Pass rate
70.3%
Below average — 2.1 pts behind the 72.4% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 330 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £55–£155
2005 Fiat Idea MOT pass rate
- 2005
- typical 77,569 mi
Check your postcode
Most common fault
Suspension
26.1% of faults · 21.0% nationally
mostly worn arm bushes, split ball-joint boots and broken coil springs.
Which year to buy
- Best 2006 73.6% pass
- Avoid 2004 67.5% pass
Across the 4 years on record, a spread of 6.1 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 61.3%
- Typical mileage
- 78k mi
The 2005 Fiat Idea MOT pass rate is 70.3% of its MOT tests — 2.1 points behind what its age and mileage predict. Suspension is the biggest single reason it fails, at 26.1% of what testers record.
Expert verdict
Body & chassis: 2.4× the national share
Body & chassis accounts for 13.1% of everything recorded on the 2005 Fiat Idea, against 5.6% nationally — 7.5 points above. Suspension is still the single largest share at 26.1%, 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 33% 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. 330 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 Fiat Idea? Get an email when these numbers change .
How does the 2005 Fiat Idea compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 72.4%, so this figure is 2.1 points behind what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 61.3%. The median 2005 Fiat Idea in this dataset had covered 77,569 mi.
The most common fuel recorded here is Petrol — 78% of tests, with a 70.7% pass rate. Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 70.3% of the time, April–September 70.3%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Joints constant velocity boot severely deteriorated", noted on 10.00% of tests.
- 330 recorded tests behind this page.
- 70.3% overall pass rate, 61.3% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the Fiat Idea, the average is 70.1% — best year 2006 (73.6%), worst 2004 (67.5%).
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
- 330
- Typical mileage (median)
- 77,569 mi
- Make and model
- Fiat Idea
- Updated
- 2026-11-07
Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data (2023–2025), OGL v3.0.
Top part to budget for
Body Panel Repair
Typically a garage job — get quotes before committing.
Does mileage affect the Idea MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 48% so small gaps stay visible.
Fuel type and reliability
Pass rate by fuel type. Petrol is the most common here (78% of tests).
Regional pass rates for the Idea
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South East | 70 | 71.4% |
| West Midlands | 54 | 66.7% |
| North West | 42 | 73.8% |
| East of England | 42 | 69.0% |
| South West | 31 | 74.2% |
| Yorkshire | 30 | 63.3% |
| East Midlands | 18 | 83.3% |
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 2005 Idea
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 2005 Idea
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 8.5% 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.
-
Check corrosion 6.1% 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 wipers and washers 4.8% of tests
“wipers blade defective”
Run the wipers with the screen wet: they should clear it in one sweep without smearing or juddering. Top the washer bottle up and check both jets hit the screen.
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 2005 Idea through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £55–£155 — and 33% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £55–£155
- Cheapest common item: registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the…
- £5–£20
- Dearest common item: component mounting prescribed areas…
- £180–£450
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 50%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 33%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 330 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 Idea, side by side
4 model years on record, from 2004 to 2007. Across them the pass rate runs from 67.5% to 73.6% — a spread of 6.1 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2004 67.5% joints constant velocity boot…
- 2005 70.3%joints constant velocity boot…
- 2006 73.6% joints constant velocity boot…
- 2007 68.2% joints constant velocity boot…
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 2005 Fiat Idea 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 2005 cars with a similar record
- Peugeot 107 70.3%
- Nissan Navara 70.3%
- Vauxhall Astra 70.2%
- Mercedes-Benz Vito 70.2%
- Vauxhall Astravan 70.2%
- Volkswagen Touran 70.4%
Closest pass rates among 2005 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 2005 Fiat Idea 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 1,037 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 | 271 | 26.10% | 20.98% | +5.12 |
| Tyres | 153 | 14.70% | 19.76% | −5.06 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 141 | 13.60% | 12.21% | +1.39 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 136 | 13.10% | 5.57% | +7.53 |
| Brakes | 88 | 8.50% | 20.89% | −12.39 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 75 | 7.20% | 5.52% | +1.68 |
| Visibility | 68 | 6.50% | 4.97% | +1.53 |
| Non-component advisories | 49 | 4.70% | 4.18% | +0.52 |
| Identification of the vehicle | 36 | 3.50% | 1.76% | +1.74 |
| Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | 20 | 1.90% | 0.82% | +1.08 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Joints constant velocity boot severely deteriorated Body, chassis, structure | Minor | 10.0% | £80–250 |
| Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 8.5% | £5–20 |
| Component mounting prescribed areas prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength Suspension | Major | 6.1% | £180–450 |
| Wipers blade defective Visibility | Minor | 4.8% | £8–22 |
| Headlamp lens slightly defective Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 4.5% | £5–25 |
| Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view Visibility | Minor | 4.5% | £80–200 |
| Ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated Suspension | Minor | 4.2% | £18–45 |
| Joints constant velocity boot split or insecure, no longer prevents the ingress of dirt Body, chassis, structure | Major | 3.9% | £80–250 |
| Prescribed areas prescribed area strength or continuity significantly reduced Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | Major | 3.9% | £40–120 |
| Coil spring fractured or broken Suspension | Major | 3.6% | £25–65 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Advisory | 21.2% | £45–95 |
| Coil spring corroded so that its cross sectional area is reduced and seriously weakened Suspension | Advisory | 16.7% | £25–65 |
| Has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Tyres | Advisory | 16.4% | £45–95 |
| Brake discs in such a condition that it is seriously weakened Brakes | Advisory | 9.7% | £45–110 |
| Pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn Suspension | Advisory | 9.7% | £40–150 |
| Registration plates inscription illegible Identification of the vehicle | Advisory | 9.7% | £20–80 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 5 | 80.0% | 16,585 mi |
| 30-60k | 109 | 74.3% | 48,080 mi |
| 60-90k | 105 | 71.4% | 77,176 mi |
| 90-120k | 88 | 67.0% | 99,925 mi |
| 120k+ | 23 | 56.5% | 134,053 mi |
Source: 330 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.
2005 Idea MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2005 Fiat Idea?
70.3% of the 330 2005 Fiat Idea tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 72.4% for cars first used in 2005. First-attempt pass rate: 61.3%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2005 Fiat Idea?
The three most recorded items are joints constant velocity boot severely deteriorated (10.00%), registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources (8.48%), component mounting prescribed areas prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength (6.06%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2005 Fiat Idea MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 80.0% of the time, falling to 56.5% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2005 Fiat Idea in this dataset had covered 77,569 mi.
Which fuel type is most reliable for a 2005 Fiat Idea?
Petrol: 70.7% pass rate across 256 tests. Diesel: 68.9% pass rate across 74 tests. Shares are of the tests on this vehicle that recorded each fuel type.
Does the season affect the 2005 Fiat Idea MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 70.3% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 70.3%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.