2005 Land Rover Freelander MOT pass rate

Pass rate

69.3%

Below average — 3.1 pts behind the 72.4% that cars this age and mileage manage.

Across 22,928 recorded tests.

Typical repair bill £31–£87

Most common fault

Brakes

23.9% 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 →

14.6 pts down across model years — 15.5% in 2000, 0.9% in 2014.

Every failure, with what it costs →

Which year to buy

  • Best 2015 88.2% pass
  • Avoid 2005 69.3% pass · this year

Across the 17 years on record, a spread of 18.9 points. See every year →

First-attempt pass
59.1%
Typical mileage
125k mi

The 2005 Land Rover Freelander MOT pass rate is 69.3% of its MOT tests — 3.1 points behind what its age and mileage predict. Brakes is the biggest single reason it fails, at 23.9% of what testers record.

MOT PASS RATES

The 2005 Land Rover Freelander on the real record

69.3% of 2005 Land Rover Freelander MOTs passed — 22,928 tests, 2023–2025

Pass rate

The answer from the DVSA's class-4 MOT records.

Check your postcode

MOT pass rates are national — type your postcode to see how Land Rover Freelander does in your corner of the country.

How one model's pass rate varies by postcode →

Expert verdict

Body & chassis: 2.0× the national share

Body & chassis accounts for 11.2% of everything recorded on the 2005 Land Rover Freelander, against 5.6% nationally — 5.6 points above. Brakes are still the single largest share at 23.9%, 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.

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 Land Rover Freelander? Get an email when these numbers change .

Every Land Rover Freelander 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 Land Rover Freelander compare?

Cars of this age and mileage average 72.4%, so this figure is 3.1 points behind what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 59.1%. The median 2005 Land Rover Freelander in this dataset had covered 124,940 mi.

88% 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 69.1% of the time, April–September 69.5%.

The single most recorded failure item is "Ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated", noted on 5.90% of tests.

  • 22,928 recorded tests behind this page.
  • 69.3% overall pass rate, 59.1% on a first attempt.
  • Across every year of the Land Rover Freelander, the average is 77.1% — best year 2015 (88.2%), worst 2005 (69.3%).

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
22,928
Typical mileage (median)
124,940 mi
Make and model
Land Rover Freelander
Updated
2026-11-05

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 Freelander MOT pass rate?

0-30k 84.4%
30-60k 76.1%
60-90k 72.7%
90-120k 70.4%
120k+ 67.7%

Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 59% so small gaps stay visible.

Fuel type and reliability

Diesel 69.2%
Petrol 69.6%

Pass rate by fuel type. Diesel is the most common here (88% of tests).

Regional pass rates for the Freelander

Region Tests Pass rate
South West 3,963 65.4%
South East 3,422 72.2%
East of England 2,973 71.6%
West Midlands 2,723 70.4%
Yorkshire 2,142 69.4%
North West 2,074 70.5%
East Midlands 1,865 69.8%
Wales 1,565 66.3%
Scotland 1,246 63.6%
North East 710 70.4%
London 245 80.8%

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 Freelander

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.

Brakes 23.9%
+3.0 pts vs national national 20.9% Price brakes parts
Suspension 20.4%
−0.6 pts vs national national 21.0% Price suspension parts
Lamps & electrics 16.0%
+3.8 pts vs national national 12.2% Order bulbs & wipers
Body & chassis 11.2%
+5.6 pts vs national national 5.6% Find body panels
Show the other 6 fault categories
  • Tyres 9.4%
  • Emissions & leaks 6.3%
  • Steering 4.7%
  • Visibility 3.7%
  • Identification 1.6%
  • Advisories 1.6%

Shares are of every item recorded on 2005 Land Rover Freelander tests — a composition, so they add to 100% across all sections, not per test.

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 Freelander

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.

  1. Check the suspension joints 5.9% 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.

  2. Check the lights 5.3% of tests

    “headlamp lens slightly defective”

    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.

  3. Check the brake pipes 4.8% of tests

    “rigid brake pipes excessively corroded”

    Brake pipes run under the car, usually in front of the rear wheels. Flaking or crusty metal is what fails; a light dusting of surface rust does not. Worth asking a garage to look while it is on a ramp.

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 Freelander through its MOT

Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £31–£87 — and 40% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.

Average repair across the 10 common items
£31–£87
Cheapest common item: stop lamp not working
£3–£12
Dearest common item: joints constant velocity boot severely…
£80–£250
Common items a careful owner can do at home
60%
Repairs that still cost under £30
40%

Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 22,928 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 Freelander, side by side

17 model years on record, from 2000 to 2016. Across them the pass rate runs from 69.3% to 88.2% — a spread of 18.9 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.

  1. 2000 70.3% ball joint dust cover severely…
  2. 2001 70.2% anti-lock braking system warning…
  3. 2002 70.8% ball joint dust cover severely…
  4. 2003 70.0% ball joint dust cover severely…
  5. 2004 69.7% headlamp lens slightly defective
  6. 2005 69.3%
    ball joint dust cover severely…
  7. 2006 70.1% ball joint dust cover severely…
  8. 2007 74.2% registration plate lamp(s)…
  9. 2008 74.7% registration plate lamp(s)…
  10. 2009 77.3% windscreen damaged but not…
  11. 2010 77.8% windscreen damaged but not…
  12. 2011 80.8% windscreen damaged but not…
  13. 2012 81.4% windscreen damaged but not…
  14. 2013 82.1% track rod end ball joint has…
  15. 2014 85.3% registration plate lamp(s)…
  16. 2015 88.2% ball joint dust cover severely…
  17. 2016 87.9% 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 Land Rover Freelander 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.

Compare 2005 with another year →

Compare two different cars instead →

Other 2005 cars with a similar record

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 Land Rover Freelander 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 76,764 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 18,557 23.90% 20.89% +3.01
Suspension 15,880 20.40% 20.98% −0.58
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 12,437 16.00% 12.21% +3.79
Body, chassis, structure 8,706 11.20% 5.57% +5.63
Tyres 7,286 9.40% 19.76% −10.36
Noise, emissions and leaks 4,870 6.30% 5.52% +0.78
Steering 3,675 4.70% 2.57% +2.13
Visibility 2,841 3.70% 4.97% −1.27
Identification of the vehicle 1,271 1.60% 1.76% −0.16
Non-component advisories 1,241 1.60% 4.18% −2.58

The exact failure items, in the tester's words

Share of the 22,928 tests on this vehicle that recorded each item
Recorded item Severity Tests Est. cost Part
Ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated Suspension Minor 5.9% £18–45 Ball Joint →
Headlamp lens slightly defective Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment Minor 5.3% £5–25 Headlight Bulb →
Rigid brake pipes excessively corroded Brakes Major 4.8% £80–180 Brake Pipe →
Track rod end ball joint has excessive play Steering Major 4.7% £18–45 Ball Joint →
Stop lamp not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment Major 4.3% £3–12 Stop Light Bulb →
Position lamp not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment Major 4.0% £5–25 Headlight Bulb →
Headlamp aim projected beam image is obviously incorrect Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment Major 3.9% £30–80 Headlight Alignment →
Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of a single lamp or all lamps Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment Major 3.8% £5–20 Number Plate Lamp →
Joints constant velocity boot severely deteriorated Body, chassis, structure Minor 3.8% £80–250 Body Panel Repair →
Joints constant velocity boot split or insecure, no longer prevents the ingress of dirt Body, chassis, structure Major 3.5% £80–250 Body Panel Repair →

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.

Items recorded as advisory on this vehicle
Recorded item Severity Tests Est. cost
Rigid brake pipes excessively corroded Brakes Advisory 33.7% £80–180
Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres Advisory 15.7% £45–95
Engine oil leaks leaking excessively from engine Noise, emissions and leaks Advisory 10.0% £200–700
Has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Tyres Advisory 9.4% £45–95
Track rod end ball joint has excessive play Steering Advisory 8.2% £18–45
Suspension arm corroded and seriously weakened Suspension Advisory 7.8% £35–85

Pass rate by mileage

Mileage Tests Pass rate Median odometer
0-30k 45 84.4% 22,979 mi
30-60k 510 76.1% 49,695 mi
60-90k 2,854 72.7% 78,152 mi
90-120k 6,679 70.4% 106,350 mi
120k+ 12,822 67.7% 150,037 mi

Source: 22,928 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 Freelander MOT questions

What is the MOT pass rate for a 2005 Land Rover Freelander?

69.3% of the 22,928 2005 Land Rover Freelander tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 72.4% for cars first used in 2005. First-attempt pass rate: 59.1%.

What are the most common MOT failures on a 2005 Land Rover Freelander?

The three most recorded items are ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated (5.90%), headlamp lens slightly defective (5.35%), rigid brake pipes excessively corroded (4.81%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.

Does mileage affect the 2005 Land Rover Freelander MOT pass rate?

Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 84.4% of the time, falling to 67.7% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2005 Land Rover Freelander in this dataset had covered 124,940 mi.

Which fuel type is most reliable for a 2005 Land Rover Freelander?

Diesel: 69.2% pass rate across 20,157 tests. Petrol: 69.6% pass rate across 2,765 tests. Shares are of the tests on this vehicle that recorded each fuel type.

Does the season affect the 2005 Land Rover Freelander MOT pass rate?

Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 69.1% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 69.5%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.