Common problems

Kia Sorento common problems

What MOT testers find on the Kia Sorento: the parts that fail or get advisories most often at each age, against all cars of the same age. From 147,328 DVSA MOT tests taken 2022 to 2025.

MOT data updated 28 September 2026

At 8 years, the most tested age

Brakes fails per 100 MOTs (n=13,235)6.1

All cars at 8 years (n=10,440,457)4.8

Tyres advisories and minor defects per 100 MOTs (n=13,235)25.3

All cars, same age (n=10,440,457)25.2

What stands out

Steering fails show up on 3.2 of every 100 MOTs of a Kia Sorento at 8 years old (n=13,235), against 1.2 for all cars of that age (n=10,440,457).
Lights and electrics fails are less common: 4.9 per 100 MOTs against 7.3 for all cars at the same age.
The fail item testers record most often at 8 years: brake pads under 1.5 mm, on 3.5 per 100 MOTs (all cars 2.0).
The most common advisory or minor defect: tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge, on 18.3 per 100 MOTs.

Problems by part at 8 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 Sorento at 8 years (n=13,235) against all cars at 8 years (n=10,440,457). Per 100 MOTs.
Area	Fails	All cars	Advisories	All cars
Brakes	6.1	4.8	23.0	19.1
Tyres	5.9	6.3	25.3	25.2
Suspension	5.6	6.1	12.9	11.8
Lights and electrics	4.9	7.3	2.2	3.4
Steering	3.2	1.2	1.9	1.5
Windscreen, wipers and mirrors	2.4	3.7	3.4	3.4
Exhaust, emissions and leaks	1.9	2.1	2.2	2.3
Body and structure	0.8	1.8	0.6	2.2
Number plates and VIN	0.3	0.3	2.3	1.4
Seat belts and airbags	0.3	0.5	0.3	0.3
Road wheels	0.3	0.3	under 0.1	0.7

What testers fail most on the Sorento at 8 years

Fail items on the Kia Sorento at 8 years (n=13,235), per 100 MOTs, with all cars at the same age (n=10,440,457).
Item	Area	Per 100 MOTs	All cars	Typical repair (estimate)
Brake pads under 1.5 mm	Brakes	3.5	2.0	£72 to £174 per axle (rough guide)
Steering track rod end: ball joint play	Steering	2.5	0.7	£54 to £128 per side (rough guide)
Tyre tread below 1.6 mm	Tyres	2.1	2.3	£88 to £145 per tyre
Suspension arm bush worn	Suspension	1.8	0.9	£92 to £237 per arm (rough guide)
Tyre condition: has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords	Tyres	1.6	1.3	£88 to £145 per tyre
Tyre with cords exposed	Tyres	1.5	1.2	£88 to £145 per tyre
Wipers not clearing screen	Windscreen, wipers and mirrors	1.5	1.7	£15 to £30 per blade
Malfunction indicator lamp: inoperative or indicates a malfunction	Exhaust, emissions and leaks	1.4	0.6	diagnosis from £39 (rough guide)
Suspension ball joint worn	Suspension	1.3	1.0	£75 to £237 per side (rough guide)
Headlamp aim: too low	Lights and electrics	0.9	1.0	£16 to £39 per car (rough guide)

Early warnings: advisories and minor defects at 8 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 Sorento at 8 years (n=13,235), per 100 MOTs, with all cars at the same age (n=10,440,457).
Item	Area	Per 100 MOTs	All cars	If it needs replacing (estimate)
Tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge	Tyres	18.3	15.7	£88 to £145 per tyre
Brake pads: wearing thin	Brakes	14.1	8.6	£72 to £174 per axle (rough guide)
Brake discs: worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened	Brakes	6.8	8.6	£148 to £376 per axle (rough guide)
Tyre condition: slightly damaged/cracking or perishing	Tyres	5.7	8.6	£88 to £145 per tyre
Suspension arm pins and bushes: pin or bush worn but not resulting in excessive movement	Suspension	5.6	4.0	£92 to £237 per arm (rough guide)
Brake discs: worn, but not excessively	Brakes	3.8	2.7	£148 to £376 per axle (rough guide)
Child Seat fitted not allowing full inspection of adult belt	Other	3.2	2.3
Rigid brake pipes: corroded, covered in grease or other material	Brakes	3.0	1.4	£137 to £392 per car (rough guide)
Tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge	Tyres	2.5	2.1	£88 to £145 per tyre
Shock absorbers: has light misting of oil	Suspension	2.5	2.8	£122 to £484 per axle (pair) (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 8 years. Ages with fewer than 1,000 tests are not shown.
Age	Tests (n)	Brakes	Tyres	Suspension
3 years	8,615	1.0	3.6	1.1
4 years	9,272	2.2	4.2	1.8
5 years	9,865	3.6	5.0	2.9
6 years	11,829	4.8	5.1	4.1
7 years	13,064	5.0	5.6	4.7
8 years	13,235	6.1	5.9	5.6
9 years	12,289	7.2	6.0	7.8
10 years	11,054	8.4	6.5	10.3
11 years	8,757	9.9	7.4	14.0
12 years	7,737	12.3	7.0	17.0
13 years	7,002	14.8	6.6	17.9
14 years	6,046	17.3	6.6	18.1
15 years	5,922	19.8	6.0	17.5
16 years	6,591	21.4	5.8	19.0
17 years	6,130	21.4	5.4	18.3
18 years	5,115	21.6	4.8	20.5
19 years	3,355	20.8	5.6	20.7
20 years	1,450	21.4	4.8	20.3

Mileage

At 8 years, Kia Sorento cars showing 30,000 to 60,000 miles failed 17.4% of MOTs (n=4,128); the band that failed most, 90,000 to 120,000 miles, failed 30.3% (n=2,211). For pass and fail rates by age, see Kia Sorento MOT fail rates.

What to check on a viewing

On the Kia Sorento, testers most often record brake pads under 1.5 mm; steering track rod end: ball joint play; tyre tread below 1.6 mm. Look at these first, then the areas below.

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.

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.

Suspension

Listen for knocks or clonks over speed bumps and rough roads on the test drive.
Push down hard on each corner: the car should settle at once rather than keep bouncing.
Look behind the wheels for broken or heavily rusted coil springs and split rubber bushes.
Check that the car sits level and that no tyre is worn on one edge only.

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 Sorento?

At 8 years, the age with the most MOT tests (13,235), the fail items testers record most often on the Kia Sorento are brake pads under 1.5 mm (3.5 per 100 MOTs), steering track rod end: ball joint play (2.5 per 100 MOTs), tyre tread below 1.6 mm (2.1 per 100 MOTs). The most common advisories or minor defects are tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge (18.3) and brake pads: wearing thin (14.1).

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

At 8 years: steering (3.2 per 100 MOTs against 1.2 for all cars); brakes (6.1 per 100 MOTs against 4.8 for all cars). Compared with 10,440,457 MOTs of all cars the same age.

Kia Sorento 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 Sorento?

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