KIA Sorento MOT failures and reliability

In 2023 the KIA Sorento took 36,662 MOT tests in Britain and passed 69% 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: 36,662
First-time pass rate: 69%
All cars: 71%

What the Sorento fails on

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

Lights and electrics10.8% (all cars 11.3%)
Brakes10.6% (all cars 6.8%)
Suspension10.2% (all cars 9.0%)
Tyres5.9% (all cars 6.4%)
Steering4.7% (all cars 1.8%)
Body and structure4.0% (all cars 3.5%)
Visibility3.9% (all cars 4.8%)
Seat belts and airbags2.2% (all cars 1.0%)

Most common failure items

Share of tests on which each item was recorded.

Track rod end: ball joint has excessive play 3.4%
Brake pads: less than 1.5 mm thick 3.3%
Position lamp: not working 2.7%
Suspension arms, ball joint: ball joint excessively worn 2.6%
Tread depth: tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm 2.6%
Wipers: does not clear the windscreen effectively 2.2%
Rbt (sp): efficiency below requirements 2.0%
Linkage ball joints: ball joint excessively worn 1.8%

Most common advisories

Tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge 20.5%
Brake pads: wearing thin 13.1%
Rigid brake pipes: corroded, covered in grease or other material 8.1%
Brake discs: worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened 6.6%
Tyres, condition: slightly damaged/cracking or perishing 5.7%
Engine oil leaks: leak, but not excessive 4.9%
Suspension arms, pins and bushes: pin or bush worn but not resulting in excessive movement 4.9%
Linkage ball joints: ball joint has slight play 3.2%

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	781	49%
2005	1,277	52%
2006	2,300	51%
2007	1,557	54%
2008	1,113	52%
2009	1,472	54%
2010	1,987	58%
2011	1,705	61%
2012	1,978	60%
2013	2,178	67%
2014	2,941	70%
2015	4,004	77%
2016	3,153	78%
2017	3,116	81%
2018	2,771	84%
2019	2,784	84%
2020	1,179	87%

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	26,433 miles
4 years	33,915 miles
5 years	44,595 miles
6 years	53,135 miles
7 years	63,803 miles
8 years	71,771 miles
9 years	78,981 miles
10 years	89,228 miles
11 years	98,347 miles
12 years	103,422 miles
13 years	108,611 miles
14 years	101,822 miles
15 years	105,246 miles
16 years	110,118 miles
17 years	114,723 miles
18 years	114,185 miles
19 years	116,820 miles
20 years	116,576 miles

Check a particular Sorento

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.