Pass rate
69.2%
Below average — 3.9 pts behind the 73.1% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 3,569 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £29–£74
2008 Kia Sorento MOT pass rate
- 2008
- typical 107,348 mi
Check your postcode
Most common fault
Brakes
25.8% of faults · 20.9% nationally
mostly worn pads and discs, corroded pipes and a handbrake that will not hold.
Part only £25–£55 for Rigid brake pipes excessively corroded. What fitting it takes →
13.1 pts down across model years — 13.8% in 2004, 0.7% in 2017.
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
- 59.2%
- Typical mileage
- 107k mi
The 2008 Kia Sorento MOT pass rate is 69.2% of its MOT tests — 3.9 points behind what its age and mileage predict. Brakes is the biggest single reason it fails, at 25.8% of what testers record.
Expert verdict
Fewer problems with tyres
Tyres are 9.5% 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 73.1%; this one manages 69.2% — 3.9 points below. Age is a fair excuse; this is not age.
- When it fails, it costs. Only 29% 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 Kia Sorento? Get an email when these numbers change .
How does the 2008 Kia Sorento compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 73.1%, so this figure is 3.9 points behind what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 59.2%. The median 2008 Kia Sorento in this dataset had covered 107,348 mi.
100% of the tests on this vehicle ran on Diesel, which passed 69.2% of the time. Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 69.6% of the time, April–September 68.8%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Track rod end ball joint has excessive play", noted on 6.33% of tests.
- 3,569 recorded tests behind this page.
- 69.2% overall pass rate, 59.2% 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
- 3,569
- Typical mileage (median)
- 107,348 mi
- Make and model
- Kia Sorento
- Updated
- 2026-11-07
Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data (2023–2025), OGL v3.0.
Top part to budget for
Ball Joint
Usually a DIY or independent-garage job.
Does mileage affect the Sorento MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 56% so small gaps stay visible.
Fuel type and reliability
Pass rate by fuel type. Diesel is the most common here (100% of tests).
Where the Kia Sorento is most common
Across all Sorento model years on record (2003–2024): 55,321 Kia Sorento cars tested in a recordable postcode area, across 131,852 tests. Sheffield (S) has the most, with 1,845 cars tested there. Cars are counted by the postcode area of the MOT station, so this is where they were tested, not necessarily where their owners live.
| # | Postcode area | Cars | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sheffield (S) | 1,845 | 82.1% |
| 2 | Nottingham (NG) | 1,659 | 76.7% |
| 3 | Peterborough (PE) | 1,510 | 80.2% |
| 4 | Birmingham (B) | 1,254 | 82.8% |
| 5 | Doncaster (DN) | 1,152 | 79.3% |
| 6 | Derby (DE) | 1,126 | 81.3% |
| 7 | Leicester (LE) | 1,115 | 82.8% |
| 8 | Guildford (GU) | 868 | 78.8% |
| 9 | Stoke On Trent (ST) | 805 | 75.5% |
| 10 | Chelmsford (CM) | 796 | 82.4% |
| 11 | Reading (RG) | 787 | 81.1% |
| 12 | York (YO) | 778 | 75.8% |
| 13 | Portsmouth (PO) | 776 | 77.9% |
| 14 | Ipswich (IP) | 758 | 78.1% |
| 15 | Stockport (SK) | 720 | 81.4% |
| 16 | Southampton (SO) | 689 | 77.8% |
| 17 | Coventry (CV) | 687 | 82.6% |
| 18 | Milton Keynes (MK) | 683 | 81.5% |
| 19 | Preston (PR) | 677 | 78.4% |
| 20 | Bolton (BL) | 672 | 79.5% |
The twenty areas with the most Kia Sorento cars in the record, sorted by car count — sort the columns for a different question. Cars tested at a station whose postcode area could not be resolved are counted in the model's total but in no area, so the shares add up to slightly under 100% even across every area, and an area's cars are a subset of the model's. Pass rate is blank below 30 tests in an area, where a percentage is noise rather than a finding. How this model's pass rate varies by postcode →
Regional pass rates for the Sorento
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| Yorkshire | 491 | 70.3% |
| West Midlands | 435 | 73.1% |
| East Midlands | 434 | 68.9% |
| North West | 431 | 70.3% |
| East of England | 411 | 69.1% |
| South West | 408 | 64.0% |
| South East | 372 | 72.3% |
| Wales | 245 | 64.9% |
| North East | 165 | 66.1% |
| Scotland | 159 | 66.7% |
| London | 18 | 100.0% |
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 2008 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 2008 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 suspension joints 6.3% 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 the lights 5.8% 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 windscreen 3.0% 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 2008 Sorento through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £29–£74 — and 29% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £29–£74
- Cheapest common item: stop lamp not working
- £3–£12
- Dearest common item: windscreen damaged
- £80–£200
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 70%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 29%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 3,569 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 2008 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 2008 cars with a similar record
- Peugeot 207 69.2%
- SEAT Ibiza 69.2%
- Renault Twingo 69.3%
- Vauxhall Meriva 69.0%
- Volkswagen Fox 69.4%
- Vauxhall Tigra 69.0%
Closest pass rates among 2008 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 2008 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 11,105 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 | 2,902 | 25.80% | 20.89% | +4.91 |
| Suspension | 2,302 | 20.50% | 20.98% | −0.48 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 1,235 | 11.00% | 12.21% | −1.21 |
| Tyres | 1,065 | 9.50% | 19.76% | −10.26 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 1,008 | 9.00% | 5.52% | +3.48 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 833 | 7.40% | 5.57% | +1.83 |
| Steering | 748 | 6.70% | 2.57% | +4.13 |
| Non-component advisories | 508 | 4.50% | 4.18% | +0.32 |
| Visibility | 319 | 2.80% | 4.97% | −2.17 |
| Identification of the vehicle | 185 | 1.60% | 1.76% | −0.16 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Track rod end ball joint has excessive play Steering | Major | 6.3% | £18–45 |
| Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 5.8% | £5–20 |
| Ball joint excessively worn Suspension | Major | 5.2% | £18–45 |
| Rbt (sp) efficiency below requirements Brakes | Major | 5.1% | £45–110 |
| Linkage ball joints ball joint excessively worn Suspension | Major | 4.5% | £18–45 |
| Parking brake performance inoperative on one side Brakes | Major | 4.0% | £60–150 |
| Position lamp not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 3.6% | £5–25 |
| Stop lamp not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 3.1% | £3–12 |
| Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view Visibility | Minor | 3.0% | £80–200 |
| Rigid brake pipes excessively corroded Brakes | Major | 2.8% | £80–180 |
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 | 21.8% | £80–180 |
| Engine oil leaks leaking excessively from engine Noise, emissions and leaks | Advisory | 21.6% | £200–700 |
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Advisory | 18.5% | £45–95 |
| Linkage ball joints ball joint excessively worn Suspension | Advisory | 11.7% | £18–45 |
| Brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick Brakes | Advisory | 10.2% | £18–45 |
| Brake discs in such a condition that it is seriously weakened Brakes | Advisory | 9.3% | £45–110 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 15 | 86.7% | 25,972 mi |
| 30-60k | 187 | 80.2% | 50,691 mi |
| 60-90k | 774 | 73.9% | 78,137 mi |
| 90-120k | 1,444 | 68.6% | 105,515 mi |
| 120k+ | 1,148 | 64.9% | 140,368 mi |
Source: 3,569 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.
2008 Sorento MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2008 Kia Sorento?
69.2% of the 3,569 2008 Kia Sorento tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 73.1% for cars first used in 2008. First-attempt pass rate: 59.2%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2008 Kia Sorento?
The three most recorded items are track rod end ball joint has excessive play (6.33%), registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources (5.77%), ball joint excessively worn (5.24%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2008 Kia Sorento MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 86.7% of the time, falling to 64.9% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2008 Kia Sorento in this dataset had covered 107,348 mi.
Which fuel type is most reliable for a 2008 Kia Sorento?
Diesel: 69.2% pass rate across 3,559 tests. Petrol: 70.0% pass rate across 10 tests. Shares are of the tests on this vehicle that recorded each fuel type.
Does the season affect the 2008 Kia Sorento MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 69.6% 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.