Pass rate
68.8%
Below average — 4.5 pts behind the 73.3% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 64 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £30–£89
2001 Opel Zafira MOT pass rate
- 2001
- 2 trims combined
- typical 118,687 mi
Only 64 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.
Most common fault
Brakes
20.1% of faults · 20.9% nationally
mostly worn pads and discs, corroded pipes and a handbrake that will not hold.
Part only £25–£40 for Brake pads under 1.5 mm. What fitting it takes →
Which year to buy
- Best 2003 76.5% pass
- Avoid 2001 68.8% pass · this year
Across the 3 years on record, a spread of 7.7 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 57.4%
- Typical mileage
- 119k mi
The 2001 Opel Zafira MOT pass rate is 68.8% of its MOT tests — 4.5 points behind what its age and mileage predict. Brakes is the biggest single reason it fails, at 20.1% of what testers record.
Check your postcode
MOT pass rates are national — type your postcode to see how Opel Zafira does in your corner of the country.
Expert verdict
Emissions & leaks: 2.2× the national share
Emissions & leaks make up 12.2% of everything recorded on the 2001 Opel Zafira, against 5.5% nationally — 6.7 points above. Brakes are still the single largest share at 20.1%, but at 20.9% 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.
- Falls short of its own age and mileage. Like-for-like, cars this age and mileage expect about 73.3%; this one manages 68.8% — 4.5 points below. Age is a fair excuse; this is not age.
- Based on a small sample. 64 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 Opel Zafira? Get an email when these numbers change .
Every Opel Zafira first registered in 2001 is combined here — 2 trim and body variants in total — so the sample is as large as the DVSA data allows.
How does the 2001 Opel Zafira compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 73.3%, so this figure is 4.5 points behind what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 57.4%. The median 2001 Opel Zafira in this dataset had covered 118,687 mi.
The most common fuel recorded here is Petrol — 83% of tests, with a 69.8% pass rate. Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 80.0% of the time, April–September 58.8%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Mirrors slightly loose", noted on 12.50% of tests.
- 64 recorded tests behind this page.
- 68.8% overall pass rate, 57.4% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the Opel Zafira, the average is 73.3% — best year 2003 (76.5%), worst 2001 (68.8%).
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
- 64
- Typical mileage (median)
- 118,687 mi
- Make and model
- Opel Zafira
- Updated
- 2026-11-05
Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data (2023–2025), OGL v3.0.
Top part to budget for
Bulb
Usually a DIY or independent-garage job.
Does mileage affect the Zafira MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 56% so small gaps stay visible.
Fuel type and reliability
Pass rate by fuel type. Petrol is the most common here (83% of tests).
Regional pass rates for the Zafira
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South East | 27 | 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 2001 Zafira
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 Zafira
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 12.5% of tests
“mirrors slightly loose”
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 coil springs 6.3% of tests
“coil spring fractured or broken”
Look up inside each wheel arch with a torch, all the way round the spring. A snapped spring usually breaks at the very bottom coil, where a quick glance will not reach.
-
Check the suspension joints 6.3% 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 2001 Zafira through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £30–£89 — and 40% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £30–£89
- Cheapest common item: mirrors slightly loose
- £3–£15
- Dearest common item: joints constant velocity boot severely…
- £80–£250
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 80%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 40%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 64 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 Zafira, side by side
3 model years on record, from 2001 to 2003. Across them the pass rate runs from 68.8% to 76.5% — a spread of 7.7 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2001 68.8%mirrors slightly loose
- 2002 74.5% joints constant velocity boot…
- 2003 76.5% position lamp not working
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 Opel Zafira 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
- Ford Fiesta 69.0%
- Vauxhall Corsa 69.1%
- MINI Mini 68.2%
- Citroen Xsara 68.1%
- 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 Opel Zafira 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 228 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 | 46 | 20.10% | 20.89% | −0.79 |
| Suspension | 43 | 18.80% | 20.98% | −2.18 |
| Tyres | 29 | 12.70% | 19.76% | −7.06 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 28 | 12.20% | 5.52% | +6.68 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 26 | 11.40% | 12.21% | −0.81 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 21 | 9.20% | 5.57% | +3.63 |
| Visibility | 19 | 8.30% | 4.97% | +3.33 |
| Identification of the vehicle | 7 | 3.10% | 1.76% | +1.34 |
| Non-component advisories | 5 | 2.20% | 4.18% | −1.98 |
| Steering | 4 | 1.70% | 2.57% | −0.87 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mirrors slightly loose Visibility | Minor | 12.5% | £3–15 |
| Joints constant velocity boot severely deteriorated Body, chassis, structure | Minor | 10.9% | £80–250 |
| Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 9.4% | £5–20 |
| Coil spring fractured or broken Suspension | Major | 6.3% | £25–65 |
| Linkage ball joint dust cover ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated Suspension | Minor | 6.3% | £18–45 |
| Ball joint excessively worn Suspension | Major | 4.7% | £18–45 |
| Joints constant velocity boot split or insecure, no longer prevents the ingress of dirt Body, chassis, structure | Major | 4.7% | £80–250 |
| Wipers does not clear the windscreen effectively Visibility | Major | 4.7% | £8–22 |
| Battery(ies) insecure but not likely to fall from carrier Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 3.1% | £60–140 |
| Brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick Brakes | Major | 3.1% | £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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Engine oil leaks leaking excessively from engine Noise, emissions and leaks | Advisory | 32.8% | £200–700 |
| Has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Tyres | Advisory | 28.1% | £45–95 |
| Rigid brake pipes excessively corroded Brakes | Advisory | 18.8% | £80–180 |
| 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 | 12.5% | £25–65 |
| Brake discs in such a condition that it is seriously weakened Brakes | Advisory | 10.9% | £45–110 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30-60k | 7 | 71.4% | 53,601 mi |
| 60-90k | 18 | 66.7% | 77,026 mi |
| 90-120k | 7 | 85.7% | 104,546 mi |
| 120k+ | 31 | 64.5% | 184,869 mi |
Source: 64 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 Zafira MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2001 Opel Zafira?
68.8% of the 64 2001 Opel Zafira tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 73.3% for cars first used in 2001. First-attempt pass rate: 57.4%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2001 Opel Zafira?
The three most recorded items are mirrors slightly loose (12.50%), joints constant velocity boot severely deteriorated (10.94%), registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources (9.38%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2001 Opel Zafira MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 71.4% of the time, falling to 64.5% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2001 Opel Zafira in this dataset had covered 118,687 mi.
Which fuel type is most reliable for a 2001 Opel Zafira?
Petrol: 69.8% pass rate across 53 tests. Diesel: 63.6% pass rate across 11 tests. Shares are of the tests on this vehicle that recorded each fuel type.
Does the season affect the 2001 Opel Zafira MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 80.0% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 58.8%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.