Model Reports 5 min read Updated 18 Oct 2026

Hyundai i30 2012: reliability & common MOT faults

In 2025, 55 in every 100 first MOTs on a 2012 Hyundai i30 were passes. Most common reason for a fail: Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test).

Summary

The 2012 Hyundai i30 follows the pattern of the model years either side.

At a glance

How 8,064 first tests went in 2025.

Passed first time
55 in every 100
Did not pass first time
45 in every 1003,664 failed first-attempt tests
The typical car
13 yearsabout 96,540 miles
First tests counted
8,064

What failed most often

  1. Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test)23 in every 100 failed tests
  2. Track rod end (front)17 in every 100 failed tests
  3. Coil spring (front)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 2012 Hyundai i30 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.

Brakes

Two faults. The strongest is the handbrake performance (roller test, rear): 4.7 times as often as on similar cars.

Figures below are measured across the 3,661 of 3,664 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.

Handbrake performance (roller test, rear)

Failed on 186 first tests4.7 times as often as similar carsLikely 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.

Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test)

Failed on 859 first tests4.5 times as often as similar carsLikely 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.

Steering

One fault: track rod end (front), 3.4 times as often as on similar cars.

Track rod end (front)

Failed on 618 first tests3.4 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

What it means

A steering ball joint with excessive wear or free play is Major, and one worn to the extent there is a serious risk of detachment is graded Dangerous. A dust cover that is damaged but still keeps dirt out is Minor, and one missing or no longer keeping dirt out is Major. Testers must tell wear from a joint's built-in clearance or spring loading.

Also noted as an advisory

Testers also noted it as an advisory, worn but not yet failing, on 166 first tests, 2.9 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.

Lamps and electrical

One fault: individual direction indicators (rear), 2.2 times as often as on similar cars.

Individual direction indicators (rear)

Failed on 168 first tests2.2 times as often as similar carsPossible 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 175 first tests, 2.8 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.

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 88 first tests19 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Steering column

Noted on 20 first tests16 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Steering universal joint

Noted on 23 first tests10 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Steering rack play

Noted on 60 first tests6.3 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

Suspension arm pins and bushes (rear)

Noted on 235 first tests3.4 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Suspension arm (rear)

Noted on 230 first tests3.2 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
55in every 100
Passed on the first test.
Fixed at the station
6in every 100
Failed, then fixed at the test station the same day.
Failed
39in every 100
Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.

First-attempt pass 54.6% of 8,064 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 61.5%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 6 fixed and the 39 not fixed make the 45 in every 100 that did not pass first time.

Petrol and diesel

First testsTypical mileagePassed first time, as testedPassed first time, same mileage
Diesel4,661106,827 miles5254
Petrol3,40384,041 miles5855

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.

406080100201220152020Older carsNewer cars
40608010020122020Older carsNewer cars

Newer cars are younger, so look for a jump rather than the climb.

YearPassed first timeFirst tests
200748 in every 100697
200850 in every 1002,035
200952 in every 1007,253
201052 in every 1008,802
201152 in every 1008,041
2012 This car55 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 2012 Hyundai i30.

Of 2012 Hyundai i30 vehicles with under 69,000 miles, 68 in every 100 passed their 2025 MOT first time. With 128,000 miles or more, 47 in every 100 did.

Under 69,0001,574 tests
68
69,000–88,0001,666 tests
58
88,000–105,000 Typical car1,598 tests
51
105,000–128,0001,601 tests
49
128,000 and over1,621 tests
47

Petrol or diesel?

Typical mileagePassed first time,
as tested		Passed first time,
same mileage
Diesel106,827 miles5254
Petrol84,041 miles5855

Figures are in every 100 first tests. Petrol cars look better on the raw figures only because diesel cars have done more miles (typically 106,827 against 84,041). 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 69,00088,000–105,000128,000 and over
Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test)6.211.314.0
Track rod end (front)5.47.99.4
Coil spring (front)2.34.34.6
Brake light3.04.14.1
Individual sidelight or tail light (front)1.43.65.9

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

When a car fails

28in every 100

of failed cars had one item to fix.

47in 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 2012 Hyundai i30 follows the pattern of the model years either side. Its main cause of failure was Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test), about 23 in every 100 failed tests. In 2025, 54.6% of 8,064 first MOTs on the 2012 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 61.5%. Among 3,664 failed first-attempt MOT tests (test year 2025), Handbrake performance (roller test, rear) appears more often than on similar cars (5.1% of those tests; 186 observed failures; about 4.7× 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 2012 Hyundai i30 at the first attempt were Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test) (23.5%), Track rod end (front) (16.9%) and Coil spring (front) (8.7%), 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 performance (roller test, rear) (5.1% of those tests; 186 observed failures; about 4.7× more often than similar cars). These are statistical signals, not a diagnosis of any individual car.
Handbrake performance (roller test, rear) shows up more often than on similar cars (5.1% of those tests; 186 observed failures; about 4.7× 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 2012 Hyundai i30 include Handbrake performance (roller test, rear), Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test), Track rod end (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 2012 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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