2002 Toyota Celica: MOT pass rate and reliability

68.2% of 2002 Toyota Celicas pass the MOT first time, measured across 1,006 DVSA tests on that model year alone. The average one had covered 119,002 miles.

How the 2002 compares

  • Against all Toyota Celicas (67.5%, 9,473 tests): +0.7 points
  • Against all 2002 cars (65.4%): +2.8 points
  • National first-time pass rate, all cars and years: 77%

Every Toyota Celica model year

Pass rates fall as cars age, so the only fair comparison for a 2002 car is other cars of the same age. The full run for the Toyota Celica:

Year Pass rate Tests Avg mileage
1996 65% 297 129,073
1997 65.5% 293 130,882
1998 67% 437 123,424
1999 68% 319 124,050
2000 65.7% 411 117,728
2001 67.9% 866 121,049
2002 68.2% 1,006 119,002
2003 65.5% 1,284 118,542
2004 66.5% 1,464 116,099
2005 66.9% 1,302 113,541
2006 67.7% 928 105,618

What this means if you are buying a 2002 Celica

The 2002 sits close to the Toyota Celica average, so there is no strong model-year signal either way. Judge the individual car on its own history. Check the exact car with the free MOT history checker before you buy, and run its VIN and mileage through our free VIN decoder and clocking check.

What a 24-year-old car fails on

A 2002 car is 24 years old now, and age drives the failure mix more than the badge does. Across all cars tested, these are the categories that actually cause failures:

  • Lights and electrical: 10.36% of all cars tested
  • Suspension: 8.65% of all cars tested
  • Tyres: 6.23% of all cars tested
  • Brakes: 6.1% of all cars tested
  • Visibility: wipers, washers, glass: 4.65% of all cars tested
  • Body, chassis and structure: 3.18% of all cars tested

That is high mileage, so timing belts, clutches, suspension bushes and corrosion are the items worth budgeting for rather than the MOT itself. On a 2002 Toyota Celica the average at test was 119,002 miles, so treat anything far above that as a car that has worked harder than its peers, and anything far below as one worth checking for the faults that come from standing still.

2002 is the strongest year on record for this model at 68.2%, ahead of every other year we hold data for.

Nearby model years

All Toyota Celica MOT data · Every model