2005 Toyota Corolla: MOT pass rate and reliability

70.8% of 2005 Toyota Corollas pass the MOT first time, measured across 11,341 DVSA tests on that model year alone. The average one had covered 107,018 miles.

How the 2005 compares

  • Against all Toyota Corollas (75.9%, 74,877 tests): -5.1 points
  • Against all 2005 cars (64.2%): +6.6 points
  • National first-time pass rate, all cars and years: 77%

Every Toyota Corolla model year

Pass rates fall as cars age, so the only fair comparison for a 2005 car is other cars of the same age. The full run for the Toyota Corolla:

Year Pass rate Tests Avg mileage
1997 69.6% 474 102,401
1998 66.3% 918 100,940
1999 68.2% 1,163 101,677
2000 69.9% 1,162 96,045
2001 71.4% 1,998 96,714
2002 68.4% 3,661 103,764
2003 66.1% 5,463 104,492
2004 66.3% 7,358 105,351
2005 70.8% 11,341 107,018
2006 72.4% 12,634 105,473
2007 73.1% 4,615 118,768
2008 74.7% 3,310 125,517
2009 74.8% 1,281 118,012
2019 92.6% 15,715 60,578
2020 94% 1,444 60,201
2021 93.6% 636 43,642
2022 91.5% 234 47,617

What this means if you are buying a 2005 Corolla

The 2005 is a weaker year for this model, passing 5.1 points less often than the Toyota Corolla average. Some of that is simply age, so compare it against the 2005 figure for all cars above rather than against newer examples. Check the exact car with the free MOT history checker before you buy, and run its VIN and mileage through our free VIN decoder and clocking check.

What a 21-year-old car fails on

A 2005 car is 21 years old now, and age drives the failure mix more than the badge does. Across all cars tested, these are the categories that actually cause failures:

  • Lights and electrical: 10.36% of all cars tested
  • Suspension: 8.65% of all cars tested
  • Tyres: 6.23% of all cars tested
  • Brakes: 6.1% of all cars tested
  • Visibility: wipers, washers, glass: 4.65% of all cars tested
  • Body, chassis and structure: 3.18% of all cars tested

That is above average and into the range where cambelts and water pumps are due if they have not already been done, so ask for the service history rather than take the mileage on trust. On a 2005 Toyota Corolla the average at test was 107,018 miles, so treat anything far above that as a car that has worked harder than its peers, and anything far below as one worth checking for the faults that come from standing still.

The strongest year for this model is 2020 at 94%, and the weakest in our data is 2003 at 66.1%. That 27.9 point spread across the model's life is why comparing a 2005 car against a newer one tells you very little.

Nearby model years

All Toyota Corolla MOT data · Every model