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Kia Soul 2012: MOT failure rate for its age

34.2% of 9,940 MOT tests of the Kia Soul first registered in 2012 failed at the first attempt (2019–2024; retests excluded). Against this model's own normal rate at the same ages the index is 109.5 (95% CI 105.9–113.2; 100 = normal for this model at that age): the 2012 Kia Soul fails more often than other build years of the same model at the same age.

Kia Soul built in 2012 at a glance
MeasureValueUnitCompared withYearsTests
Failed first time34.2%all ages tested2019–20249940
Index against this model at the same age (95% CI 105.9–113.2)109.5index100 = normal for this model at that age2019–20249940
Rank among this model's 12 build years11of 121 = fails least for its age2019–20249940
Tested in 20241590testsmedian 75,525 miles20241590
line · Kia Soul built 2012 · first-time MOT failure share by age · built 2012 28.3% vs model normal 21% at age 7 · 2019–2024
Built 2012 against Kia Soul normal for the age: first-time MOT failure share at each age, age 7: 28.3% vs 21%; age 8: 28.6% vs 24.7%; age 9: 33% vs 29.9%; age 10: 37.7% vs 34.3%; age 11: 37.7% vs 38.3%; age 12: 40.6% vs 40.1%. Axis from 0% to 50%. DVSA MOT bulk data, 2019–2024.
Check a 2012 Kia Soul by registration · All Kia Soul MOT statistics · Download the build-year table (CSV)

Data release dvsa-2024-v2 (24 Sep 2026) · page updated 30 Sep 2026 · full dataset (v5).

How does the 2012 Kia Soul fail at each age?

Cars built in 2012 were tested at ages 7 to 12 between 2019 and 2024. Each row compares their first-time failure share with what this model normally shows at that age, after allowing for the overall failure level of each test year.

Kia Soul built 2012: first-time MOT failure by age, against the model's normal rate at that age (2019–2024)
AgeTestsFailed, %95% intervalNormal for this model at that age, %Index (100 = normal)
71,74528.326.2–30.521134.8
81,64428.626.5–30.924.7115.9
91,6623330.8–35.329.9110.3
101,65737.735.4–4034.3109.7
111,64237.735.4–40.138.398.4
121,59040.638.2–43.140.1101.2

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 9,940 (initial tests) · Method: normal rate = this model's first-time failure share at that age across its build years (cells of 400+ tests), adjusted for each test year's overall level; cells of 30+ tests, under 500 marked rough · Updated: 30 Sep 2026 · Release: dvsa-2024-v2 · CSV

What fails most on the 2012 Kia Soul?

The most common failure group on cars built in 2012 is suspension: 21.5 items per 100 first tests, against 9.2 across all build years of the Kia Soul. These counts are not age-adjusted: cars built in 2012 were tested at ages 7 to 12.

Failure items per 100 first tests, Kia Soul built 2012 against the Kia Soul in all build years (2019–2024, not age-adjusted)
Failure groupBuilt 2012, per 100All build years, per 100Items
Suspension21.59.22,133
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment13.511.11,339
Brakes13.3131,325
Steering12.68.61,257
Tyres9.68.3957

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 9,940 (initial tests of this build year) · Method: failure items grouped by DVSA's top-level defect groups, per 100 initial tests; groups with 30+ items · Updated: 30 Sep 2026 · Release: dvsa-2024-v2 · CSV

How does 2012 compare with the years around it?

Among the 12 published build years of the Kia Soul, 2012 ranks 11 (1 = fails least for its age). 2011: index 108.7. 2013: index 111.9.

Kia Soul build years: index against the model at the same age (2019–2024)
Build yearIndex (100 = normal)95% intervalVerdictTests
2009102.599.9–105.1no different14,234
2010103.1100.7–105.4worse18,623
2011108.7106.3–111.1worse21,114
2012109.5105.9–113.2worse9,940
2013111.9107.5–116.4worse7,885
201488.485.4–91.5better16,016
201586.383.0–89.5better15,700
201688.384.3–92.3better13,054
201791.786.4–96.9better8,891
201895.189.2–101.0no different7,917
2019103.586.0–120.9no different (rough estimate)1,045
202086.773.7–99.6better (rough estimate)1,754

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 136,173 (initial tests) · Method: observed failures against those expected for the same model at the same ages, test-year level adjusted; verdict follows the printed one-decimal bound · Updated: 30 Sep 2026 · Release: dvsa-2024-v2 · CSV

How to cite this page

MOT Risk Index (2026). Kia Soul 2012 MOT statistics (data release dvsa-2024-v2; full dataset motriskindex-families-2024-v5, DOI 10.5281/zenodo.22975051), updated 30 September 2026. motriskindex.co.uk/cars/kia-soul/2012/

How every figure is calculated: methodology. Age, test year and build year are tied together (age = test year − build year), so the test-year level is taken as observed, not estimated.

Other pages for this model

Kia Soul 2009 · Kia Soul 2010 · Kia Soul 2011 · Kia Soul 2013 · Kia Soul 2014 · Kia Soul 2015 · Kia Soul 2016 · Kia Soul 2017 · Kia Soul 2018 · Kia Soul 2019 · Kia Soul 2020 · Kia Soul in Norway · Kia Soul in Finland · Kia Soul in the Netherlands · Kia Soul by postcode area · Kia Soul body, chassis and structure failures · Kia Soul brakes failures · Kia Soul vehicle identification failures · Kia Soul lamps, reflectors and electrics failures · Kia Soul noise, emissions and leaks failures · Kia Soul road wheels failures · Kia Soul seat belts and airbags failures · Kia Soul steering failures · Kia Soul suspension failures · Kia Soul tyres failures · Kia Soul visibility failures