Pass rate
76.5%
Around average — 3.6 pts ahead of the 72.9% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 51 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £34–£110
2002 Toyota Rav MOT pass rate
- 2002
- 2 trims combined
- typical 125,488 mi
Only 51 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.
Check your postcode
Most common fault
Suspension
27.7% of faults · 21.0% nationally
mostly worn arm bushes, split ball-joint boots and broken coil springs.
Which year to buy
- Best 2004 79.0% pass
- Avoid 2005 70.6% pass
Across the 3 years on record, a spread of 8.4 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 69.2%
- Typical mileage
- 125k mi
The 2002 Toyota Rav MOT pass rate is 76.5% of its MOT tests — 3.6 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. Suspension is the biggest single reason it fails, at 27.7% of what testers record.
Expert verdict
Suspension: 1.3× the national share
Suspension accounts for 27.7% of everything recorded on the 2002 Toyota Rav, against 21.0% nationally — 6.7 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.
- Beats its own age and mileage. Once you allow for how old and how far these cars have been driven, the expected pass rate is 72.9% and this one manages 76.5% — 3.6 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict.
- Failures here tend to be cheap ones. 55% 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 Toyota Rav? Get an email when these numbers change .
Every Toyota Rav first registered in 2002 is combined here — 2 trim and body variants in total — so the sample is as large as the DVSA data allows.
How does the 2002 Toyota Rav compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 72.9%, so this figure is 3.6 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 69.2%. The median 2002 Toyota Rav in this dataset had covered 125,488 mi.
The single most recorded failure item is "Headlamp lens slightly defective", noted on 7.84% of tests.
- 51 recorded tests behind this page.
- 76.5% overall pass rate, 69.2% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the Toyota Rav, the average is 75.6% — best year 2004 (79.0%), worst 2005 (70.6%).
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
- 51
- Typical mileage (median)
- 125,488 mi
- Make and model
- Toyota Rav
- Updated
- 2026-11-07
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 Rav MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 66% so small gaps stay visible.
Regional pass rates for the Rav
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South East | 18 | 77.8% |
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 Rav
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 Rav
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 7.8% of tests
“headlamp lens slightly defective”
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 exhaust and emissions 3.9% of tests
“catalyst emissions Lambda reading after 2nd fast idle outside 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.
-
Check corrosion 3.9% 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.
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 Rav through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £34–£110 — and 55% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £34–£110
- 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
- 60%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 55%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 51 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 Rav, side by side
3 model years on record, from 2002 to 2005. Across them the pass rate runs from 70.6% to 79.0% — a spread of 8.4 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2002 76.5%headlamp lens slightly defective
- 2004 79.0% headlamp lens slightly defective
- 2005 70.6% 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 Toyota Rav 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
- Saab 9-3 76.5%
- BMW 525 76.4%
- MG Tf 77.1%
- Mercedes-Benz Clk 77.1%
- BMW 3 Series 77.2%
- Land Rover Defender 75.8%
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 Toyota Rav 10 failure items · 6 advisories · 8 inspection categories · mileage brackets · all of it in the page, none of it above the fold
Every inspection category
Shares of the 177 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 | 49 | 27.70% | 20.98% | +6.72 |
| Brakes | 31 | 17.50% | 20.89% | −3.39 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 24 | 13.60% | 12.21% | +1.39 |
| Tyres | 21 | 11.90% | 19.76% | −7.86 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 17 | 9.60% | 5.57% | +4.03 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 16 | 9.00% | 5.52% | +3.48 |
| Non-component advisories | 13 | 7.30% | 4.18% | +3.12 |
| Visibility | 6 | 3.40% | 4.97% | −1.57 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Headlamp lens slightly defective Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 7.8% | £5–25 |
| Catalyst emissions Lambda reading after 2nd fast idle outside specified limits Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 3.9% | £60–250 |
| Catalyst emissions carbon monoxide content after 2nd fast idle exceeds manufacturer's specified limits Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 3.9% | £60–250 |
| Component mounting prescribed areas prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength Suspension | Major | 3.9% | £180–450 |
| Headlamp aim projected beam image is obviously incorrect Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 3.9% | £30–80 |
| Headlamp lens seriously defective Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 3.9% | £5–25 |
| Headlamp light intensity severely reduced Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 3.9% | £5–25 |
| Linkage ball joints ball joint excessively worn Suspension | Major | 3.9% | £18–45 |
| Malfunction indicator lamp inoperative or indicates a malfunction Noise, emissions and leaks | Rectified | 3.9% | £3–12 |
| Position lamp not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Rectified | 3.9% | £5–25 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Tyres | Advisory | 19.6% | £45–95 |
| Brake discs in such a condition that it is seriously weakened Brakes | Advisory | 17.6% | £45–110 |
| Brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick Brakes | Advisory | 17.6% | £18–45 |
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Advisory | 15.7% | £45–95 |
| Wheel bearings has excessive play Suspension | Advisory | 15.7% | £20–55 |
| Coil spring corroded so that its cross sectional area is reduced and seriously weakened Suspension | Advisory | 13.7% | £25–65 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 60-90k | 4 | 75.0% | 71,798 mi |
| 90-120k | 16 | 81.3% | 106,736 mi |
| 120k+ | 31 | 74.2% | 143,620 mi |
Source: 51 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 Rav MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2002 Toyota Rav?
76.5% of the 51 2002 Toyota Rav tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 72.9% for cars first used in 2002. First-attempt pass rate: 69.2%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2002 Toyota Rav?
The three most recorded items are headlamp lens slightly defective (7.84%), catalyst emissions lambda reading after 2nd fast idle outside specified limits (3.92%), catalyst emissions carbon monoxide content after 2nd fast idle exceeds manufacturer's specified limits (3.92%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2002 Toyota Rav MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 75.0% of the time, falling to 74.2% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2002 Toyota Rav in this dataset had covered 125,488 mi.