Common problems

Kia Picanto common problems

What MOT testers find on the Kia Picanto: the parts that fail or get advisories most often at each age, against all cars of the same age. From 730,252 DVSA MOT tests taken 2022 to 2025.

MOT data updated 28 September 2026

At 6 years, the most tested age

Windscreen, wipers and mirrors fails per 100 MOTs (n=60,091)5.3

All cars at 6 years (n=10,382,720)3.3

Tyres advisories and minor defects per 100 MOTs (n=60,091)26.2

All cars, same age (n=10,382,720)24.3

What stands out

Windscreen, wipers and mirrors fails show up on 5.3 of every 100 MOTs of a Kia Picanto at 6 years old (n=60,091), against 3.3 for all cars of that age (n=10,382,720).
The fail item testers record most often at 6 years: wipers not clearing screen, on 3.3 per 100 MOTs (all cars 1.8).
The most common advisory or minor defect: tyre condition: slightly damaged/cracking or perishing, on 16.3 per 100 MOTs.

Problems by part at 6 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 Picanto at 6 years (n=60,091) against all cars at 6 years (n=10,382,720). Per 100 MOTs.
Area	Fails	All cars	Advisories	All cars
Windscreen, wipers and mirrors	5.3	3.3	2.6	3.1
Tyres	5.1	5.6	26.2	24.3
Lights and electrics	4.1	4.7	0.8	1.9
Brakes	3.1	3.5	12.5	16.9
Suspension	2.1	2.9	3.0	6.1
Body and structure	1.1	0.8	0.3	1.2
Exhaust, emissions and leaks	0.4	1.3	0.4	1.2
Steering	0.4	0.5	1.6	0.8
Seat belts and airbags	0.3	0.4	0.6	0.2
Number plates and VIN	0.1	0.2	0.7	1.0
Road wheels	0.1	0.2	0.7	0.6

What testers fail most on the Picanto at 6 years

Fail items on the Kia Picanto at 6 years (n=60,091), per 100 MOTs, with all cars at the same age (n=10,382,720).
Item	Area	Per 100 MOTs	All cars	Typical repair (estimate)
Wipers not clearing screen	Windscreen, wipers and mirrors	3.3	1.8	£15 to £30 per blade
Daytime running lamps: not working	Lights and electrics	1.7	0.1
Tyre condition: has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords	Tyres	1.5	1.4	£88 to £145 per tyre
Washers: provides insufficient washer liquid	Windscreen, wipers and mirrors	1.3	0.9	£2 to £14 per car (rough guide)
Brake pads under 1.5 mm	Brakes	1.2	1.9	£72 to £174 per axle (rough guide)
Tyre tread below 1.6 mm	Tyres	1.1	2.0	£88 to £145 per tyre
Tyre condition: has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure	Tyres	0.9	0.4	£88 to £145 per tyre
Pipe: insecure	Body and structure	0.9	under 0.1
Suspension ball joint worn	Suspension	0.8	0.4	£75 to £237 per side (rough guide)
Washers: not working	Windscreen, wipers and mirrors	0.8	0.4	£28 to £118 per car (rough guide)

Early warnings: advisories and minor defects at 6 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 Picanto at 6 years (n=60,091), per 100 MOTs, with all cars at the same age (n=10,382,720).
Item	Area	Per 100 MOTs	All cars	If it needs replacing (estimate)
Tyre condition: slightly damaged/cracking or perishing	Tyres	16.3	9.2	£88 to £145 per tyre
Tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge	Tyres	10.0	14.3	£88 to £145 per tyre
Brake pads: wearing thin	Brakes	6.7	9.3	£72 to £174 per axle (rough guide)
Brake discs: worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened	Brakes	4.1	7.3	£148 to £376 per axle (rough guide)
Brake discs: worn, but not excessively	Brakes	2.2	2.5	£148 to £376 per axle (rough guide)
Tyre condition: has a cut but not deep enough to reach the ply or cords	Tyres	1.8	1.6	£88 to £145 per tyre
Track rod end: ball joint has slight play	Steering	1.5	0.3	£54 to £128 per side (rough guide)
Suspension arm pins and bushes: pin or bush worn but not resulting in excessive movement	Suspension	1.5	2.1	£92 to £237 per arm (rough guide)
Wipers: blade defective	Windscreen, wipers and mirrors	1.4	1.1
Nail in tyre	Other	1.4	2.0

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 6 years. Ages with fewer than 1,000 tests are not shown.
Age	Tests (n)	Windscreen, wipers and mirrors	Tyres	Lights and electrics
3 years	48,015	4.5	3.9	2.3
4 years	53,804	5.5	4.0	2.8
5 years	56,338	5.7	4.4	3.4
6 years	60,091	5.3	5.1	4.1
7 years	56,214	4.8	5.9	3.9
8 years	54,354	4.9	6.4	4.2
9 years	54,021	5.2	6.8	6.4
10 years	54,834	5.5	6.7	8.6
11 years	51,857	6.1	7.2	11.9
12 years	50,744	6.7	7.3	13.5
13 years	50,938	7.7	8.0	15.0
14 years	40,396	8.4	8.1	15.9
15 years	32,053	9.1	8.2	16.4
16 years	23,622	9.7	8.3	18.4
17 years	15,284	10.3	8.3	19.4
18 years	13,012	10.5	8.9	20.8
19 years	8,801	11.4	9.2	21.1
20 years	4,524	11.1	8.9	21.5
21 years	1,350	11.0	8.3	22.7

Mileage

At 6 years, Kia Picanto cars showing under 30,000 miles failed 13.1% of MOTs (n=33,574); the band that failed most, 60,000 to 90,000 miles, failed 29.6% (n=2,976). For pass and fail rates by age, see Kia Picanto MOT fail rates.

What to check on a viewing

On the Kia Picanto, testers most often record wipers not clearing screen; daytime running lamps: not working; tyre condition: has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords. Look at these first, then the areas below.

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.

Tyres

Check the tread across the full width of all four tyres, and the spare if there is one.
Look for cuts, bulges and cracking in the sidewalls.
Wear on one edge only can point to worn suspension or the tracking being out.

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.

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 Picanto?

At 6 years, the age with the most MOT tests (60,091), the fail items testers record most often on the Kia Picanto are wipers not clearing screen (3.3 per 100 MOTs), daytime running lamps: not working (1.7 per 100 MOTs), tyre condition: has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords (1.5 per 100 MOTs). The most common advisories or minor defects are tyre condition: slightly damaged/cracking or perishing (16.3) and tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge (10.0).

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

At 6 years: windscreen, wipers and mirrors (5.3 per 100 MOTs against 3.3 for all cars). Compared with 10,382,720 MOTs of all cars the same age.

Kia Picanto 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 Picanto?

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