Common problems

Kia Ceed common problems

What MOT testers find on the Kia Ceed: the parts that fail or get advisories most often at each age, against all cars of the same age. From 487,429 DVSA MOT tests taken 2022 to 2025.

MOT data updated 28 September 2026

At 10 years, the most tested age

Lights and electrics fails per 100 MOTs (n=46,165)12.8

All cars at 10 years (n=9,049,507)11.2

Tyres advisories and minor defects per 100 MOTs (n=46,165)27.7

All cars, same age (n=9,049,507)26.4

What stands out

Steering fails show up on 8.7 of every 100 MOTs of a Kia Ceed at 10 years old (n=46,165), against 2.1 for all cars of that age (n=9,049,507).
Exhaust, emissions and leaks fails are less common: 1.0 per 100 MOTs against 2.8 for all cars at the same age.
The fail item testers record most often at 10 years: steering track rod end: ball joint play, on 7.5 per 100 MOTs (all cars 1.3).
The most common advisory or minor defect: tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge, on 18.6 per 100 MOTs.

Problems by part at 10 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.

Kia Ceed at 10 years (n=46,165) against all cars at 10 years (n=9,049,507). Per 100 MOTs.
Area	Fails	All cars	Advisories	All cars
Lights and electrics	12.8	11.2	7.9	5.9
Brakes	10.4	6.5	25.1	21.6
Steering	8.7	2.1	5.6	2.4
Suspension	8.7	9.7	17.4	18.2
Tyres	7.1	6.9	27.7	26.4
Windscreen, wipers and mirrors	5.1	4.4	3.7	3.9
Body and structure	1.2	2.9	2.4	3.9
Exhaust, emissions and leaks	1.0	2.8	2.0	4.0
Seat belts and airbags	0.4	0.7	0.3	0.4
Road wheels	0.4	0.4	0.8	0.8
Number plates and VIN	0.3	0.3	2.3	2.0

What testers fail most on the Ceed at 10 years

Fail items on the Kia Ceed at 10 years (n=46,165), per 100 MOTs, with all cars at the same age (n=9,049,507).
Item	Area	Per 100 MOTs	All cars	Typical repair (estimate)
Steering track rod end: ball joint play	Steering	7.5	1.3	£54 to £128 per side (rough guide)
Side/position light not working	Lights and electrics	3.2	2.4	£10 to £47 per lamp
Tyre tread below 1.6 mm	Tyres	3.1	2.7	£88 to £145 per tyre
Brake pads under 1.5 mm	Brakes	3.0	2.1	£72 to £174 per axle (rough guide)
Dipped headlight not working	Lights and electrics	2.8	1.7	£18 to £86 per lamp
Handbrake too weak	Brakes	2.8	1.0
Suspension arm bush worn	Suspension	2.3	1.4	£92 to £237 per arm (rough guide)
Brake light not working	Lights and electrics	2.2	2.0	£10 to £47 per lamp
Wipers not clearing screen	Windscreen, wipers and mirrors	2.1	1.8	£15 to £30 per blade
Service brake performance: excessively binding	Brakes	2.0	0.7	£55 to £267 per wheel (rough guide)

Early warnings: advisories and minor defects at 10 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 Kia Ceed at 10 years (n=46,165), per 100 MOTs, with all cars at the same age (n=9,049,507).
Item	Area	Per 100 MOTs	All cars	If it needs replacing (estimate)
Tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge	Tyres	18.6	17.0	£88 to £145 per tyre
Brake discs: worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened	Brakes	12.2	9.6	£148 to £376 per axle (rough guide)
Brake pads: wearing thin	Brakes	10.6	8.1	£72 to £174 per axle (rough guide)
Tyre condition: slightly damaged/cracking or perishing	Tyres	8.5	8.6	£88 to £145 per tyre
Suspension arm pins and bushes: pin or bush worn but not resulting in excessive movement	Suspension	8.2	5.8	£92 to £237 per arm (rough guide)
Registration plate lamp(s): inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources	Lights and electrics	5.3	3.2
Track rod end: ball joint has slight play	Steering	5.0	1.1	£54 to £128 per side (rough guide)
Service brake performance: binding but not excessively	Brakes	3.5	1.3	£55 to £267 per wheel (rough guide)
Child Seat fitted not allowing full inspection of adult belt	Other	3.1	2.2
Brake discs: worn, but not excessively	Brakes	2.5	2.7	£148 to £376 per axle (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 10 years. Ages with fewer than 1,000 tests are not shown.
Age	Tests (n)	Lights and electrics	Brakes	Steering
3 years	26,632	2.7	1.5	0.1
4 years	29,333	2.6	2.3	0.1
5 years	32,623	3.3	3.3	0.2
6 years	37,993	4.5	3.9	0.3
7 years	39,161	6.3	4.9	0.6
8 years	41,052	7.9	6.7	3.3
9 years	43,792	9.9	8.4	6.8
10 years	46,165	12.8	10.4	8.7
11 years	42,082	16.6	12.5	9.3
12 years	39,545	20.8	13.8	7.6
13 years	35,692	24.5	14.8	6.2
14 years	28,726	27.5	16.8	6.1
15 years	22,879	27.6	17.0	7.4
16 years	13,614	28.2	17.5	7.1
17 years	6,137	30.3	19.3	7.6
18 years	2,003	27.7	19.2	8.5

Mileage

At 10 years, Kia Ceed cars showing under 30,000 miles failed 18.6% of MOTs (n=1,259); the band that failed most, over 150,000 miles, failed 43.9% (n=1,619). For pass and fail rates by age, see Kia Ceed MOT fail rates.

What to check on a viewing

On the Kia Ceed, testers most often record steering track rod end: ball joint play; side/position light not working; tyre tread below 1.6 mm. 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.

Steering

The steering should feel tight with no clunks when you turn from lock to lock.
On a straight road the car should hold its line without constant correction.
Look for split rubber gaiters on the steering rack and track rod ends.

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 Kia Ceed?

At 10 years, the age with the most MOT tests (46,165), the fail items testers record most often on the Kia Ceed are steering track rod end: ball joint play (7.5 per 100 MOTs), side/position light not working (3.2 per 100 MOTs), tyre tread below 1.6 mm (3.1 per 100 MOTs). The most common advisories or minor defects are tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge (18.6) and brake discs: worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened (12.2).

Which parts of the Kia Ceed fail more often than on other cars?

At 10 years: steering (8.7 per 100 MOTs against 2.1 for all cars); brakes (10.4 per 100 MOTs against 6.5 for all cars); lights and electrics (12.8 per 100 MOTs against 11.2 for all cars). Compared with 9,049,507 MOTs of all cars the same age.

Kia Ceed problems by area

Other Kia models

All Kia 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 Kia Ceed?

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