Kia Sportage MOT pass rate and common problems

Kia Sportage common problems: what should I check before buying?

The faults recorded most often at Kia Sportage MOTs in 2019–2024, per 100 tests.

• Tyre tread below the legal limit4.69
  Dangerous

  What to check: Check the tread across every tyre with a gauge; wear on one edge points to a tracking fault.

• Brake pads or shoes dangerously thin3.82
  Dangerous

  What to check: Look through the wheels at the pads and discs, listen for grinding, and ask when they were last replaced.

• Worn suspension bush or joint3.06
  Major

  What to check: Listen for knocks over speed bumps, feel for the car wandering under braking, and ask which part was replaced.

• Wiper missing or not clearing the screen2.31
  Major

  What to check: Wet the screen and run the wipers: they should clear the glass in front of the driver without streaks or juddering.

• One number plate light out1.82
  Minor

  What to check: Check every number plate light works with the sidelights on; a single dead bulb or LED is a cheap fix.

One test can record several defects, so this is not the share of Kia Sportages.

Each tip applies only if the car you are looking at has that fault in its own MOT history.

Which Kia Sportage years should I avoid?

2020 is the Kia Sportage year that fails its MOT most for its age; 2003 fails least.

Fails more for its age: 2007, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2020.

Fails less for its age: 2003, 2017, 2018.

Year means the year the car was first registered, as DVSA records it. It may differ from the year it was built.

How does the Kia Sportage compare with similar cars?

5 of 8 similar models fail less often for their age than the Kia Sportage.

This is a different comparison from the one at the top. There, the Kia Sportage is measured against all cars of the same age. Here, it sits among similar models. Both can be true.

How do Kia Sportages hold up as they get older?

First-time MOT failures on Kia Sportages go from 15.5% at age 3 to 49.5% at age 19.

Download every age and sample size (CSV)

Do advisories on Kia Sportages turn into fails at the next MOT?

19.2% of suspension advisories on Kia Sportages turned into suspension fails at the next MOT.

The next MOT came about 12 months later.

Based on 67,696 advisories, each followed to the car's next MOT, 2019–2024. This counts advisories, not cars.

The most common advisories on Kia Sportages are for tyres: 45.53 per 100 tests.

Download all advisory transitions (CSV)

Kia Sportage common problems: what actually fails the MOT?

Kia Sportage MOTs fail most often on brakes: 11.8 per 100 tests, against 6.7 for UK cars of the same age (2019–2024, n = 1,275,244).

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What is likely to fail next on a used Kia Sportage?

For Kia Sportages aged 3 to 5 whose last MOT was a pass, the item most likely to fail at the next MOT is visibility: 4.9% failed on it (2019–2024, n = 229,524).

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How often do Kia Sportages get a dangerous MOT defect?

The Kia Sportage gets a dangerous defect about as often as the UK average: 11.6 per 100 first tests against 11.2 across the UK. In the same tests, 28.0 major and 9.1 minor defects were recorded per 100 tests (one test can record several).

Severity was not recorded for some 2018–2021 tests.

Comparison: 11.2 per 100.

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How much do Kia Sportage MOT repairs cost?

Expected repair cost per Kia Sportage MOT: about £49 (up to about £92 if more expensive parts are needed), from the chance of failing each item and its most common UK repair price (catalogue estimate, n = 257,674).

Computed, not measured.

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What mileage is normal for a used Kia Sportage?

At age 8, the median Kia Sportage had covered 64,876 miles by its MOT; the middle half ranged from 51,353 to 79,437 miles (2024, n = 36,874).

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Do high-mileage Kia Sportages fail their MOT more often?

At ages 6–9, 13.6% of Kia Sportages with under 40,000 miles failed first time, against 36.1% of those with over 140,000 miles (2024, n = 23,774). Inside this age group, higher mileage goes with more failures.

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How many miles do Kia Sportages last?

9.6% of Kia Sportages tested had reached 100,000 miles, and 0.9% had reached 150,000 (2024, n = 121,373).

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Does mileage, as well as age, change the Kia Sportage failure index?

Matched on annual mileage as well as age, the Kia Sportage index is 98.0, against 100.5 on age alone (2019–2024, n = 257,674).

Comparison: 100.5 index.

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Which Kia Sportage fuel type fails its MOT less?

Diesel Kia Sportages fail first time more often than petrol ones, before allowing for age: 27.1% against 20.6%.

Comparison: other fuels.

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Which Kia Sportage engine fails its MOT least?

Among engines with enough tests, the best Kia Sportage engine is the diesel 1.8–2.0 litre at index 95.3, and the worst the diesel 1.5–1.8 litre at 105.5, where 100 = the model's own average (2024, n = 257,674).

Comparison: 100 = model average.

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Where in Britain does the Kia Sportage fail its MOT most?

Kia Sportage fails first-time MOTs most in Aberdeen (AB): 29.6% against 22.5% across Britain for this model, both 2019–2024 (2019–2024, n = 10,783).

Across Britain for this model: 22.5% failed first time, also in 2019–2024.

See every postcode area and its sample size

Does the Kia Sportage have rust problems?

Allowing for age, Kia Sportage MOTs record corrosion failures at 2.1 times the national rate: 1.59% of tests against 0.77% (2024 + geographic layers, n = 257,566).

Computed, not measured.

Comparison: 1 ratio estimate.

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What do six years of MOTs show about owning a used Kia Sportage?

Of failed Kia Sportage MOTs, 46.2% were retested the same day and a further 51.4% within 10 days; the median failed car passed its retest after 1 day (2019–2024, n = 216,494).

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Is low mileage good for a used Kia Sportage?

Kia Sportages aged 5 to 14 doing under 5,000 miles a year failed first time in 15.4% of tests, against 27.2% for those doing 8,000 to 12,000 miles (2019–2024, n = 92,688).

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How many years do Kia Sportages last?

Kia Sportages leave the road sooner than most: at ten years old the typical one has about 2.8 more years of MOTs ahead. This is a forecast from the survival curve and may not come true.

Computed, not measured.

Forecast, not a prediction for a particular car.

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How many Kia Sportages are still on the road as they age?

In 2024, for every 100 Kia Sportages tested at ages 4 to 6, about 1 were tested at age 19 (2024, n = 1,339).

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If a used Kia Sportage fails its MOT, will it fail the next one?

27% of Kia Sportages that failed an MOT failed the next one too, against 20.6% after a pass (2019–2024, n = 53,536). The failure most likely to come back is ‘lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment’: 33.9% of those fails recurred at the next MOT.

Comparison: 20.6 %.

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Which Kia Sportage faults tend to come together?

On Kia Sportages, ‘body, chassis, structure’ and ‘noise, emissions and leaks’ failures turn up together 15.8 times as often as chance would predict (2024, n = 2,542).

Comparison: expected joint rate.

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Kia Sportage safety recalls: how do I check this car?

DVSA lists 20 safety recall campaigns matched to the Kia Sportage; check whether yours has been fixed, using its registration number.

Computed, not measured.

Recall effects are computed comparisons, not causal findings; campaigns are not linked to individual VINs.

Check outstanding safety recalls by registration

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How many Kia Sportages fail the MOT at each age?

Of every 100 Kia Sportages tested at age 5, about 17 failed the MOT first time; at age 10, about 29. These are one-year rates for different cars tested in the same year, not a fleet followed over time; the steepest one-year step in this cross-section is between cars aged 10 and 11, 8.74 percentage points (2024).

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What have US dealers been told about the Kia Sportage?

NHTSA lists 339 US technical service bulletins for the Kia Sportage (US market, Kia SPORTAGE, model years 2015–2022 only); a count, not a UK failure rate.

Comparison: NHTSA.

NHTSA, US market, Kia SPORTAGE, model years 2015–2022 only; covers 211 of 761 models. These two sections use US records from NHTSA. US cars sold under the same name can differ from UK ones.

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What do US owners complain about on the Kia Sportage?

The most common US owner complaint about the Kia Sportage to NHTSA concerns engine (not MOT-tested): 625 complaints (US market, Kia SPORTAGE, model years 2015–2022 only).

NHTSA, US market, Kia SPORTAGE, model years 2015–2022 only; covers 211 of 761 models. These two sections use US records from NHTSA. US cars sold under the same name can differ from UK ones.

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Do Kia Sportages fail their MOT more in some months?

Kia Sportages fail first time most in November (24.1%, against 30.6% for all cars that month) and least in March (21.3%) (2024, n = 257,674).

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How far is real-world MPG from the lab figure for Kia cars?

Real-world fuel use of 2022 petrol cars from Kia Slovakia is 15.5% above the official WLTP figure: 7.09 against 6.14 litres per 100 km (2021+ cohorts, n = 28,828 vehicles).

Computed, not measured.

Plug-in hybrids: the lab figure assumes the battery is charged often; on the road many are driven mostly on petrol, so the gap is several times larger.

Comparison: 0% gap.

European Commission OBFCM; covers 19 of 761 models.

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More on the Kia Sportage

Overview:

Model overview · All Kia models

Build years:

2003 · 2005 · 2006 · 2007 · 2008 · 2009 · 2010 · 2011 · 2012 · 2013 · 2014 · 2015 · 2016 · 2017 · 2018 · 2019 · 2020

What fails:

body · brakes · plates · lights · emissions · wheels · seat belts · steering · suspension · tyres · visibility

Abroad:

Finland · the Netherlands · Norway

By area:

Postcode areas

Compare:

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