Pass rate
66.3%
Below average — 6.1 pts behind the 72.4% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 95 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £55–£145
2005 Isuzu Bighorn MOT pass rate
- 2005
- 2 trims combined
- typical 189,488 mi
Only 95 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
24.2% of faults · 21.0% nationally
mostly worn arm bushes, split ball-joint boots and broken coil springs.
Which year to buy
- Best 2006 81.2% pass
- Avoid 2005 66.3% pass · this year
Across the 4 years on record, a spread of 14.9 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 51.5%
- Typical mileage
- 189k mi
The 2005 Isuzu Bighorn MOT pass rate is 66.3% of its MOT tests — 6.1 points behind what its age and mileage predict. Suspension is the biggest single reason it fails, at 24.2% of what testers record.
Expert verdict
Body & chassis: 3.6× the national share
Body & chassis accounts for 20.0% of everything recorded on the 2005 Isuzu Bighorn, against 5.6% nationally — 14.4 points above. Suspension is still the single largest share at 24.2%, 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.
- Falls short of its own age and mileage. Like-for-like, cars this age and mileage expect about 72.4%; this one manages 66.3% — 6.1 points below. Age is a fair excuse; this is not age.
- When it fails, it costs. Only 16% 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 Isuzu Bighorn? Get an email when these numbers change .
Every Isuzu Bighorn first registered in 2005 is combined here — 2 trim and body variants in total — so the sample is as large as the DVSA data allows.
How does the 2005 Isuzu Bighorn compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 72.4%, so this figure is 6.1 points behind what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 51.5%. The median 2005 Isuzu Bighorn in this dataset had covered 189,488 mi.
Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 63.6% of the time, April–September 70.0%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view", noted on 14.74% of tests.
- 95 recorded tests behind this page.
- 66.3% overall pass rate, 51.5% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the Isuzu Bighorn, the average is 73.5% — best year 2006 (81.2%), worst 2005 (66.3%).
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
- 95
- Typical mileage (median)
- 189,488 mi
- Make and model
- Isuzu Bighorn
- Updated
- 2026-11-07
Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data (2023–2025), OGL v3.0.
Top part to budget for
Windscreen
Typically a garage job — get quotes before committing.
Does mileage affect the Bighorn MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 57% so small gaps stay visible.
Regional pass rates for the Bighorn
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South West | 27 | 59.3% |
| South East | 19 | 63.2% |
| East of England | 16 | 62.5% |
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 Bighorn
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 Bighorn
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 windscreen 14.7% 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.
-
Check the suspension joints 11.6% 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 corrosion 6.3% 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 2005 Bighorn through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £55–£145 — and 16% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £55–£145
- Cheapest common item: rear fog lamp not working
- £3–£15
- 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
- 16%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 95 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 Bighorn, side by side
4 model years on record, from 2003 to 2006. Across them the pass rate runs from 66.3% to 81.2% — a spread of 14.9 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2003 73.8% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2004 75.0% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2005 66.3%windscreen damaged but not…
- 2006 81.2% ball joint dust cover severely…
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 Isuzu Bighorn 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
- Chevrolet Matiz 65.9%
- Ford Galaxy 67.0%
- Ford Ka 67.3%
- Kia Sportage 67.3%
- Vauxhall Meriva 67.6%
- Suzuki Alto 67.7%
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 Isuzu Bighorn 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 377 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 | 93 | 24.20% | 20.98% | +3.22 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 77 | 20.00% | 5.57% | +14.43 |
| Brakes | 63 | 16.40% | 20.89% | −4.49 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 38 | 9.90% | 5.52% | +4.38 |
| Visibility | 25 | 6.50% | 4.97% | +1.53 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 22 | 5.70% | 12.21% | −6.51 |
| Steering | 22 | 5.70% | 2.57% | +3.13 |
| Tyres | 16 | 4.20% | 19.76% | −15.56 |
| Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | 12 | 3.10% | 0.82% | +2.28 |
| Identification of the vehicle | 9 | 2.30% | 1.76% | +0.54 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view Visibility | Minor | 14.7% | £80–200 |
| Ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated Suspension | Minor | 11.6% | £18–45 |
| Joints constant velocity boot severely deteriorated Body, chassis, structure | Minor | 7.4% | £80–250 |
| Component mounting prescribed areas prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength Suspension | Major | 6.3% | £180–450 |
| Rear fog lamp not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 6.3% | £3–15 |
| Ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt Suspension | Major | 4.2% | £18–45 |
| Prescribed areas prescribed area strength or continuity significantly reduced Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | Major | 4.2% | £40–120 |
| Rbt (sp) efficiency below requirements Brakes | Major | 4.2% | £45–110 |
| Wipers does not clear the windscreen effectively Visibility | Major | 4.2% | £8–22 |
| Ball joint excessively worn Suspension | Major | 3.2% | £18–45 |
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 | 32.6% | £200–700 |
| Rigid brake pipes excessively corroded Brakes | Advisory | 24.2% | £80–180 |
| Chassis condition corroded to the extent that the rigidity of the assembly is significantly reduced Body, chassis, structure | Advisory | 23.2% | £180–450 |
| Exhaust system has a major leak of exhaust gases Body, chassis, structure | Advisory | 16.8% | £45–120 |
| Brake discs in such a condition that it is seriously weakened Brakes | Advisory | 9.5% | £45–110 |
| Registration plates inscription illegible Identification of the vehicle | Advisory | 9.5% | £20–80 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 90-120k | 5 | 80.0% | 113,155 mi |
| 120k+ | 90 | 65.6% | 196,546 mi |
Source: 95 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 Bighorn MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2005 Isuzu Bighorn?
66.3% of the 95 2005 Isuzu Bighorn tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 72.4% for cars first used in 2005. First-attempt pass rate: 51.5%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2005 Isuzu Bighorn?
The three most recorded items are windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view (14.74%), ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated (11.58%), joints constant velocity boot severely deteriorated (7.37%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2005 Isuzu Bighorn MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 80.0% of the time, falling to 65.6% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2005 Isuzu Bighorn in this dataset had covered 189,488 mi.
Does the season affect the 2005 Isuzu Bighorn MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 63.6% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 70.0%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.