Pass rate
68.6%
Below average — 3.8 pts behind the 72.4% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 13,833 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £40–£106
2005 Kia Picanto MOT pass rate
- 2005
- typical 72,902 mi
Most common fault
Brakes
24.0% of faults · 20.9% nationally
mostly worn pads and discs, corroded pipes and a handbrake that will not hold.
Which year to buy
- Best 2023 94.1% pass
- Avoid 2006 67.8% pass
Across the 20 years on record, a spread of 26.3 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 57.8%
- Typical mileage
- 73k mi
The 2005 Kia Picanto MOT pass rate is 68.6% of its MOT tests — 3.8 points behind what its age and mileage predict. Brakes is the biggest single reason it fails, at 24.0% of what testers record.
Check your postcode
MOT pass rates are national — type your postcode to see how Kia Picanto does in your corner of the country.
Expert verdict
Fewer problems with tyres
Tyres are 11.8% of this car’s recorded faults, against 19.8% nationally — the mirror image of the usual story on a car of this age.
- Falls short of its own age and mileage. Like-for-like, cars this age and mileage expect about 72.4%; this one manages 68.6% — 3.8 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 Kia Picanto? Get an email when these numbers change .
How does the 2005 Kia Picanto compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 72.4%, so this figure is 3.8 points behind what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 57.8%. The median 2005 Kia Picanto in this dataset had covered 72,902 mi.
Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 68.5% of the time, April–September 68.7%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources", noted on 8.83% of tests.
- 13,833 recorded tests behind this page.
- 68.6% overall pass rate, 57.8% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the Kia Picanto, the average is 80.5% — best year 2023 (94.1%), worst 2006 (67.8%).
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
- 13,833
- Typical mileage (median)
- 72,902 mi
- Make and model
- Kia Picanto
- 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 Picanto MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 53% so small gaps stay visible.
Regional pass rates for the Picanto
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South East | 3,154 | 70.9% |
| South West | 2,022 | 65.8% |
| North West | 1,606 | 66.9% |
| West Midlands | 1,603 | 70.8% |
| East of England | 1,502 | 71.0% |
| East Midlands | 1,238 | 66.0% |
| Yorkshire | 1,093 | 64.7% |
| London | 550 | 80.5% |
| Wales | 495 | 65.1% |
| Scotland | 349 | 61.3% |
| North East | 221 | 62.0% |
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 Picanto
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 Picanto
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 8.8% 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 5.4% of tests
“track rod end ball joint dust cover damaged or 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 3.6% 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 Picanto through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £40–£106 — and 37% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £40–£106
- 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
- 60%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 37%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 13,833 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 Picanto, side by side
20 model years on record, from 2004 to 2023. Across them the pass rate runs from 67.8% to 94.1% — a spread of 26.3 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2004 69.2% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2005 68.6%registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2006 67.8% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2007 69.6% ball joint dust cover severely…
- 2008 70.8% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2009 71.9% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2010 72.7% ball joint dust cover severely…
- 2011 73.3% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2012 75.1% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2013 77.9% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2014 80.9% rbt (sp) efficiency below…
- 2015 83.0% rbt (sp) efficiency below…
- 2016 83.4% rbt (sp) efficiency below…
- 2017 87.1% wipers does not clear the…
- 2018 89.9% wipers does not clear the…
- 2019 90.8% wipers does not clear the…
- 2020 92.5% wipers blade defective
- 2021 92.6% wipers blade defective
- 2022 92.3% has a cut in excess of the…
- 2023 94.1% headlamp aim too low
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 Kia Picanto 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 307 68.6%
- Renault Megane 68.5%
- Citroen C2 68.5%
- Vauxhall Corsa 68.7%
- Hyundai Coupe 68.7%
- Renault Scenic 68.4%
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 Kia Picanto 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 47,665 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brakes | 11,610 | 24.00% | 20.89% | +3.11 |
| Suspension | 11,529 | 23.80% | 20.98% | +2.82 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 6,377 | 13.20% | 12.21% | +0.99 |
| Tyres | 5,734 | 11.80% | 19.76% | −7.96 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 3,905 | 8.10% | 5.52% | +2.58 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 3,173 | 6.60% | 5.57% | +1.03 |
| Visibility | 1,940 | 4.00% | 4.97% | −0.97 |
| Steering | 1,636 | 3.40% | 2.57% | +0.83 |
| Identification of the vehicle | 1,136 | 2.30% | 1.76% | +0.54 |
| Non-component advisories | 625 | 1.30% | 4.18% | −2.88 |
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 | 8.8% | £5–20 |
| Rbt (sp) efficiency below requirements Brakes | Major | 6.8% | £45–110 |
| Track rod end ball joint dust cover damaged or deteriorated, but preventing the ingress of dirt Steering | Minor | 5.4% | £18–45 |
| Position lamp not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 5.1% | £5–25 |
| Ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated Suspension | Minor | 4.0% | £18–45 |
| Component mounting prescribed areas prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength Suspension | Major | 3.6% | £180–450 |
| Headlamp lens slightly defective Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 3.6% | £5–25 |
| Joints constant velocity boot severely deteriorated Body, chassis, structure | Minor | 3.5% | £80–250 |
| Service brake performance excessively binding Brakes | Major | 3.4% | £60–150 |
| Parking brake performance inoperative on one side Brakes | Major | 3.0% | £60–150 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coil spring corroded so that its cross sectional area is reduced and seriously weakened Suspension | Advisory | 22.7% | £25–65 |
| Engine oil leaks leaking excessively from engine Noise, emissions and leaks | Advisory | 17.4% | £200–700 |
| Rigid brake pipes excessively corroded Brakes | Advisory | 16.9% | £80–180 |
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Advisory | 15.8% | £45–95 |
| Has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Tyres | Advisory | 15.6% | £45–95 |
| Brake discs in such a condition that it is seriously weakened Brakes | Advisory | 13.0% | £45–110 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 605 | 81.0% | 22,294 mi |
| 30-60k | 3,978 | 72.9% | 47,259 mi |
| 60-90k | 5,327 | 67.8% | 74,798 mi |
| 90-120k | 3,038 | 63.7% | 102,193 mi |
| 120k+ | 871 | 61.8% | 136,714 mi |
Source: 13,833 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 Picanto MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2005 Kia Picanto?
68.6% of the 13,833 2005 Kia Picanto tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 72.4% for cars first used in 2005. First-attempt pass rate: 57.8%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2005 Kia Picanto?
The three most recorded items are registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources (8.83%), rbt (sp) efficiency below requirements (6.75%), track rod end ball joint dust cover damaged or deteriorated, but preventing the ingress of dirt (5.36%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2005 Kia Picanto MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 81.0% of the time, falling to 61.8% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2005 Kia Picanto in this dataset had covered 72,902 mi.
Does the season affect the 2005 Kia Picanto MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 68.5% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 68.7%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.