Pass rate
75.6%
Around average — 3.4 pts ahead of the 72.2% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 131 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £44–£129
2004 Hyundai Sonata MOT pass rate
- 2004
- typical 82,722 mi
Most common fault
Suspension
23.5% of faults · 21.0% nationally
mostly worn arm bushes, split ball-joint boots and broken coil springs.
Part only £35–£75 for Suspension pin or bush excessively worn. What fitting it takes →
Which year to buy
- Best 2002 82.7% pass
- Avoid 2008 69.3% pass
Across the 9 years on record, a spread of 13.4 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 69.8%
- Typical mileage
- 83k mi
The 2004 Hyundai Sonata MOT pass rate is 75.6% of its MOT tests — 3.4 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. Suspension is the biggest single reason it fails, at 23.5% of what testers record.
Check your postcode
MOT pass rates are national — type your postcode to see how Hyundai Sonata does in your corner of the country.
Expert verdict
Fewer problems with tyres
Tyres are 9.6% of this car’s recorded faults, against 19.8% nationally — the mirror image of the usual story on a car of this age.
- 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 72.2% and this one manages 75.6% — 3.4 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict.
- When it fails, it costs. Only 27% 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.
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 Hyundai Sonata? Get an email when these numbers change .
How does the 2004 Hyundai Sonata compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 72.2%, so this figure is 3.4 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 69.8%. The median 2004 Hyundai Sonata in this dataset had covered 82,722 mi.
Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 78.3% of the time, April–September 73.2%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Joints constant velocity boot severely deteriorated", noted on 9.16% of tests.
- 131 recorded tests behind this page.
- 75.6% overall pass rate, 69.8% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the Hyundai Sonata, the average is 75.2% — best year 2002 (82.7%), worst 2008 (69.3%).
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
- 131
- Typical mileage (median)
- 82,722 mi
- Make and model
- Hyundai Sonata
- Updated
- 2026-11-05
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 Sonata MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 53% so small gaps stay visible.
Regional pass rates for the Sonata
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South East | 27 | 81.5% |
| South West | 26 | 73.1% |
| West Midlands | 18 | 72.2% |
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 2004 Sonata
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 2004 Sonata
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 9.2% 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.
-
Check the suspension joints 6.1% of tests
“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.
-
Check the windscreen 5.3% of tests
“windscreen damaged”
Check the driver’s side of the screen within the swept area for chips and cracks; anything larger than 10mm in the driver’s central view is a fail. Most chips can be resin-repaired for far less than a new 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 2004 Sonata through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £44–£129 — and 27% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £44–£129
- Cheapest common item: washers provides insufficient washer liquid
- £5–£15
- Dearest common item: joints constant velocity boot severely…
- £80–£250
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 50%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 27%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 131 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 Sonata, side by side
9 model years on record, from 2002 to 2010. Across them the pass rate runs from 69.3% to 82.7% — a spread of 13.4 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2002 82.7% headlamp lens slightly defective
- 2003 77.1% joints constant velocity boot…
- 2004 75.6%joints constant velocity boot…
- 2005 73.2% joints constant velocity boot…
- 2006 74.6% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2007 77.8% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2008 69.3% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2009 74.9% ball joint dust cover severely…
- 2010 79.7% door condition cannot be opened…
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 2004 Hyundai Sonata 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 2004 cars with a similar record
- Toyota Hiace 75.6%
- Land Rover Discovery 75.5%
- BMW 525 75.7%
- Nissan Elgrand 75.7%
- BMW 120 75.7%
- Audi A6 75.4%
Closest pass rates among 2004 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 2004 Hyundai Sonata 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 409 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 | 98 | 23.50% | 20.98% | +2.52 |
| Brakes | 75 | 18.00% | 20.89% | −2.89 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 60 | 14.40% | 12.21% | +2.19 |
| Tyres | 40 | 9.60% | 19.76% | −10.16 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 40 | 9.60% | 5.52% | +4.08 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 37 | 8.90% | 5.57% | +3.33 |
| Visibility | 23 | 5.50% | 4.97% | +0.53 |
| Non-component advisories | 15 | 3.60% | 4.18% | −0.58 |
| Steering | 12 | 2.90% | 2.57% | +0.33 |
| Identification of the vehicle | 9 | 2.20% | 1.76% | +0.44 |
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 | 9.2% | £80–250 |
| Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 9.2% | £5–20 |
| Joints constant velocity boot split or insecure, no longer prevents the ingress of dirt Body, chassis, structure | Major | 7.6% | £80–250 |
| Ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated Suspension | Minor | 6.1% | £18–45 |
| Headlamp aim projected beam image is obviously incorrect Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 5.3% | £30–80 |
| Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view Visibility | Minor | 5.3% | £80–200 |
| Battery(ies) insecure but not likely to fall from carrier Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 4.6% | £60–140 |
| Pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn Suspension | Major | 4.6% | £40–150 |
| Washers provides insufficient washer liquid Visibility | Major | 3.8% | £5–15 |
| Wipers does not clear the windscreen effectively Visibility | Major | 3.0% | £8–22 |
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 | 30.5% | £200–700 |
| Rigid brake pipes excessively corroded Brakes | Advisory | 17.6% | £80–180 |
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Advisory | 15.3% | £45–95 |
| Brake discs in such a condition that it is seriously weakened Brakes | Advisory | 13.7% | £45–110 |
| Coil spring corroded so that its cross sectional area is reduced and seriously weakened Suspension | Advisory | 9.9% | £25–65 |
| Pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn Suspension | Advisory | 9.2% | £40–150 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30-60k | 28 | 85.7% | 51,670 mi |
| 60-90k | 58 | 70.7% | 77,590 mi |
| 90-120k | 32 | 81.3% | 101,191 mi |
| 120k+ | 13 | 61.5% | 142,876 mi |
Source: 131 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.
2004 Sonata MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2004 Hyundai Sonata?
75.6% of the 131 2004 Hyundai Sonata tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 72.2% for cars first used in 2004. First-attempt pass rate: 69.8%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2004 Hyundai Sonata?
The three most recorded items are joints constant velocity boot severely deteriorated (9.16%), registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources (9.16%), joints constant velocity boot split or insecure, no longer prevents the ingress of dirt (7.63%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2004 Hyundai Sonata MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 85.7% of the time, falling to 61.5% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2004 Hyundai Sonata in this dataset had covered 82,722 mi.
Does the season affect the 2004 Hyundai Sonata MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 78.3% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 73.2%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.