Pass rate
67.3%
Below average — 5.1 pts behind the 72.4% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 4,598 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £35–£101
2005 Kia Sportage MOT pass rate
- 2005
- typical 111,049 mi
Most common fault
Suspension
27.7% 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 →
9.7 pts down across model years — 11.1% in 2005, 1.4% in 2021.
Which year to buy
- Best 2024 95.9% pass
- Avoid 2007 67.0% pass
Across the 21 years on record, a spread of 28.9 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 57.1%
- Typical mileage
- 111k mi
The 2005 Kia Sportage MOT pass rate is 67.3% of its MOT tests — 5.1 points behind what its age and mileage predict. Suspension is the biggest single reason it fails, at 27.7% of what testers record.
Check your postcode
MOT pass rates are national — type your postcode to see how Kia Sportage does in your corner of the country.
Expert verdict
Suspension: 1.3× the national share
Suspension accounts for 27.7% of everything recorded on the 2005 Kia Sportage, against 21.0% nationally — 6.7 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 72.4%; this one manages 67.3% — 5.1 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 Sportage? Get an email when these numbers change .
How does the 2005 Kia Sportage compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 72.4%, so this figure is 5.1 points behind what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 57.1%. The median 2005 Kia Sportage in this dataset had covered 111,049 mi.
61% of the tests on this vehicle ran on Diesel, which passed 68.5% of the time. Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 66.8% of the time, April–September 68.0%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources", noted on 11.53% of tests.
- 4,598 recorded tests behind this page.
- 67.3% overall pass rate, 57.1% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the Kia Sportage, the average is 83.3% — best year 2024 (95.9%), worst 2007 (67.0%).
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
- 4,598
- Typical mileage (median)
- 111,049 mi
- Make and model
- Kia Sportage
- 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 Sportage 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 (61% of tests).
Regional pass rates for the Sportage
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South East | 884 | 70.9% |
| East of England | 607 | 72.8% |
| West Midlands | 560 | 65.0% |
| South West | 558 | 63.4% |
| North West | 525 | 65.5% |
| Yorkshire | 467 | 66.0% |
| East Midlands | 442 | 64.0% |
| Wales | 181 | 64.6% |
| Scotland | 144 | 63.9% |
| London | 117 | 73.5% |
| North East | 113 | 69.9% |
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 Sportage
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 Sportage
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 11.5% 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 5.8% of tests
“ball joint 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 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 Sportage through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £35–£101 — and 51% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £35–£101
- Cheapest common item: stop lamp not working
- £3–£12
- 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
- 51%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 4,598 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 Sportage, side by side
21 model years on record, from 2003 to 2024. Across them the pass rate runs from 67.0% to 95.9% — a spread of 28.9 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2003 74.5% headlamp lens slightly defective
- 2005 67.3%registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2006 67.3% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2007 67.0% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2008 70.9% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2009 71.1% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2010 73.0% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2011 73.6% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2012 73.8% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2013 74.9% track rod end ball joint dust…
- 2014 80.3% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2015 81.5% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2016 84.0% brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick
- 2017 85.8% brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick
- 2018 87.7% brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick
- 2019 88.7% brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick
- 2020 89.7% wipers does not clear the…
- 2021 90.4% wipers does not clear the…
- 2022 92.6% wipers does not clear the…
- 2023 95.0% has a cut in excess of the…
- 2024 95.9% 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 2005 Kia Sportage 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
- Ford Ka 67.3%
- Vauxhall Meriva 67.6%
- Ford Galaxy 67.0%
- Suzuki Alto 67.7%
- Vauxhall Combo 67.8%
- Renault Modus 67.9%
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 Sportage 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 16,173 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 | 4,548 | 27.70% | 20.98% | +6.72 |
| Brakes | 2,753 | 16.80% | 20.89% | −4.09 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 2,483 | 15.10% | 12.21% | +2.89 |
| Tyres | 1,604 | 9.80% | 19.76% | −9.96 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 1,592 | 9.70% | 5.57% | +4.13 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 1,291 | 7.90% | 5.52% | +2.38 |
| Visibility | 546 | 3.30% | 4.97% | −1.67 |
| Steering | 533 | 3.20% | 2.57% | +0.63 |
| Non-component advisories | 478 | 2.90% | 4.18% | −1.28 |
| Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | 345 | 2.10% | 0.82% | +1.28 |
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 | 11.5% | £5–20 |
| Headlamp lens slightly defective Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 7.0% | £5–25 |
| Ball joint excessively worn Suspension | Major | 5.8% | £18–45 |
| Joints constant velocity boot severely deteriorated Body, chassis, structure | Minor | 5.5% | £80–250 |
| Position lamp not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 5.2% | £5–25 |
| Pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn Suspension | Major | 4.6% | £40–150 |
| 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 | 3.6% | £80–200 |
| Linkage ball joint dust cover ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated Suspension | Minor | 3.3% | £18–45 |
| Stop lamp not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 3.3% | £3–12 |
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 | 20.0% | £45–95 |
| Pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn Suspension | Advisory | 17.6% | £40–150 |
| Brake discs in such a condition that it is seriously weakened Brakes | Advisory | 17.0% | £45–110 |
| Engine oil leaks leaking excessively from engine Noise, emissions and leaks | Advisory | 16.0% | £200–700 |
| Exhaust system has a major leak of exhaust gases Body, chassis, structure | Advisory | 12.1% | £45–120 |
| Rigid brake pipes excessively corroded Brakes | Advisory | 10.2% | £80–180 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 31 | 83.9% | 19,311 mi |
| 30-60k | 228 | 78.5% | 48,461 mi |
| 60-90k | 846 | 70.7% | 77,938 mi |
| 90-120k | 1,697 | 66.4% | 105,383 mi |
| 120k+ | 1,790 | 65.0% | 143,126 mi |
Source: 4,598 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 Sportage MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2005 Kia Sportage?
67.3% of the 4,598 2005 Kia Sportage tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 72.4% for cars first used in 2005. First-attempt pass rate: 57.1%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2005 Kia Sportage?
The three most recorded items are registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources (11.53%), headlamp lens slightly defective (7.00%), ball joint excessively worn (5.81%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2005 Kia Sportage MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 83.9% of the time, falling to 65.0% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2005 Kia Sportage in this dataset had covered 111,049 mi.
Which fuel type is most reliable for a 2005 Kia Sportage?
Diesel: 68.5% pass rate across 2,818 tests. Petrol: 65.4% pass rate across 1,776 tests. Shares are of the tests on this vehicle that recorded each fuel type.
Does the season affect the 2005 Kia Sportage MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 66.8% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 68.0%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.