Model Reports 5 min read Updated 18 Oct 2026

Hyundai i20 2010: reliability & common MOT faults

In 2025, 60 in every 100 first MOTs on a 2010 Hyundai i20 were passes. Most common reason for a fail: Individual sidelight or tail light (front).

Summary

A 2010 Hyundai i20 passed first time about 2 in every 100 more often than the average of the 2009 and 2011 model years.

At a glance

How 8,409 first tests went in 2025.

Passed first time
60 in every 100
Did not pass first time
40 in every 1003,393 failed first-attempt tests
The typical car
15 yearsabout 81,558 miles
First tests counted
8,409

What failed most often

  1. Individual sidelight or tail light (front)19 in every 100 failed tests
  2. Brake light9 in every 100 failed tests
  3. Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test)9 in every 100 failed tests

How we count this. Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Only Class 4 cars on their first MOT of the year are counted. A car that fails and is fixed at the test station still counts as a fail in the first-attempt rate. These are raw results, not adjusted for age, mileage, or peer mix. The MOT does not test engine or gearbox internals.

Note:

These are patterns across 2010 Hyundai i20 vehicles in 2025, not a prediction that any one car will have them. Faults are grouped by part of the car. A wear pattern follows age and use more than the way the car was built. They come from MOT defect codes, not manufacturer bulletins, recalls or a diagnosis of any one car.

Seat belts and restraints

One fault: airbag warning light, 5.4 times as often as on similar cars.

Figures below are measured across the 3,390 of 3,393 failed first attempts (99.9%) that recorded an odometer reading in 2025. Mileage is needed to compare like with like.

We only list faults with at least 20 failures and a rate of about 2.0 times that of similar cars, which keeps one-off results out of the list.

Airbag warning light

Failed on 240 first tests5.4 times as often as similar carsStrong evidence

What it means

The airbag warning lamp (SRS MIL in DVSA's wording) is failed only if it indicates a system malfunction, which is Major. A lamp lit to show the passenger airbag is disabled is not to be regarded as a defect. Dashboard messages are not a defect in their own right, though they can help the tester confirm a malfunction.

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage.

Brakes

Six faults and one wear pattern. The strongest is the brake imbalance across an axle (roller test, efficiency check, rear): 5.2 times as often as on similar cars.

Brake imbalance across an axle (roller test, efficiency check, rear)

Failed on 188 first tests5.2 times as often as similar carsStrong evidence

What it means

A wheel giving less than a set share of the maximum effort from the other wheel on the same axle is Major. On a steered axle, less than half is graded Dangerous. Testers disregard an imbalance if the lower effort is the result of a locked wheel, or if the higher effort from a wheel is at or below a low set figure.

Brake efficiency below minimum (roller test)

Failed on 95 first tests4.4 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

What it means

Service brake efficiency below the minimum requirement is Major, and efficiency less than half of the required value is graded Dangerous. On a roller brake tester, if more than half of the wheels of a brake system lock, the efficiency requirement for that system counts as met.

Handbrake lever

Failed on 99 first tests3.6 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

What it means

A parking brake lever pivot or ratchet mechanism that is obviously worn is graded Minor. It is Major when worn to the extent that the brake may inadvertently release, and also when the ratchet is not holding correctly. A lever must have obvious excessive travel before being rejected.

Brake discs (rear)

Failed on 120 first tests3.2 times as often as similar carsWear pattern

What it means

A brake disc or drum must be significantly worn before it is rejected, and being worn below the manufacturer's recommended limits is not a reason in itself. Significantly and obviously worn is Major, as is contamination with oil or grease. A disc or drum that is fractured, insecure, seriously weakened or missing is graded Dangerous.

Also noted as an advisory

Testers also noted it as an advisory, worn but not yet failing, on 484 first tests, 2.3 times as often as on similar cars.

Rigid brake pipes (rear)

Failed on 166 first tests3.0 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

What it means

Chafing, corrosion or damage to a rigid brake pipe justifies rejection once its wall thickness is reduced by a set amount, although DVSA accepts this is not easy to determine. If a tester is not sure, the benefit of the doubt applies. A leaking pipe or connection is graded Dangerous on a hydraulic system and Major on an air system.

Also noted as an advisory

Testers also noted it as an advisory, worn but not yet failing, on 519 first tests, 3.6 times as often as on similar cars.

Electronic stability control

Failed on 68 first tests2.6 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

An ESC warning lamp is failed only when the tester is certain it indicates an ESC malfunction, because the lamp takes various forms and the owner's handbook may need checking. The system is also called ESP, VDC or DSC, among many other names. Every failure row is Major, covering the lamp, wheel speed sensors, wiring, other components and the switch.

Brake performance (roller test, rear)

Failed on 237 first tests2.5 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

A wheel with no recorded braking effort on the roller test is graded Dangerous. Inadequate effort, a brake grabbing severely, abnormal lag and excessive fluctuation in effort are each Major. So is significant brake effort recorded with no brake applied, which indicates a binding brake.

Also noted as an advisory

Testers also noted it as an advisory, worn but not yet failing, on 230 first tests, 2.6 times as often as on similar cars.

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage. Advisories count notes recorded on failed first tests only.

Suspension

Two faults. The strongest is the macpherson strut (front): 5.0 times as often as on similar cars.

Macpherson strut (front)

Failed on 105 first tests5.0 times as often as similar carsStrong evidence

What it means

Many MacPherson strut top bushes are designed to have significant lateral play when the suspension hangs free, so a top bush is rejected only when the play comes from wear or maladjustment. A top bush or bearing with excessive wear or free play is Major. Rubber or synthetic bushes are rejected only for serious deterioration of the bonding or flexible material.

Also noted as an advisory

Testers also noted it as an advisory, worn but not yet failing, on 63 first tests, 2.2 times as often as on similar cars.

Suspension arm ball joint dust cover (front)

Failed on 153 first tests2.2 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

Whether a suspension arm ball joint dust cover still keeps dirt out decides its grade. Severely deteriorated is Minor, while missing, or no longer preventing the ingress of dirt, is Major.

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage. Advisories count notes recorded on failed first tests only.

Advisories

Other things testers noted as worn or close to failing, more often than on similar cars.

An advisory is a note from the tester about something that has not failed yet. It is an early warning, not a fail. Advisories for the faults above are shown with those faults.

Side repeater indicators (front)

Noted on 87 first tests12 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Macpherson strut pins and bushes (front)

Noted on 223 first tests7.6 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

Steering rack play

Noted on 85 first tests5.2 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

Macpherson strut bracket and mounting (front)

Noted on 27 first tests4.1 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Brake performance (plate test, rear)

Noted on 59 first tests2.9 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Brake imbalance across an axle (roller test, rear)

Noted on 31 first tests2.5 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Counts cover advisories recorded on failed first tests only, compared with cars of the same age and mileage.

MOT pass rates

How first tests ended, and how the pass rates are counted.

Passed first time
60in every 100
Passed on the first test.
Fixed at the station
9in every 100
Failed, then fixed at the test station the same day.
Failed
31in every 100
Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.

First-attempt pass 59.7% of 8,409 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 68.7%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 9 fixed and the 31 not fixed make the 40 in every 100 that did not pass first time.

Petrol and diesel

First testsTypical mileagePassed first time, as testedPassed first time, same mileage
Petrol7,96180,616 miles6060
Diesel447101,612 miles5257

Figures are in every 100 first tests. Cars with more miles usually fail more often, so the same-mileage figure gives every fuel the mileage mix of all the cars in this year.

Same model, other years

Passed first time in every 100, all tested in 2025.

406080100201020152020Newer cars
40608010020102020Newer cars

Newer cars are younger, so look for a jump rather than the climb. A year earlier (2024), when these cars were a year younger, 59 in every 100 passed first time.

YearPassed first timeFirst tests
200956 in every 1008,062
2010 This car60 in every 1008,409
201159 in every 1008,716
201258 in every 1008,948
201360 in every 10011,739
201467 in every 10012,442
201577 in every 10012,299
201679 in every 10013,351
201781 in every 10011,350
201884 in every 1008,418
201986 in every 1007,185
202088 in every 1004,087
202188 in every 1005,830
202285 in every 1007,234

If you are buying one

What this year's MOT record means for the decision in front of you.

Mileage matters most on a 2010 Hyundai i20.

Of 2010 Hyundai i20 vehicles with under 55,000 miles, 74 in every 100 passed their 2025 MOT first time. With 109,000 miles or more, 49 in every 100 did.

Under 55,0001,652 tests
74
55,000–73,0001,678 tests
63
73,000–90,000 Typical car1,760 tests
58
90,000–109,0001,605 tests
55
109,000 and over1,709 tests
49

Petrol or diesel?

Typical mileagePassed first time,
as tested		Passed first time,
same mileage
Petrol80,616 miles6060
Diesel101,612 miles5257

Figures are in every 100 first tests. Petrol cars look better on the raw figures only because diesel cars have done more miles (typically 101,612 against 80,616). At the same mileage there is no clear difference between the two.

What to check at your mileage

How often each fault turned up on a failed first test, by the car's mileage. Read it as: what is likely to need looking at on a car like the one in front of you.

Under 55,00073,000–90,000109,000 and over
Individual sidelight or tail light (front)2.18.912.6
Brake light2.53.75.4
Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test)0.63.46.3
Windscreen washers2.43.84.1
Airbag warning light0.62.94.9

Faults per 100 first tests, by the car's mileage at the test.

When a car fails

26in every 100

of failed cars had one item to fix.

50in every 100

of failed cars had three or more items to fix.

9in every 100

of all first tests had a defect the tester marked dangerous (unsafe to drive away).

Every figure here is a first-attempt MOT rate from DVSA open data for this model line, for cars of this model year tested in 2025. Each mileage band holds a fifth of the tests. MOTs do not test engine or gearbox internals, so this is a pre-purchase checklist, not a full reliability score.

FAQs

Short answers about how to read this model-year guide.

A 2010 Hyundai i20 passed first time about 2 in every 100 more often than the average of the 2009 and 2011 model years. In 2025, 59.7% of 8,409 first MOTs on the 2010 Hyundai i20 passed first time (PRS: items fixed at the station the same day, counted as a fail). The official-style rate including PRS is 68.7%. Among 3,393 failed first-attempt MOT tests (test year 2025), Airbag warning light appears more often than on similar cars (7.1% of those tests; 240 observed failures; about 5.4× more often than similar cars). There is no single reliability score here; this is a pre-purchase checklist built from DVSA open data, not a guarantee for any individual car.
Ranked by how often they were actually recorded, the items that most often failed a 2010 Hyundai i20 at the first attempt were Individual sidelight or tail light (front) (19.4%), Brake light (9.3%) and Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test) (8.9%), each as a share of the year's failed first attempts. That is what goes wrong most often on the car. The common faults table shows a different measure: faults that are unusual compared with similar cars.
Among failed first-attempt tests we highlight patterns that appear more often than on similar cars. Top example: Airbag warning light (7.1% of those tests; 240 observed failures; about 5.4× more often than similar cars). These are statistical signals, not a diagnosis of any individual car.
Airbag warning light shows up more often than on similar cars (7.1% of those tests; 240 observed failures; about 5.4× more often than similar cars). That does not prove a design fault. Age, mileage, and how the car was used still matter. Treat it as a pre-purchase checkpoint, not a manufacturer service bulletin.
Common MOT problem areas for the 2010 Hyundai i20 include Airbag warning light, Brake imbalance across an axle (roller test, efficiency check, rear), Macpherson strut (front). These are the faults that stand out compared with similar cars, not a complete list of what can go wrong on any individual car.
Advisories flag issues noted at the test and are not a fail rate. We show advisory patterns that appear more often than on similar cars among failed first-attempt tests, separate from common failure rows. Use them as early-warning checks, not as a pass/fail score.
This page highlights MOT failure patterns for the 2010 Hyundai i20 (registration year) using UK DVSA open data for the selected test year. Patterns are compared with cars of a similar age and mileage. It is a buyer checklist from MOT defect statistics, not a full service history or manufacturer service-bulletin list.
No. MOT tests do not cover engine internals, gearboxes, or many electronic modules. Patterns here come from MOT defect statistics only and should not be read as engine or gearbox reliability scores.

About this data

How this page is built and what it can (and can't) say.

These figures come from UK MOT open data for this model year. We surface common failure patterns against similar cars, not a full reliability score, and not a pass/fail verdict on any individual vehicle.

2024 2025

What we include

UK Class 4 cars only. Normal MOT tests (not retests); first test per vehicle per calendar year; results pass, PRS, or fail.

Same-day repairs

PRS means the car failed items that were fixed at the test station and then passed the same day. We count PRS as a first-attempt fail in headline rates so same-day repairs do not hide problems.

How we compare

We compare this model year with other Class 4 cars of similar age and mileage in the same test year. This model family is left out of the peer group so the car is not measured against itself.

What this does not cover

  • MOTs do not cover engine internals, gearboxes, or many electronics; this is not a full reliability score.
  • Common faults come from MOT defect stats, not manufacturer TSBs or recalls.
  • Age and mileage matching reduces, but does not remove, differences in how cars were used and maintained.
  • If the data for a car is too thin to say anything useful, we say so rather than guess.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

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