Model Reports 4 min read Updated 18 Oct 2026

Hyundai Ioniq 2019: reliability & common MOT faults

In 2025, 86 in every 100 first MOTs on a 2019 Hyundai Ioniq were passes. Most common reason for a fail: Tyre condition (front).

Summary

The 2019 Hyundai Ioniq follows the pattern of the model years either side.

At a glance

How 7,918 first tests went in 2025.

Passed first time
86 in every 100
Did not pass first time
14 in every 1001,116 failed first-attempt tests
The typical car
6 yearsabout 61,247 miles
First tests counted
7,918

What failed most often

  1. Tyre condition (front)13 in every 100 failed tests
  2. Tyre tread depth (front)12 in every 100 failed tests
  3. Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test)6 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 2019 Hyundai Ioniq 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.

Lamps and electrical

One fault: headlight levelling device, 30 times as often as on similar cars.

Figures below are measured across the 1,116 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.

Headlight levelling device

Failed on 55 first tests30 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

What it means

A headlamp levelling device that is inoperative is graded Major, and so is a manual levelling device that cannot be operated from the driver's seat. Vehicles with high intensity discharge or LED dipped beam headlamps may have a self-levelling system, and if fitted it must work. Where it is not easy to tell, testers give the benefit of the doubt, and motor caravans are not checked.

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

Brakes

Three faults and one wear pattern. The strongest is the brake efficiency below minimum (roller test): 17 times as often as on similar cars.

Brake efficiency below minimum (roller test)

Failed on 63 first tests17 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 efficiency below minimum (roller test)

Failed on 72 first tests3.5 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.

Brake performance (roller test, rear)

Failed on 31 first tests2.9 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 49 first tests, 4.6 times as often as on similar cars.

Brake discs (rear)

Failed on 41 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.

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

MOT pass rates

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

Passed first time
86in every 100
Passed on the first test.
Fixed at the station
3in every 100
Failed, then fixed at the test station the same day.
Failed
11in every 100
Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.

First-attempt pass 85.9% of 7,918 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 88.6%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 3 fixed and the 11 not fixed make the 14 in every 100 that did not pass first time.

By fuel type

First testsTypical mileagePassed first time, as tested
Hybrid7,50162,249 miles86
Electric40949,690 miles89

Figures are in every 100 first tests.

Same model, other years

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

4060801002016201720182019202020212022Older carsNewer cars
4060801002019Older carsNewer 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, 87 in every 100 passed first time.

YearPassed first timeFirst tests
201687 in every 100398
201783 in every 1004,663
201884 in every 1006,908
2019 This car86 in every 1007,918
202088 in every 1006,545
202188 in every 1008,605
202284 in every 1004,798

If you are buying one

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

Mileage matters most on a 2019 Ioniq.

Of 2019 Ioniq vehicles with under 36,000 miles, 90 in every 100 passed their 2025 MOT first time. With 104,000 miles or more, 81 in every 100 did.

Under 36,0001,607 tests
90
36,000–52,0001,563 tests
88
52,000–72,000 Typical car1,579 tests
85
72,000–104,0001,603 tests
85
104,000 and over1,565 tests
81

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 36,00052,000–72,000104,000 and over
Tyre condition (front)1.92.31.1
Tyre tread depth (front)1.42.52.0
Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test)0.61.01.3
Brake efficiency below minimum (roller test)0.30.81.5
Headlight aim0.50.80.9

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

When a car fails

55in every 100

of failed cars had one item to fix.

18in every 100

of failed cars had three or more items to fix.

4in 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 2019 Hyundai Ioniq follows the pattern of the model years either side. Its main cause of failure was Tyre condition (front), about 13 in every 100 failed tests. In 2025, 85.9% of 7,918 first MOTs on the 2019 Hyundai Ioniq passed first time (PRS: items fixed at the station the same day, counted as a fail). The official-style rate including PRS is 88.6%. Among 1,116 failed first-attempt MOT tests (test year 2025), Headlight levelling device appears more often than on similar cars (4.9% of those tests; 55 observed failures; about 30× 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 2019 Hyundai Ioniq at the first attempt were Tyre condition (front) (12.6%), Tyre tread depth (front) (12.2%) and Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test) (6.5%), 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: Headlight levelling device (4.9% of those tests; 55 observed failures; about 30× more often than similar cars). These are statistical signals, not a diagnosis of any individual car.
Headlight levelling device shows up more often than on similar cars (4.9% of those tests; 55 observed failures; about 30× 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 2019 Hyundai Ioniq include Headlight levelling device, Brake efficiency below minimum (roller test), Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test). 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 2019 Hyundai Ioniq (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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