Model Reports 4 min read Updated 18 Oct 2026

Kia Sportage 2006: reliability & common MOT faults

In 2025, 50 in every 100 first MOTs on a 2006 Kia Sportage were passes. Most common reason for a fail: Individual sidelight or tail light (front).

Summary

With 741 first tests, there are too few to say whether the 2006 Kia Sportage differs from the model years either side.

At a glance

How 741 first tests went in 2025.

Passed first time
50 in every 100
Did not pass first time
50 in every 100373 failed first-attempt tests
The typical car
19 yearsabout 112,465 miles
First tests counted
741

What failed most often

  1. Individual sidelight or tail light (front)18 in every 100 failed tests
  2. Suspension mounting area (rear)17 in every 100 failed tests

How we count this. Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Only Class 4 cars on their first MOT of the year are counted. A car that fails and is fixed at the test station still counts as a fail in the first-attempt rate. These are raw results, not adjusted for age, mileage, or peer mix. The MOT does not test engine or gearbox internals.

Note:

These are patterns across 2006 Kia Sportage vehicles in 2025, not a prediction that any one car will have them. Faults are grouped by part of the car. They come from MOT defect codes, not manufacturer bulletins, recalls or a diagnosis of any one car.

Suspension

Three faults. The strongest is the suspension sub-frame mounting area (rear): 21 times as often as on similar cars.

Figures below are measured across the 373 failed first attempts in 2025 that had a mileage recorded, which allows a like-for-like comparison.

We only list faults with at least 20 failures and a rate of about 2.0 times that of similar cars, which keeps one-off results out of the list.

Suspension sub-frame mounting area (rear)

Failed on 24 first tests21 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

Structure around a sub-frame mounting that is so weakened that control of the vehicle is likely to be adversely affected is graded Dangerous, whether it is damaged, fractured, corroded or inadequately repaired. It is Major when strength is significantly reduced by excessive corrosion, damage or a fracture, or when it is inadequately repaired.

Suspension mounting area (rear)

Failed on 62 first tests3.3 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

What it means

The load bearing structure within a set distance of a sub-frame, spring or suspension component mounting is a prescribed area. Major applies when its strength or continuity is significantly reduced or it is inadequately repaired. Dangerous applies when it is so weakened that control of the vehicle is likely to be adversely affected.

Suspension arm ball joint (front)

Failed on 48 first tests2.3 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

A suspension arm ball joint is failed under the general suspension pin, bush or joint wording. Excessively worn is Major, and likely to become detached is graded Dangerous.

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage.

Body and structure

One fault: chassis condition (rear), 4.8 times as often as on similar cars.

Chassis condition (rear)

Failed on 25 first tests4.8 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

A main load-bearing structural member that is fractured, deformed, modified or inadequately repaired is Major when structural rigidity is significantly reduced, and Dangerous where steering or braking is likely to be adversely affected. Corrosion of the body, cab or chassis at a mounting point is Dangerous where overall security or stability is impaired.

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage.

Brakes

One fault: brake performance (roller test, front), 4.0 times as often as on similar cars.

Brake performance (roller test, front)

Failed on 29 first tests4.0 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

A wheel with no recorded braking effort on the roller test is graded Dangerous. Inadequate effort, a brake grabbing severely, abnormal lag and excessive fluctuation in effort are each Major. So is significant brake effort recorded with no brake applied, which indicates a binding brake.

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage.

Advisories

Other things testers noted as worn or close to failing, more often than on similar cars.

An advisory is a note from the tester about something that has not failed yet. It is an early warning, not a fail.

Brake discs (rear)

Noted on 59 first tests2.4 times as often as similar carsWear pattern

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Counts cover advisories recorded on failed first tests only, compared with cars of the same age and mileage.

MOT pass rates

How first tests ended, and how the pass rates are counted.

Passed first time
50in every 100
Passed on the first test.
Fixed at the station
7in every 100
Failed, then fixed at the test station the same day.
Failed
43in every 100
Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.

First-attempt pass 49.7% of 741 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 57.0%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 7 fixed and the 43 not fixed make the 50 in every 100 that did not pass first time.

Same model, other years

Passed first time in every 100, all tested in 2025.

4060801002006201020152020Newer cars
406080100200620102020Newer cars

Newer cars are younger, so look for a jump rather than the climb. A year earlier (2024), when these cars were a year younger, 48 in every 100 passed first time.

YearPassed first timeFirst tests
200549 in every 100781
2006 This car50 in every 100741
200749 in every 100858
200854 in every 1001,057
200954 in every 1001,731
201056 in every 1003,425
201158 in every 1006,761
201259 in every 10011,560
201361 in every 10016,520
201468 in every 10017,894
201571 in every 10019,807
201675 in every 10035,201
201779 in every 10034,934
201882 in every 10032,321
201983 in every 10031,668
202083 in every 10018,121
202185 in every 10025,840
202289 in every 10027,880

FAQs

Short answers about how to read this model-year guide.

With 741 first tests, there are too few to say whether the 2006 Kia Sportage differs from the model years either side. Its main cause of failure was Individual sidelight or tail light (front), about 18 in every 100 failed tests. In 2025, 49.7% of 741 first MOTs on the 2006 Kia Sportage passed first time (PRS: items fixed at the station the same day, counted as a fail). The official-style rate including PRS is 57.0%. Among 373 failed first-attempt MOT tests (test year 2025), Suspension sub-frame mounting area (rear) appears more often than on similar cars (6.4% of those tests; 24 observed failures; about 21× more often than similar cars). There is no single reliability score here; this is a pre-purchase checklist built from DVSA open data, not a guarantee for any individual car.
Ranked by how often they were actually recorded, the items that most often failed a 2006 Kia Sportage at the first attempt were Individual sidelight or tail light (front) (18.2%) and Suspension mounting area (rear) (16.6%), each as a share of the year's failed first attempts. That is what goes wrong most often on the car. The common faults table shows a different measure: faults that are unusual compared with similar cars.
Among failed first-attempt tests we highlight patterns that appear more often than on similar cars. Top example: Suspension sub-frame mounting area (rear) (6.4% of those tests; 24 observed failures; about 21× more often than similar cars). These are statistical signals, not a diagnosis of any individual car.
Suspension sub-frame mounting area (rear) shows up more often than on similar cars (6.4% of those tests; 24 observed failures; about 21× more often than similar cars). That does not prove a design fault. Age, mileage, and how the car was used still matter. Treat it as a pre-purchase checkpoint, not a manufacturer service bulletin.
Common MOT problem areas for the 2006 Kia Sportage include Suspension sub-frame mounting area (rear), Chassis condition (rear), Brake performance (roller test, front). These are the faults that stand out compared with similar cars, not a complete list of what can go wrong on any individual car.
Advisories flag issues noted at the test and are not a fail rate. We show advisory patterns that appear more often than on similar cars among failed first-attempt tests, separate from common failure rows. Use them as early-warning checks, not as a pass/fail score.
This page highlights MOT failure patterns for the 2006 Kia Sportage (registration year) using UK DVSA open data for the selected test year. Patterns are compared with cars of a similar age and mileage. It is a buyer checklist from MOT defect statistics, not a full service history or manufacturer service-bulletin list.
No. MOT tests do not cover engine internals, gearboxes, or many electronic modules. Patterns here come from MOT defect statistics only and should not be read as engine or gearbox reliability scores.

About this data

How this page is built and what it can (and can't) say.

These figures come from UK MOT open data for this model year. We surface common failure patterns against similar cars, not a full reliability score, and not a pass/fail verdict on any individual vehicle.

2024 2025

What we include

UK Class 4 cars only. Normal MOT tests (not retests); first test per vehicle per calendar year; results pass, PRS, or fail.

Same-day repairs

PRS means the car failed items that were fixed at the test station and then passed the same day. We count PRS as a first-attempt fail in headline rates so same-day repairs do not hide problems.

How we compare

We compare this model year with other Class 4 cars of similar age and mileage in the same test year. This model family is left out of the peer group so the car is not measured against itself.

What this does not cover

  • MOTs do not cover engine internals, gearboxes, or many electronics; this is not a full reliability score.
  • Common faults come from MOT defect stats, not manufacturer TSBs or recalls.
  • Age and mileage matching reduces, but does not remove, differences in how cars were used and maintained.
  • If the data for a car is too thin to say anything useful, we say so rather than guess.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

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