 20 | Poole (BH) | 424 | 73.2% |
The twenty areas with the most Mitsubishi Colt 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 Colt
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South West | 71 | 64.8% |
| South East | 50 | 80.0% |
| North West | 27 | 70.4% |
| West Midlands | 23 | 73.9% |
| East of England | 22 | 90.9% |
| East Midlands | 18 | 66.7% |
| London | 15 | 66.7% |
| Wales | 15 | 66.7% |
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 2002 Colt
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 Colt
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 corrosion 8.7% 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 exhaust and emissions 6.4% of tests
“exhaust system has a major leak of exhaust gases”
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 lights 4.2% 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 2002 Colt through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £74–£203 — and 23% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £74–£203
- Cheapest common item: malfunction indicator lamp inoperative or…
- £3–£12
- 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
- 23%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 264 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 Colt, side by side
14 model years on record, from 2000 to 2013. Across them the pass rate runs from 68.5% to 82.1% — a spread of 13.6 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2000 69.0% component mounting prescribed…
- 2001 68.5% component mounting prescribed…
- 2002 72.7%component mounting prescribed…
- 2003 72.0% component mounting prescribed…
- 2004 70.3% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2005 71.4% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2006 71.2% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2007 71.0% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2008 70.9% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2009 73.0% ball joint dust cover severely…
- 2010 75.0% ball joint dust cover severely…
- 2011 78.6% ball joint dust cover severely…
- 2012 79.3% track rod end ball joint dust…
- 2013 82.1% track rod end ball joint dust…
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 Mitsubishi Colt 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
- Renault Megane Scenic 72.8%
- Suzuki Ignis 72.8%
- Volkswagen Golf 72.6%
- Audi A3 72.6%
- Nissan Almera 72.5%
- Honda Civic 72.2%
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 Mitsubishi Colt 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 806 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 | 170 | 20.70% | 20.98% | −0.28 |
| Brakes | 164 | 19.90% | 20.89% | −0.99 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 115 | 14.00% | 5.57% | +8.43 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 94 | 11.40% | 12.21% | −0.81 |
| Tyres | 70 | 8.50% | 19.76% | −11.26 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 69 | 8.40% | 5.52% | +2.88 |
| Non-component advisories | 45 | 5.50% | 4.18% | +1.32 |
| Steering | 30 | 3.60% | 2.57% | +1.03 |
| Visibility | 29 | 3.50% | 4.97% | −1.47 |
| Identification of the vehicle | 20 | 2.40% | 1.76% | +0.64 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Component mounting prescribed areas prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength Suspension | Major | 8.7% | £180–450 |
| Exhaust system has a major leak of exhaust gases Body, chassis, structure | Major | 6.4% | £45–120 |
| Joints constant velocity boot severely deteriorated Body, chassis, structure | Minor | 5.3% | £80–250 |
| Catalyst emissions Lambda reading after 2nd fast idle outside specified limits Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 4.2% | £60–250 |
| Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 4.2% | £5–20 |
| Headlamp lens slightly defective Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 3.0% | £5–25 |
| Rigid brake pipes excessively corroded Brakes | Major | 3.0% | £80–180 |
| Service brake performance excessively binding Brakes | Major | 3.0% | £60–150 |
| Malfunction indicator lamp inoperative or indicates a malfunction Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 2.6% | £3–12 |
| Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view Visibility | Minor | 2.6% | £80–200 |
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 | 20.8% | £80–180 |
| Linkage pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn Suspension | Advisory | 12.9% | £40–150 |
| Engine oil leaks leaking excessively from engine Noise, emissions and leaks | Advisory | 11.7% | £200–700 |
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Advisory | 11.7% | £45–95 |
| Has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Tyres | Advisory | 11.0% | £45–95 |
| Component mounting prescribed areas prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength Suspension | Advisory | 10.6% | £180–450 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 9 | 88.9% | 25,807 mi |
| 30-60k | 86 | 79.1% | 48,596 mi |
| 60-90k | 87 | 64.4% | 73,140 mi |
| 90-120k | 59 | 69.5% | 102,766 mi |
| 120k+ | 23 | 82.6% | 132,330 mi |
Source: 264 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 Colt MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2002 Mitsubishi Colt?
72.7% of the 264 2002 Mitsubishi Colt tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 72.9% for cars first used in 2002. First-attempt pass rate: 65.7%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2002 Mitsubishi Colt?
The three most recorded items are component mounting prescribed areas prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength (8.71%), exhaust system has a major leak of exhaust gases (6.44%), joints constant velocity boot severely deteriorated (5.30%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2002 Mitsubishi Colt MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 88.9% of the time, falling to 82.6% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2002 Mitsubishi Colt in this dataset had covered 70,348 mi.
Does the season affect the 2002 Mitsubishi Colt MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 71.7% 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.