Model Reports 4 min read Updated 18 Oct 2026

Hyundai Ioniq 2020: reliability & common MOT faults

In 2025, 88 in every 100 first MOTs on a 2020 Hyundai Ioniq were passes. Most common reason for a fail: Tyre tread depth (front).

Summary

The 2020 Hyundai Ioniq follows the pattern of the model years either side.

At a glance

How 6,545 first tests went in 2025.

Passed first time
88 in every 100
Did not pass first time
12 in every 100818 failed first-attempt tests
The typical car
5 yearsabout 47,026 miles
First tests counted
6,545

What failed most often

  1. Tyre tread depth (front)15 in every 100 failed tests
  2. Tyre condition (rear)14 in every 100 failed tests
  3. Headlight aim12 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 2020 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

Two faults and one wear pattern. The strongest is the headlight levelling device: 33 times as often as on similar cars.

Figures below are measured across the 818 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 43 first tests33 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.

Number plate lights (rear)

Failed on 22 first tests2.8 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

Registration plate lamps must light up the rear registration plate and operate at the same time as the position lamps. A missing or inoperative lamp is Major when the plate has only one lamp or all its lamps are not working, and Minor when the plate has several lamps or light sources and not all have failed. A lamp throwing direct white light to the rear is also Minor.

Headlight aim

Failed on 98 first tests2.1 times as often as similar carsWear pattern

What it means

Beam aim too high, too low or off to either side is Major. Where a driver's beam aim control is fitted, the aim is tested without altering the setting, and rechecked at the highest setting only if it would fail for being too low. Masks or converter kits on right hand dip headlamps are acceptable.

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

Brakes

Three faults. The strongest is the electronic parking brake: 15 times as often as on similar cars.

Electronic parking brake

Failed on 23 first tests15 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

An electronic parking brake is applied electronically but must still be maintained in operation by direct mechanical means. It may apply automatically in certain conditions, such as when the ignition is switched off or when the driver's door is opened. A control that is missing, defective or inoperative is Major, and so is a malfunction warning.

Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test)

Failed on 63 first tests6.0 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 20 first tests2.7 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 25 first tests, 3.5 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.

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
3in every 100
Failed, then fixed at the test station the same day.
Failed
9in every 100
Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.

First-attempt pass 87.5% of 6,545 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 90.6%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 3 fixed and the 9 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
Hybrid4,07351,390 miles8687
Electric2,46942,620 miles8989

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.

4060801002016201720182019202020212022Older carsNewer cars
4060801002020Older carsNewer cars

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

YearPassed first timeFirst tests
201687 in every 100398
201783 in every 1004,663
201884 in every 1006,908
201986 in every 1007,918
2020 This car88 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 makes a modest difference on a 2020 Ioniq.

Of 2020 Ioniq vehicles with under 30,000 miles, 89 in every 100 passed their 2025 MOT first time. With 75,000 miles or more, 85 in every 100 did.

Under 30,0001,346 tests
89
30,000–41,0001,281 tests
89
41,000–54,000 Typical car1,311 tests
88
54,000–75,0001,312 tests
87
75,000 and over1,295 tests
85

Which fuel?

Typical mileagePassed first time,
as tested		Passed first time,
same mileage
Hybrid51,390 miles8687
Electric42,620 miles8989

Figures are in every 100 first tests. Electric cars look better on the raw figures only because hybrid cars have done more miles (typically 51,390 against 42,620). 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 30,00041,000–54,00075,000 and over
Tyre tread depth (front)0.82.41.9
Tyre condition (rear)1.31.81.6
Headlight aim1.81.71.8
Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test)0.11.01.3

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

When a car fails

54in every 100

of failed cars had one item to fix.

17in 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 2020 Hyundai Ioniq follows the pattern of the model years either side. Its main cause of failure was Tyre tread depth (front), about 15 in every 100 failed tests. In 2025, 87.5% of 6,545 first MOTs on the 2020 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 90.6%. Among 818 failed first-attempt MOT tests (test year 2025), Headlight levelling device appears more often than on similar cars (5.3% of those tests; 43 observed failures; about 33× 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 2020 Hyundai Ioniq at the first attempt were Tyre tread depth (front) (15.3%), Tyre condition (rear) (13.9%) and Headlight aim (12.0%), 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 (5.3% of those tests; 43 observed failures; about 33× 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 (5.3% of those tests; 43 observed failures; about 33× 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 2020 Hyundai Ioniq include Headlight levelling device, Electronic parking brake, 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 2020 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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