MOT fail rates

Kia Soul MOT fail rate by age

How often the Kia Soul fails its MOT at each age, compared with all cars of the same age, and what it fails on. From 97,370 DVSA MOT tests taken 2022 to 2025.

MOT data updated 22 September 2026

At 13 years, the most tested age

MOT fail rate at age 13 (n=10,336)42.1%

All cars at 13 years (n=6,612,160)38.3%

Median mileage at test85,599

All cars, median mileage92,305

212 of 293 model groups with enough tests fail less often at 13 years.

What stands out

At 3 years the Kia Soul fails 9.0% of MOTs (3,262 tests), 3.0 points below the 12.1% for all cars that age. At 16 years it fails 48.0% (1,922 tests), 5.4 points above the 42.6% average.
It moves from below to above the all-car rate between 10 and 11 years.
Its most common structural or mechanical fail item at 13 years: Steering track rod end: ball joint play, at 15.4 per 100 MOTs.

MOT fail rate by age

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

Kia Soul: share of MOT tests that failed, by age, against all cars. Ages with fewer than 1,000 tests are not shown.
Age	MOT fail rate	Tests (n)	All cars	Difference	Median mileage
3 years	9.0%	3,262	12.1%	−3.0 pts	21,021 miles
4 years	11.9%	4,332	13.4%	−1.5 pts	25,421 miles
5 years	13.8%	4,927	15.3%	−1.5 pts	29,770 miles
6 years	14.2%	6,235	17.8%	−3.7 pts	35,470 miles
7 years	16.0%	8,435	20.6%	−4.6 pts	42,865 miles
8 years	17.8%	9,162	23.8%	−5.9 pts	50,248 miles
9 years	23.5%	8,731	27.1%	−3.7 pts	56,952 miles
10 years	29.2%	8,163	30.3%	−1.1 pts	63,327 miles
11 years	35.4%	9,085	33.3%	+2.1 pts	71,605 miles
12 years	40.9%	9,527	36.0%	+4.9 pts	79,162 miles
13 years	42.1%	10,336	38.3%	+3.9 pts	85,599 miles
14 years	43.7%	8,401	40.3%	+3.4 pts	90,884 miles
15 years	44.4%	4,852	41.6%	+2.8 pts	96,090 miles
16 years	48.0%	1,922	42.6%	+5.4 pts	99,533 miles

Most common fail items at 13 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 item	Per 100 MOTs
Steering track rod end: ball joint play Major	15.4
Rigid brake pipes: excessively corroded Major	3.7
Suspension ball joint worn Major	3.5
Handbrake too weak Major	2.7
Anti-roll bar link worn Major	2.6

Out of 10,336 MOTs. A test with two faults counts twice.

Wear and upkeep

Fail item	Per 100 MOTs
Side/position light not working Major	7.8
Tyre tread below 1.6 mm Dangerous	3.8
Wipers not clearing screen Major	3.5
Brake pads under 1.5 mm Dangerous	3.2
Washers: provides insufficient washer liquid Major	2.6

Out of 10,336 MOTs. A test with two faults counts twice.

Other models at 13 years

Model	MOT fail rate	Tests (n)	All cars
Kia Picanto	41.9%	50,938	38.3%
Kia Ceed	46.3%	35,692	38.3%
Kia Rio	42.8%	27,828	38.3%

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 28 September 2026.

Latest MOT age with at least 1,000 tests for each first-use year.
First used	Age at test	MOT fail rate	Tests (n)	All cars
2009	16 years in 2025	48.0%	1,922	42.6%
2010	15 years in 2025	43.2%	2,731	41.6%
2011	14 years in 2025	42.6%	3,200	40.3%
2012	13 years in 2025	40.9%	1,571	38.3%
2013	12 years in 2025	37.9%	1,286	36.0%
2014	11 years in 2025	27.5%	2,603	33.3%
2015	10 years in 2025	23.8%	2,564	30.3%
2016	9 years in 2025	21.6%	2,127	27.1%
2017	8 years in 2025	14.8%	1,696	23.8%
2018	7 years in 2025	15.3%	1,972	20.6%
2021	4 years in 2025	10.9%	1,128	13.4%

More on the Kia Soul

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 Soul?

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