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MOT fail rates

Kia Rio MOT fail rate by age

How often the Kia Rio fails its MOT at each age, compared with all cars of the same age, and what it fails on. From 395,218 DVSA MOT tests taken 2022 to 2025.

MOT data updated

At 10 years, the most tested age

MOT fail rate at age 10 (n=42,207)33.1%
All cars at 10 years (n=9,049,507)30.3%
Median mileage at test66,528
All cars, median mileage75,043

207 of 309 model groups with enough tests fail less often at 10 years.

What stands out

  • At 3 years the Kia Rio fails 8.3% of MOTs (16,724 tests), 3.8 points below the 12.1% for all cars that age. At 20 years it fails 50.0% (1,053 tests), 7.3 points above the 42.8% average.
  • The gap is widest at 20 years: 7.3 points above all cars.
  • Its most common structural or mechanical fail item at 10 years: Suspension arm ball joint dust cover: ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt, at 5.3 per 100 MOTs.

MOT fail rate by age

3 years 20 years 55.1%

Solid line: this model. Dashed line: all cars at the same age.

Kia Rio: share of MOT tests that failed, by age, against all cars. Ages with fewer than 1,000 tests are not shown.
AgeMOT fail rateTests (n)All carsDifferenceMedian mileage
3 years8.3%16,72412.1%−3.8 pts18,170 miles
4 years12.6%17,70613.4%−0.8 pts23,858 miles
5 years15.2%22,22715.3%−0.1 pts30,979 miles
6 years17.0%27,71817.8%−0.8 pts37,542 miles
7 years18.9%34,29920.6%−1.8 pts44,339 miles
8 years23.3%39,61823.8%−0.5 pts51,487 miles
9 years28.2%41,74927.1%+1.0 pts58,466 miles
10 years33.1%42,20730.3%+2.7 pts66,528 miles
11 years37.7%37,66933.3%+4.5 pts72,930 miles
12 years40.9%32,92536.0%+4.9 pts77,704 miles
13 years42.8%27,82838.3%+4.5 pts80,352 miles
14 years44.9%20,44340.3%+4.6 pts81,033 miles
15 years45.8%14,23441.6%+4.2 pts83,197 miles
16 years47.2%9,06142.6%+4.7 pts84,788 miles
17 years48.9%4,82343.1%+5.8 pts86,884 miles
18 years48.0%3,01243.3%+4.8 pts82,086 miles
19 years49.1%1,92243.2%+5.9 pts75,968 miles
20 years50.0%1,05342.8%+7.3 pts69,402 miles

Most common fail items at 10 years

Split into structural or mechanical items and wear items. Wear items (tyres, brake pads, wipers, bulbs) say more about upkeep than about the design.

Structural and mechanical

Fail itemPer 100 MOTs
Suspension arm ball joint dust cover: ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt Major5.3
Suspension ball joint worn Major3.1
Handbrake too weak Major2.1

Out of 42,207 MOTs. A test with two faults counts twice.

Wear and upkeep

Fail itemPer 100 MOTs
Tyre tread below 1.6 mm Dangerous4.4
Side/position light not working Major3.3
Brake pads under 1.5 mm Dangerous3
Wipers not clearing screen Major2.9
Dipped headlight not working Major2.3
Washers: provides insufficient washer liquid Major2.3
Registration plate lamp(s): inoperative in the case of a single lamp or all lamps Major1.9

Out of 42,207 MOTs. A test with two faults counts twice.

Other models at 10 years

ModelMOT fail rateTests (n)All cars
Kia Sportage31.3%71,22230.3%
Kia Picanto30.2%54,83430.3%
Kia Ceed35.5%46,16530.3%

MOT fail rate by first-use year

Each year has its own page: the fail rate for cars first used that year at each MOT from 2022 to 2025 with at least 1,000 tests, the most common faults at that age, and the car tax and ULEZ rules for that year.

First-use year data updated .

Latest MOT age with at least 1,000 tests for each first-use year.
First usedAge at testMOT fail rateTests (n)All cars
200617 years in 202348.0%1,15343.1%
200717 years in 202450.9%1,17543.1%
200817 years in 202548.1%1,67043.1%
200916 years in 202545.5%4,19342.6%
201015 years in 202544.7%5,45141.6%
201114 years in 202544.9%6,39640.3%
201213 years in 202540.1%8,62838.3%
201312 years in 202538.3%9,62736.0%
201411 years in 202534.0%10,84033.3%
201510 years in 202525.6%11,37330.3%
20169 years in 202523.5%8,82927.1%
20178 years in 202518.6%8,04523.8%
20187 years in 202515.2%5,74220.6%
20196 years in 202516.0%4,86017.8%
20205 years in 202514.5%3,39815.3%
20214 years in 202513.4%3,66213.4%

More on the Kia Rio

Read this with care. A fail rate is not a measure of build quality. How far cars are driven, how they are used and how well owners maintain them all change it, and wear items such as tyres and brake pads are common fails. Compare a model only with cars of the same age. Methodology and limits.

Looking at one Kia Rio?

These are figures for the model, not for one car. The VetTheCar Buying Report looks at a single car: its MOT tests, defects, advisories and mileage readings.

See an example report Browse the car tools

Source

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data, class 4 normal MOT tests, 2022 to 2025. MOT data updated 22 September 2026.

Not affiliated with or endorsed by DVSA. How we calculate these figures · Data sources