Model Reports 5 min read Updated 18 Oct 2026

Hyundai i30 2011: reliability & common MOT faults

In 2025, 52 in every 100 first MOTs on a 2011 Hyundai i30 were passes. Most common reason for a fail: Individual sidelight or tail light (front).

Summary

The 2011 Hyundai i30 follows the pattern of the model years either side.

At a glance

How 8,041 first tests went in 2025.

Passed first time
52 in every 100
Did not pass first time
48 in every 1003,841 failed first-attempt tests
The typical car
14 yearsabout 91,598 miles
First tests counted
8,041

What failed most often

  1. Individual sidelight or tail light (front)19 in every 100 failed tests
  2. Brake light14 in every 100 failed tests
  3. Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test)12 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 2011 Hyundai i30 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.

Brakes

Three faults and one wear pattern. The strongest is the handbrake lever: 4.4 times as often as on similar cars.

Figures below are measured across the 3,840 of 3,841 failed first attempts 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.

Handbrake lever

Failed on 126 first tests4.4 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.

Handbrake performance (roller test, rear)

Failed on 102 first tests2.5 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

A parking brake that is inoperative on one side is Major. When tested on the road, the failure is the vehicle deviating excessively from a straight line. Vehicles whose parking brake was already tested as the secondary brake are not tested again for this.

Brake discs (rear)

Failed on 109 first tests2.4 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 540 first tests, 2.0 times as often as on similar cars.

Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test)

Failed on 453 first tests2.2 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

A parking brake with efficiency below the minimum requirement is Major, and graded Dangerous where efficiency is less than half of the required value. On a roller brake tester, the requirement counts as met if more than half of the wheels of a brake system lock. The check applies only to vehicles whose parking brake was not already tested as the secondary brake.

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

Lamps and electrical

Two faults and one wear pattern. The strongest is the individual direction indicators (front): 3.5 times as often as on similar cars.

Individual direction indicators (front)

Failed on 133 first tests3.5 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

What it means

Direction indicators must be amber, though vehicles first used before a set date may have white at the front and red at the rear when the indicators are combined with stop or position lamps, and sequential or dynamic ones are not a reason to fail. A lamp that is missing, inoperative or has more than half of a multiple light source not functioning is graded Major. A flashing rate outside the permitted range is graded Minor.

Also noted as an advisory

Testers also noted it as an advisory, worn but not yet failing, on 188 first tests, 5.9 times as often as on similar cars.

Brake light (rear)

Failed on 529 first tests3.0 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

All stop lamps missing or not working is graded Dangerous, and so is a stop lamp that stays on when the brakes are released. A stop lamp that is missing or not working is Major. On some vehicles with LED rear lamps, part of the stop lamp can go out when the rear fog lamp is lit, which is not regarded as a defect.

Headlight aim not tested (front)

Failed on 39 first tests2.4 times as often as similar carsWear pattern

What it means

Headlamp aim recorded as not tested, or unable to be tested, is a Major failure. These results must only be used where it becomes apparent during the test that the item cannot be tested, and this could not have been identified before starting. The reason must be included in the additional information box.

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 anti-roll bar ball joint (front): 2.5 times as often as on similar cars.

Anti-roll bar ball joint (front)

Failed on 88 first tests2.5 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

On an anti-roll bar ball joint, DVSA fails a suspension pin, bush or joint that is excessively worn as Major. One likely to become detached is graded Dangerous.

Also noted as an advisory

Testers also noted it as an advisory, worn but not yet failing, on 40 first tests, 2.4 times as often as on similar cars.

Suspension arm ball joint dust cover (front)

Failed on 135 first tests2.1 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.

All direction indicators

Noted on 45 first tests16 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

Side repeater indicators (front)

Noted on 82 first tests14 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Anti-roll bar ball joint (rear)

Noted on 24 first tests5.2 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

Anti-roll bar linkage ball joints (rear)

Noted on 99 first tests4.4 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

Suspension arm pins and bushes (rear)

Noted on 288 first tests4.2 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Handbrake efficiency on trikes, quads and pre-1968 vehicles (roller test)

Noted on 21 first tests3.3 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Steering rack play

Noted on 45 first tests3.0 times as often as similar carsPossible 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
52in every 100
Passed on the first test.
Fixed at the station
11in every 100
Failed, then fixed at the test station the same day.
Failed
37in every 100
Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.

First-attempt pass 52.2% of 8,041 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 62.6%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 11 fixed and the 37 not fixed make the 48 in every 100 that did not pass first time.

Petrol and diesel

First testsTypical mileagePassed first time, as testedPassed first time, same mileage
Diesel4,241100,641 miles5051
Petrol3,80083,088 miles5553

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.

406080100201120152020Older carsNewer cars
40608010020112020Newer 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, 54 in every 100 passed first time.

YearPassed first timeFirst tests
200748 in every 100697
200850 in every 1002,035
200952 in every 1007,253
201052 in every 1008,802
2011 This car52 in every 1008,041
201255 in every 1008,064
201357 in every 1009,767
201462 in every 1009,312
201567 in every 10013,052
201669 in every 1009,105
201780 in every 1006,501
201883 in every 1007,040
201986 in every 1003,989
202087 in every 1001,490
202187 in every 1001,727
202290 in every 1001,360

If you are buying one

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

Mileage matters most on a 2011 Hyundai i30.

Of 2011 Hyundai i30 vehicles with under 64,000 miles, 63 in every 100 passed their 2025 MOT first time. With 123,000 miles or more, 45 in every 100 did.

Under 64,0001,609 tests
63
64,000–83,0001,599 tests
54
83,000–100,000 Typical car1,603 tests
51
100,000–123,0001,597 tests
48
123,000 and over1,632 tests
45

Petrol or diesel?

Typical mileagePassed first time,
as tested		Passed first time,
same mileage
Diesel100,641 miles5051
Petrol83,088 miles5553

Figures are in every 100 first tests. Petrol cars look better on the raw figures only because diesel cars have done more miles (typically 100,641 against 83,088). 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 64,00083,000–100,000123,000 and over
Individual sidelight or tail light (front)4.58.613.3
Brake light6.26.17.4
Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test)2.15.98.5
Coil spring (front)3.04.44.4
Anti-roll bar linkage ball joint dust cover (front)2.94.12.1

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

When a car fails

22in every 100

of failed cars had one item to fix.

54in every 100

of failed cars had three or more items to fix.

11in 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.

The 2011 Hyundai i30 follows the pattern of the model years either side. Its main cause of failure was Individual sidelight or tail light (front), about 19 in every 100 failed tests. In 2025, 52.2% of 8,041 first MOTs on the 2011 Hyundai i30 passed first time (PRS: items fixed at the station the same day, counted as a fail). The official-style rate including PRS is 62.6%. Among 3,841 failed first-attempt MOT tests (test year 2025), Handbrake lever appears more often than on similar cars (3.3% of those tests; 126 observed failures; about 4.4× 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 2011 Hyundai i30 at the first attempt were Individual sidelight or tail light (front) (19.1%), Brake light (13.8%) and Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test) (11.8%), 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: Handbrake lever (3.3% of those tests; 126 observed failures; about 4.4× more often than similar cars). These are statistical signals, not a diagnosis of any individual car.
Handbrake lever shows up more often than on similar cars (3.3% of those tests; 126 observed failures; about 4.4× 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 2011 Hyundai i30 include Handbrake lever, Individual direction indicators (front), Brake light (rear). 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 2011 Hyundai i30 (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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