KIA Carens MOT failures and reliability

In 2023 the KIA Carens took 15,999 MOT tests in Britain and passed 64% of them first time, below the national average of 71% for all cars. The figures below come from the DVSA's record of every test, so they show what testers actually found on these cars rather than what owners report.

MOT tests in 2023: 15,999
First-time pass rate: 64%
All cars: 71%

What the Carens fails on

Share of tests with at least one failure in each area, against the figure for all cars.

Lights and electrics13.8% (all cars 11.3%)
Brakes13.5% (all cars 6.8%)
Suspension10.0% (all cars 9.0%)
Tyres9.0% (all cars 6.4%)
Visibility5.3% (all cars 4.8%)
Exhaust and emissions3.0% (all cars 3.1%)
Body and structure2.9% (all cars 3.5%)
Seat belts and airbags1.9% (all cars 1.0%)

Most common failure items

Share of tests on which each item was recorded.

Stop lamp: not working 4.8%
Brake pads: less than 1.5 mm thick 4.6%
Rbt (sp): efficiency below requirements 3.9%
Headlamp: not working on dipped beam 2.9%
Tyres, condition: has ply or cords exposed 2.7%
Position lamp: not working 2.5%
Tread depth: tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm 2.5%
Wipers: does not clear the windscreen effectively 2.4%

Most common advisories

Tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge 21.6%
Brake pads: wearing thin 14.9%
Brake discs: worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened 13.1%
Tyres, condition: slightly damaged/cracking or perishing 9.7%
Suspension arms, pins and bushes: pin or bush worn but not resulting in excessive movement 5.5%
Rigid brake pipes: corroded, covered in grease or other material 4.5%
Non-component advisories: Child Seat fitted not allowing full inspection of adult belt 4.5%
Engine oil leaks: leak, but not excessive 4.4%

Pass rate by year of registration

Older cars fail more often whatever the model, so compare a car with others of the same age.

First registered	Tests	Pass rate
2006	371	41%
2007	575	46%
2008	1,222	48%
2009	1,300	52%
2010	367	55%
2011	394	49%
2013	1,426	64%
2014	2,246	67%
2015	2,179	70%
2016	1,802	73%
2017	1,846	74%
2018	1,632	78%

Typical mileage by age

Average odometer reading at the MOT, by the car's age in years at the test.

Age at test	Average mileage
5 years	42,766 miles
6 years	52,219 miles
7 years	60,737 miles
8 years	71,164 miles
9 years	78,675 miles
10 years	85,816 miles
11 years	90,698 miles
12 years	92,569 miles
13 years	95,409 miles
14 years	95,685 miles
15 years	100,216 miles
16 years	104,434 miles
17 years	94,364 miles
18 years	86,547 miles
19 years	78,327 miles

Check a particular Carens

Model figures tell you what to look out for. To see one car's own MOT history, mileage and tax, enter its registration.

Other KIA models

Source: Department for Transport, Anonymised MOT tests and results, 2023, cars and light vans, normal tests only. Pass rates are first-time passes; a pass after repair at the test station counts as a fail. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.