Pass rate
68.8%
Below average — 3.4 pts behind the 72.2% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 987 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £37–£109
2004 Hyundai Tucson MOT pass rate
- 2004
- typical 110,534 mi
Most common fault
Suspension
26.5% 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 →
7.2 pts down across model years — 7.7% in 2005, 0.5% in 2021.
Which year to buy
- Best 2024 95.4% pass
- Avoid 2006 68.6% pass
Across the 17 years on record, a spread of 26.8 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 59.3%
- Typical mileage
- 111k mi
The 2004 Hyundai Tucson MOT pass rate is 68.8% of its MOT tests — 3.4 points behind what its age and mileage predict. Suspension is the biggest single reason it fails, at 26.5% of what testers record.
Check your postcode
MOT pass rates are national — type your postcode to see how Hyundai Tucson does in your corner of the country.
Expert verdict
Suspension: 1.3× the national share
Suspension accounts for 26.5% of everything recorded on the 2004 Hyundai Tucson, against 21.0% nationally — 5.5 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.
- Falls short of its own age and mileage. Like-for-like, cars this age and mileage expect about 72.2%; this one manages 68.8% — 3.4 points below. Age is a fair excuse; this is not age.
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 Tucson? Get an email when these numbers change .
How does the 2004 Hyundai Tucson compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 72.2%, so this figure is 3.4 points behind what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 59.3%. The median 2004 Hyundai Tucson in this dataset had covered 110,534 mi.
The most common fuel recorded here is Diesel — 66% of tests, with a 68.6% pass rate. Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 68.3% of the time, April–September 69.4%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources", noted on 11.55% of tests.
- 987 recorded tests behind this page.
- 68.8% overall pass rate, 59.3% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the Hyundai Tucson, the average is 87.0% — best year 2024 (95.4%), worst 2006 (68.6%).
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
- 987
- Typical mileage (median)
- 110,534 mi
- Make and model
- Hyundai Tucson
- Updated
- 2026-11-05
Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data (2023–2025), OGL v3.0.
Top part to budget for
Number Plate Lamp
Usually a DIY or independent-garage job.
Does mileage affect the Tucson MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 58% so small gaps stay visible.
Fuel type and reliability
Pass rate by fuel type. Diesel is the most common here (66% of tests).
Regional pass rates for the Tucson
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South East | 221 | 69.2% |
| East of England | 130 | 74.6% |
| West Midlands | 127 | 65.4% |
| North West | 126 | 75.4% |
| South West | 110 | 65.5% |
| Yorkshire | 85 | 67.1% |
| Wales | 72 | 62.5% |
| East Midlands | 69 | 63.8% |
| Scotland | 20 | 70.0% |
| London | 15 | 73.3% |
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 2004 Tucson
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 Tucson
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 11.6% 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 5.9% of tests
“pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn”
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 exhaust and emissions 4.4% of tests
“exhaust system has a major leak of exhaust gases”
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.
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 Tucson through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £37–£109 — and 44% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £37–£109
- 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
- 40%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 44%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 987 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 Tucson, side by side
17 model years on record, from 2004 to 2024. Across them the pass rate runs from 68.6% to 95.4% — a spread of 26.8 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2004 68.8%registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2005 69.7% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2006 68.6% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2007 71.2% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2008 71.6% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2009 73.5% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2010 73.9% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2015 82.4% rbt (sp) efficiency below…
- 2016 85.0% brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick
- 2017 86.1% brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick
- 2018 88.2% brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick
- 2019 89.3% brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick
- 2020 89.6% wipers does not clear the…
- 2021 91.5% wipers does not clear the…
- 2022 92.2% wipers does not clear the…
- 2023 94.3% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2024 95.4% has a cut in excess of the…
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 Tucson 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
- Fiat Punto 68.7%
- Renault Scenic 68.7%
- Ford Focus C-Max 68.9%
- Renault Megane 68.9%
- Vauxhall Corsa 68.6%
- Nissan X-Trail 68.5%
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 Tucson 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 3,531 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 | 957 | 26.50% | 20.98% | +5.52 |
| Brakes | 637 | 17.70% | 20.89% | −3.19 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 553 | 15.30% | 12.21% | +3.09 |
| Tyres | 374 | 10.40% | 19.76% | −9.36 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 309 | 8.60% | 5.57% | +3.03 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 294 | 8.10% | 5.52% | +2.58 |
| Non-component advisories | 133 | 3.70% | 4.18% | −0.48 |
| Visibility | 97 | 2.70% | 4.97% | −2.27 |
| Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | 95 | 2.60% | 0.82% | +1.78 |
| Steering | 82 | 2.30% | 2.57% | −0.27 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 11.6% | £5–20 |
| Headlamp lens slightly defective Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 10.2% | £5–25 |
| Pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn Suspension | Major | 5.9% | £40–150 |
| Joints constant velocity boot severely deteriorated Body, chassis, structure | Minor | 5.7% | £80–250 |
| Ball joint excessively worn Suspension | Major | 5.3% | £18–45 |
| Exhaust system has a major leak of exhaust gases Body, chassis, structure | Major | 4.4% | £45–120 |
| Headlamp aim projected beam image is obviously incorrect Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 4.0% | £30–80 |
| Position lamp not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 3.8% | £5–25 |
| Component mounting prescribed areas prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength Suspension | Major | 3.6% | £180–450 |
| Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view Visibility | Minor | 3.4% | £80–200 |
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 | 18.6% | £45–95 |
| Brake discs in such a condition that it is seriously weakened Brakes | Advisory | 18.2% | £45–110 |
| Engine oil leaks leaking excessively from engine Noise, emissions and leaks | Advisory | 17.6% | £200–700 |
| Pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn Suspension | Advisory | 17.6% | £40–150 |
| Rigid brake pipes excessively corroded Brakes | Advisory | 13.7% | £80–180 |
| Sub-frame corroded and seriously weakened Suspension | Advisory | 11.4% | £180–450 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 4 | 75.0% | 7,957 mi |
| 30-60k | 48 | 77.1% | 50,265 mi |
| 60-90k | 215 | 70.2% | 79,368 mi |
| 90-120k | 364 | 66.8% | 106,109 mi |
| 120k+ | 356 | 68.8% | 141,217 mi |
Source: 987 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 Tucson MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2004 Hyundai Tucson?
68.8% of the 987 2004 Hyundai Tucson tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 72.2% for cars first used in 2004. First-attempt pass rate: 59.3%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2004 Hyundai Tucson?
The three most recorded items are registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources (11.55%), headlamp lens slightly defective (10.23%), pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn (5.88%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2004 Hyundai Tucson MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 75.0% of the time, falling to 68.8% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2004 Hyundai Tucson in this dataset had covered 110,534 mi.
Which fuel type is most reliable for a 2004 Hyundai Tucson?
Diesel: 68.6% pass rate across 656 tests. Petrol: 69.2% pass rate across 331 tests. Shares are of the tests on this vehicle that recorded each fuel type.
Does the season affect the 2004 Hyundai Tucson MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 68.3% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 69.4%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.