Model Reports 4 min read Updated 18 Oct 2026

Hyundai i20 2021: reliability & common MOT faults

In 2025, 88 in every 100 first MOTs on a 2021 Hyundai i20 were passes. Most common reason for a fail: Windscreen wipers (front).

Summary

A 2021 Hyundai i20 passed first time about 1 in every 100 more often than the average of the 2020 and 2022 model years.

At a glance

How 5,830 first tests went in 2025.

Passed first time
88 in every 100
Did not pass first time
12 in every 100711 failed first-attempt tests
The typical car
4 yearsabout 25,114 miles
First tests counted
5,830

What failed most often

  1. Windscreen wipers (front)21 in every 100 failed tests
  2. Tyre condition (front)14 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 2021 Hyundai i20 vehicles in 2025, not a prediction that any one car will have them. Faults are grouped by part of the car. They come from MOT defect codes, not manufacturer bulletins, recalls or a diagnosis of any one car.

Suspension

One fault: wheel bearings (front), 22 times as often as on similar cars.

Figures below are measured across the 711 failed first attempts in 2025 that had a mileage recorded, which allows a like-for-like comparison.

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.

Wheel bearings (front)

Failed on 20 first tests22 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

Excessive play in a wheel bearing, or a bearing that is excessively rough, is Major. Play so excessive that the bearing is likely to break up or directional control is impaired is Dangerous, and so is a bearing so rough that it is likely to overheat or break up.

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

Lamps and electrical

One fault: horn, 10 times as often as on similar cars.

Horn

Failed on 28 first tests10 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

A horn that does not work, or is likely to be confused with an emergency vehicle siren, is graded Major. Gongs, bells, sirens and anything with more than one tone, which includes a horn that alternates between its notes, are not allowed, except a gong, bell or siren on vehicles first used before a set date. Sound defects are Minor for named cases such as a bell or harsh sound, and Major under a general row.

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. 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
88in every 100
Passed on the first test.
Fixed at the station
4in every 100
Failed, then fixed at the test station the same day.
Failed
8in every 100
Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.

First-attempt pass 87.8% of 5,830 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 91.5%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 4 fixed and the 8 not fixed make the 12 in every 100 that did not pass first time.

By fuel type

First testsTypical mileagePassed first time, as testedPassed first time, same mileage
Hybrid4,08924,293 miles8888
Petrol1,74127,183 miles8888

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.

406080100201020152021Older cars
40608010020102021Older 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, 86 in every 100 passed first time.

YearPassed first timeFirst tests
200956 in every 1008,062
201060 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
2021 This car88 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 makes little difference on a 2021 Hyundai i20.

Of 2021 Hyundai i20 vehicles with under 16,000 miles, 88 in every 100 passed their 2025 MOT first time. With 37,000 miles or more, 86 in every 100 did.

Under 16,0001,198 tests
88
16,000–22,0001,115 tests
88
22,000–28,000 Typical car1,101 tests
89
28,000–37,0001,254 tests
88
37,000 and over1,162 tests
86

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 16,00022,000–28,00037,000 and over
Windscreen wipers (front)4.11.31.4
Tyre condition (front)1.32.01.7

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

When a car fails

64in every 100

of failed cars had one item to fix.

11in every 100

of failed cars had three or more items to fix.

2in 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 2021 Hyundai i20 passed first time about 1 in every 100 more often than the average of the 2020 and 2022 model years. In 2025, 87.8% of 5,830 first MOTs on the 2021 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 91.5%. Among 711 failed first-attempt MOT tests (test year 2025), Wheel bearings (front) appears more often than on similar cars (2.8% of those tests; 20 observed failures; about 22× 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 2021 Hyundai i20 at the first attempt were Windscreen wipers (front) (20.7%) and Tyre condition (front) (14.1%), 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: Wheel bearings (front) (2.8% of those tests; 20 observed failures; about 22× more often than similar cars). These are statistical signals, not a diagnosis of any individual car.
Wheel bearings (front) shows up more often than on similar cars (2.8% of those tests; 20 observed failures; about 22× 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 2021 Hyundai i20 include Wheel bearings (front), Horn. These are the faults that stand out compared with similar cars, not a complete list of what can go wrong on any individual car.
This page highlights MOT failure patterns for the 2021 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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