Common problems

Hyundai i20 common problems

What MOT testers find on the Hyundai i20: the parts that fail or get advisories most often at each age, against all cars of the same age. From 511,594 DVSA MOT tests taken 2022 to 2025.

MOT data updated 28 September 2026

At 9 years, the most tested age

Lights and electrics fails per 100 MOTs (n=52,995)10.0

All cars at 9 years (n=9,949,012)9.2

Tyres advisories and minor defects per 100 MOTs (n=52,995)24.9

All cars, same age (n=9,949,012)25.8

What stands out

Windscreen, wipers and mirrors fails show up on 5.6 of every 100 MOTs of a Hyundai i20 at 9 years old (n=52,995), against 4.0 for all cars of that age (n=9,949,012).
Suspension fails are less common: 5.1 per 100 MOTs against 7.9 for all cars at the same age.
The fail item testers record most often at 9 years: side/position light not working, on 3.2 per 100 MOTs (all cars 1.7).
The most common advisory or minor defect: tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge, on 13.4 per 100 MOTs.

Problems by part at 9 years

How many of every 100 MOTs found a fail, or an advisory or minor defect, in each area. A test with faults in two areas counts in both.

Hyundai i20 at 9 years (n=52,995) against all cars at 9 years (n=9,949,012). Per 100 MOTs.
Area	Fails	All cars	Advisories	All cars
Lights and electrics	10.0	9.2	5.2	4.5
Brakes	6.5	5.6	22.6	20.3
Windscreen, wipers and mirrors	5.6	4.0	3.4	3.7
Tyres	5.3	6.7	24.9	25.8
Suspension	5.1	7.9	8.4	14.9
Exhaust, emissions and leaks	1.9	2.4	2.0	3.1
Body and structure	0.9	2.3	1.1	2.9
Seat belts and airbags	0.8	0.6	0.4	0.4
Steering	0.4	1.8	0.7	2.1
Road wheels	0.2	0.4	0.3	0.7
Number plates and VIN	0.1	0.3	1.7	1.7

What testers fail most on the i20 at 9 years

Fail items on the Hyundai i20 at 9 years (n=52,995), per 100 MOTs, with all cars at the same age (n=9,949,012).
Item	Area	Per 100 MOTs	All cars	Typical repair (estimate)
Side/position light not working	Lights and electrics	3.2	1.7	£10 to £47 per lamp
Wipers not clearing screen	Windscreen, wipers and mirrors	2.3	1.7	£15 to £30 per blade
Washers: provides insufficient washer liquid	Windscreen, wipers and mirrors	2.2	1.3	£2 to £14 per car (rough guide)
Suspension arm ball joint dust cover: ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt	Suspension	2.1	0.4	£75 to £237 per side (rough guide)
Brake pads under 1.5 mm	Brakes	2.0	2.0	£72 to £174 per axle (rough guide)
Tyre tread below 1.6 mm	Tyres	1.8	2.5	£88 to £145 per tyre
Brake light not working	Lights and electrics	1.5	1.7	£10 to £47 per lamp
Malfunction indicator lamp: inoperative or indicates a malfunction	Exhaust, emissions and leaks	1.2	0.8	diagnosis from £39 (rough guide)
Headlamp aim: projected beam image is obviously incorrect	Lights and electrics	1.2	0.8	£16 to £39 per car (rough guide)
Dipped headlight not working	Lights and electrics	1.2	1.5	£18 to £86 per lamp

Early warnings: advisories and minor defects at 9 years

Advisories and minor defects are recorded, but the car still passes. Across all cars, a part with an advisory or minor defect failed at the next MOT 5.5 times in 100 (n=88,666,940 pairs of consecutive MOTs), against 0.3 times in 100 when the same part had none (n=12,936,860,350).

Advisories and minor defects on the Hyundai i20 at 9 years (n=52,995), per 100 MOTs, with all cars at the same age (n=9,949,012).
Item	Area	Per 100 MOTs	All cars	If it needs replacing (estimate)
Tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge	Tyres	13.4	16.4	£88 to £145 per tyre
Tyre condition: slightly damaged/cracking or perishing	Tyres	11.7	8.5	£88 to £145 per tyre
Brake pads: wearing thin	Brakes	9.6	8.3	£72 to £174 per axle (rough guide)
Brake discs: worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened	Brakes	8.1	9.2	£148 to £376 per axle (rough guide)
Rigid brake pipes: corroded, covered in grease or other material	Brakes	4.7	2.1	£137 to £392 per car (rough guide)
Registration plate lamp(s): inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources	Lights and electrics	2.8	2.5
Brake discs: worn, but not excessively	Brakes	2.4	2.7	£148 to £376 per axle (rough guide)
Child Seat fitted not allowing full inspection of adult belt	Other	2.3	2.3
Suspension arm ball joint dust cover: ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated	Suspension	2.3	0.7
Suspension arm pins and bushes: pin or bush worn but not resulting in excessive movement	Suspension	1.8	4.9	£92 to £237 per arm (rough guide)

Repair estimates are a guide for an independent garage: labour at the national median local garage rate (median £78 an hour from 65 garages, ONS price quotes) times estimated labour hours, plus a parts band. Labour hours and most parts bands are estimates, not quotes, and prices vary by model, engine and region. A warning light fault shows the cost of the diagnosis only.

How problems change with age

Fails per 100 MOTs in the three most common areas at 9 years. Ages with fewer than 1,000 tests are not shown.
Age	Tests (n)	Lights and electrics	Brakes	Windscreen, wipers and mirrors
3 years	25,583	2.4	0.9	6.5
4 years	26,573	2.7	1.3	4.9
5 years	32,247	3.3	1.9	5.1
6 years	41,884	3.8	3.0	5.4
7 years	47,378	4.7	3.8	5.2
8 years	51,949	6.6	5.0	5.2
9 years	52,995	10.0	6.5	5.6
10 years	48,881	13.4	8.2	6.7
11 years	45,776	16.3	10.2	7.2
12 years	42,754	18.1	12.8	8.1
13 years	39,831	19.6	13.6	8.0
14 years	28,900	20.3	14.2	8.7
15 years	18,333	21.3	13.8	8.9
16 years	8,510	24.5	11.7	8.6

Mileage

At 9 years, Hyundai i20 cars showing under 30,000 miles failed 12.5% of MOTs (n=6,781); the band that failed most, 90,000 to 120,000 miles, failed 36.8% (n=4,388). For pass and fail rates by age, see Hyundai i20 MOT fail rates.

What to check on a viewing

On the Hyundai i20, testers most often record side/position light not working; wipers not clearing screen; washers: provides insufficient washer liquid. Look at these first, then the areas below.

Lights and electrics

With someone outside, try every light: dipped and main beam, indicators, brake lights, fog lights and number plate lamps.
Check that the warning lights come on with the ignition and go out once the engine runs.
Look for misted, cracked or yellowed headlamp lenses.

Brakes

On the test drive the car should stop in a straight line without pulling, juddering or grinding.
Look at the discs through the wheels for a deep lip, heavy rust or scoring.
Check that the handbrake or electronic parking brake holds the car on a slope.
Ask when the pads, discs and brake fluid were last changed, and for the receipts.

Windscreen, wipers and mirrors

Look for chips or cracks in the windscreen, above all in front of the driver.
Run the wipers and washers: they should clear the screen without smearing.
Check that the mirrors are present, secure and not cracked.

Ask for the car's MOT history and service record: advisories that repeat from one year to the next show what has been left. GOV.UK MOT history.

Questions

What are the most common problems on the Hyundai i20?

At 9 years, the age with the most MOT tests (52,995), the fail items testers record most often on the Hyundai i20 are side/position light not working (3.2 per 100 MOTs), wipers not clearing screen (2.3 per 100 MOTs), washers: provides insufficient washer liquid (2.2 per 100 MOTs). The most common advisories or minor defects are tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge (13.4) and tyre condition: slightly damaged/cracking or perishing (11.7).

Which parts of the Hyundai i20 fail more often than on other cars?

At 9 years: windscreen, wipers and mirrors (5.6 per 100 MOTs against 4.0 for all cars). Compared with 9,949,012 MOTs of all cars the same age.

Hyundai i20 problems by area

Other Hyundai models

All Hyundai models · Common problems by make

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.

The all cars figures cover all class 4 vehicles (cars and light vans) tested at the same age.

Looking at a Hyundai i20?

These figures describe the model, not the car in front of you. Found one you might buy? See what the VetTheCar Buying Report covers, or use the tools that work without a registration.

See a sample report Car tools · MOT fail rates by model · Compare models by MOT record

Repair estimates: ONS consumer price quotes for local garage labour (09/2025 to 08/2026), the MOT inspection manual for defect wording, and estimated labour hours and parts bands. Not affiliated with or endorsed by ONS.

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 28 September 2026.

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