Pass rate
68.2%
Below average — 4.3 pts behind the 72.5% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 6,768 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £35–£92
2006 Kia Sorento MOT pass rate
- 2006
- typical 114,411 mi
Most common fault
Brakes
23.0% of faults · 20.9% nationally
mostly worn pads and discs, corroded pipes and a handbrake that will not hold.
Which year to buy
- Best 2024 99.1% pass
- Avoid 2004 65.6% pass
Across the 22 years on record, a spread of 33.5 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 58.6%
- Typical mileage
- 114k mi
The 2006 Kia Sorento MOT pass rate is 68.2% of its MOT tests — 4.3 points behind what its age and mileage predict. Brakes is the biggest single reason it fails, at 23.0% of what testers record.
Check your postcode
MOT pass rates are national — type your postcode to see how Kia Sorento does in your corner of the country.
Expert verdict
Body & chassis: 2.2× the national share
Body & chassis accounts for 12.2% of everything recorded on the 2006 Kia Sorento, against 5.6% nationally — 6.6 points above. Brakes are still the single largest share at 23.0%, but at 20.9% 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 72.5%; this one manages 68.2% — 4.3 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 Sorento? Get an email when these numbers change .
How does the 2006 Kia Sorento compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 72.5%, so this figure is 4.3 points behind what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 58.6%. The median 2006 Kia Sorento in this dataset had covered 114,411 mi.
99% of the tests on this vehicle ran on Diesel, which passed 68.2% of the time. Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 67.7% of the time, April–September 68.8%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources", noted on 6.46% of tests.
- 6,768 recorded tests behind this page.
- 68.2% overall pass rate, 58.6% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the Kia Sorento, the average is 79.2% — best year 2024 (99.1%), worst 2004 (65.6%).
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
- 6,768
- Typical mileage (median)
- 114,411 mi
- Make and model
- Kia Sorento
- 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 Sorento MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 57% so small gaps stay visible.
Fuel type and reliability
Pass rate by fuel type. Diesel is the most common here (99% of tests).
Regional pass rates for the Sorento
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South East | 1,006 | 70.3% |
| West Midlands | 870 | 71.1% |
| South West | 863 | 60.8% |
| East of England | 844 | 69.4% |
| North West | 823 | 68.3% |
| Yorkshire | 798 | 69.7% |
| East Midlands | 712 | 66.7% |
| Wales | 379 | 66.8% |
| North East | 250 | 69.2% |
| Scotland | 182 | 65.4% |
| London | 41 | 92.7% |
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 2006 Sorento
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 2006 Sorento
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 6.5% 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 the suspension joints 4.7% of tests
“track rod end ball joint has excessive play”
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 3.8% 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 2006 Sorento through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £35–£92 — and 36% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £35–£92
- 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
- 70%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 36%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 6,768 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 Sorento, side by side
22 model years on record, from 2003 to 2024. Across them the pass rate runs from 65.6% to 99.1% — a spread of 33.5 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2003 69.2% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2004 65.6% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2005 68.0% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2006 68.2%registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2007 69.9% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2008 69.2% track rod end ball joint has…
- 2009 71.2% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2010 72.7% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2011 73.3% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2012 73.3% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2013 75.3% track rod end ball joint has…
- 2014 77.7% track rod end ball joint has…
- 2015 81.7% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2016 83.2% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2017 85.6% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2018 87.5% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2019 88.6% has a cut in excess of the…
- 2020 89.8% has a cut in excess of the…
- 2021 90.6% wipers does not clear the…
- 2022 92.0% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2023 98.4% headlamp aim too high
- 2024 99.1% wipers blade defective
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 2006 Kia Sorento 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 2006 cars with a similar record
- Ford S-Max 68.1%
- Suzuki Alto 68.1%
- Renault Clio 67.9%
- Ford Galaxy 68.5%
- Hyundai Tucson 68.6%
- Nissan Pathfinder 68.6%
Closest pass rates among 2006 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 2006 Kia Sorento 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 23,249 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 | 5,439 | 23.00% | 20.89% | +2.11 |
| Suspension | 4,825 | 20.40% | 20.98% | −0.58 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 3,245 | 13.70% | 12.21% | +1.49 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 2,872 | 12.20% | 5.57% | +6.63 |
| Tyres | 1,978 | 8.40% | 19.76% | −11.36 |
| Steering | 1,604 | 6.80% | 2.57% | +4.23 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 1,203 | 5.10% | 5.52% | −0.42 |
| Non-component advisories | 876 | 3.70% | 4.18% | −0.48 |
| Visibility | 625 | 2.60% | 4.97% | −2.37 |
| Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | 582 | 2.50% | 0.82% | +1.68 |
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 | 6.5% | £5–20 |
| Headlamp lens slightly defective Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 5.4% | £5–25 |
| Rbt (sp) efficiency below requirements Brakes | Major | 4.7% | £45–110 |
| Track rod end ball joint has excessive play Steering | Major | 4.7% | £18–45 |
| Parking brake performance inoperative on one side Brakes | Major | 4.2% | £60–150 |
| Position lamp not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 4.1% | £5–25 |
| Component mounting prescribed areas prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength Suspension | Major | 3.8% | £180–450 |
| Linkage ball joints ball joint excessively worn Suspension | Major | 3.7% | £18–45 |
| Headlamp aim projected beam image is obviously incorrect Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 3.6% | £30–80 |
| Ball joint excessively worn Suspension | Major | 3.3% | £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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rigid brake pipes excessively corroded Brakes | Advisory | 20.3% | £80–180 |
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Advisory | 18.1% | £45–95 |
| Engine oil leaks leaking excessively from engine Noise, emissions and leaks | Advisory | 11.3% | £200–700 |
| Brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick Brakes | Advisory | 10.8% | £18–45 |
| Brake discs in such a condition that it is seriously weakened Brakes | Advisory | 9.2% | £45–110 |
| Linkage ball joints ball joint excessively worn Suspension | Advisory | 9.1% | £18–45 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 12 | 75.0% | 20,617 mi |
| 30-60k | 252 | 77.4% | 50,179 mi |
| 60-90k | 1,126 | 72.8% | 78,085 mi |
| 90-120k | 2,460 | 68.5% | 105,555 mi |
| 120k+ | 2,905 | 65.3% | 144,242 mi |
Source: 6,768 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.
2006 Sorento MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2006 Kia Sorento?
68.2% of the 6,768 2006 Kia Sorento tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 72.5% for cars first used in 2006. First-attempt pass rate: 58.6%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2006 Kia Sorento?
The three most recorded items are registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources (6.46%), headlamp lens slightly defective (5.38%), rbt (sp) efficiency below requirements (4.67%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2006 Kia Sorento MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 75.0% of the time, falling to 65.3% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2006 Kia Sorento in this dataset had covered 114,411 mi.
Which fuel type is most reliable for a 2006 Kia Sorento?
Diesel: 68.2% pass rate across 6,698 tests. Petrol: 67.9% pass rate across 53 tests. LPG: 58.8% pass rate across 17 tests. Shares are of the tests on this vehicle that recorded each fuel type.
Does the season affect the 2006 Kia Sorento MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 67.7% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 68.8%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.