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MOT fail rates

Kia Sportage MOT fail rate by age

How often the Kia Sportage fails its MOT at each age, compared with all cars of the same age, and what it fails on. From 1,070,582 DVSA MOT tests taken 2022 to 2025.

MOT data updated

At 6 years, the most tested age

MOT fail rate at age 6 (n=141,166)17.4%
All cars at 6 years (n=10,382,720)17.8%
Median mileage at test47,128
All cars, median mileage44,951

187 of 340 model groups with enough tests fail less often at 6 years.

What stands out

  • At 3 years the Kia Sportage fails 14.0% of MOTs (111,057 tests), 1.9 points above the 12.1% for all cars that age. At 19 years it fails 47.7% (2,036 tests), 4.6 points above the 43.2% average.
  • The gap is widest at 17 years: 5.4 points above all cars.
  • Its most common structural or mechanical fail item at 6 years: Suspension arm bush worn, at 0.8 per 100 MOTs.

MOT fail rate by age

3 years 19 years 53.4%

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

Kia Sportage: 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 years14.0%111,05712.1%+1.9 pts23,069 miles
4 years14.6%113,88913.4%+1.3 pts30,157 miles
5 years16.3%122,98415.3%+1.0 pts38,260 miles
6 years17.4%141,16617.8%−0.4 pts47,128 miles
7 years19.5%129,09020.6%−1.1 pts56,031 miles
8 years22.5%114,12323.8%−1.2 pts64,727 miles
9 years26.6%95,36627.1%−0.5 pts72,758 miles
10 years31.3%71,22230.3%+1.0 pts80,531 miles
11 years35.2%57,63333.3%+1.9 pts88,656 miles
12 years38.5%42,62336.0%+2.5 pts95,346 miles
13 years40.0%27,15838.3%+1.8 pts100,788 miles
14 years42.5%15,99040.3%+2.2 pts103,957 miles
15 years45.9%9,82541.6%+4.4 pts103,987 miles
16 years47.3%6,95942.6%+4.7 pts106,991 miles
17 years48.5%5,85043.1%+5.4 pts108,735 miles
18 years48.6%3,61143.3%+5.3 pts109,988 miles
19 years47.7%2,03643.2%+4.6 pts108,983 miles

Most common fail items at 6 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 bush worn Major0.8
Steering track rod end: ball joint play Major0.6

Out of 141,166 MOTs. A test with two faults counts twice.

Wear and upkeep

Fail itemPer 100 MOTs
Brake pads under 1.5 mm Dangerous4.8
Tyre tread below 1.6 mm Dangerous4.5
Wipers not clearing screen Major3.4
Headlight aimed too high Major1.4
Tyre condition: has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords Major1.3
Washers: provides insufficient washer liquid Major0.9
Tyre with cords exposed Dangerous0.7
Headlamp aim: too low Major0.6

Out of 141,166 MOTs. A test with two faults counts twice.

Other models at 6 years

ModelMOT fail rateTests (n)All cars
Kia Picanto17.3%60,09117.8%
Kia Ceed18.5%37,99317.8%
Kia Rio17.0%27,71817.8%

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
200519 years in 202448.1%1,15943.2%
200618 years in 202449.2%1,07343.3%
200717 years in 202448.9%1,31443.1%
200817 years in 202544.4%1,12043.1%
200916 years in 202544.1%1,84542.6%
201015 years in 202543.0%3,65041.6%
201114 years in 202540.6%7,13040.3%
201213 years in 202540.0%12,13838.3%
201312 years in 202538.7%17,34536.0%
201411 years in 202531.3%18,74333.3%
201510 years in 202528.9%20,71430.3%
20169 years in 202524.5%36,75027.1%
20178 years in 202521.0%36,55123.8%
20187 years in 202517.8%33,80520.6%
20196 years in 202516.5%33,10517.8%
20205 years in 202516.3%18,99815.3%
20214 years in 202514.6%27,00713.4%
20223 years in 202511.2%29,46512.1%

More on the Kia Sportage

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 Sportage?

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