KIA RIO MOT failures and reliability

In 2023 the KIA RIO took 98,477 MOT tests in Britain and passed 70% of them first time, close to 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: 98,477
First-time pass rate: 70%
All cars: 71%

What the RIO fails on

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

Lights and electrics10.4% (all cars 11.3%)
Suspension8.0% (all cars 9.0%)
Brakes7.9% (all cars 6.8%)
Tyres7.0% (all cars 6.4%)
Visibility6.3% (all cars 4.8%)
Steering4.2% (all cars 1.8%)
Exhaust and emissions2.1% (all cars 3.1%)
Body and structure1.9% (all cars 3.5%)

Most common failure items

Share of tests on which each item was recorded.

Wipers: does not clear the windscreen effectively 3.2%
Track rod end: ball joint has excessive play 3.1%
Position lamp: not working 3.1%
Tread depth: tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm 3.1%
Ball joint dust cover: ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt 2.5%
Brake pads: less than 1.5 mm thick 2.2%
Suspension arms, ball joint: ball joint excessively worn 2.1%
Washers: provides insufficient washer liquid 1.8%

Most common advisories

Tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge 18.9%
Brake discs: worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened 10.7%
Tyres, condition: slightly damaged/cracking or perishing 10.0%
Brake pads: wearing thin 8.2%
Suspension arms, pins and bushes: pin or bush worn but not resulting in excessive movement 5.2%
Rigid brake pipes: corroded, covered in grease or other material 4.3%
Sub-frame: corroded but not seriously weakened 3.3%
Brake discs: worn, but not excessively 3.1%

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
2004	371	49%
2005	648	52%
2006	1,146	52%
2007	1,406	52%
2008	2,329	51%
2009	5,253	56%
2010	6,566	56%
2011	7,236	57%
2012	9,281	61%
2013	10,190	62%
2014	11,125	69%
2015	11,409	77%
2016	8,909	80%
2017	8,133	84%
2018	5,751	85%
2019	4,847	88%
2020	3,391	92%

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
3 years	19,103 miles
4 years	25,267 miles
5 years	32,947 miles
6 years	41,451 miles
7 years	45,784 miles
8 years	53,581 miles
9 years	62,917 miles
10 years	70,562 miles
11 years	78,595 miles
12 years	77,304 miles
13 years	81,197 miles
14 years	80,466 miles
15 years	88,036 miles
16 years	89,663 miles
17 years	90,491 miles
18 years	83,184 miles
19 years	68,608 miles
20 years	70,860 miles

Check a particular RIO

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.