Model Reports 5 min read Updated 18 Oct 2026

Hyundai ix20 2015: reliability & common MOT faults

In 2025, 72 in every 100 first MOTs on a 2015 Hyundai ix20 were passes. Most common reason for a fail: Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test).

Summary

A 2015 Hyundai ix20 passed first time about 3 in every 100 more often than the average of the 2014 and 2016 model years.

At a glance

How 3,184 first tests went in 2025.

Passed first time
72 in every 100
Did not pass first time
28 in every 100881 failed first-attempt tests
The typical car
10 yearsabout 49,283 miles
First tests counted
3,184

What failed most often

  1. Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test)19 in every 100 failed tests
  2. Brake light (rear)9 in every 100 failed tests
  3. Track rod end (front)8 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 2015 Hyundai ix20 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

Three faults. The strongest is the handbrake performance (roller test, rear): 9.1 times as often as on similar cars.

Figures below are measured across the 881 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.

Handbrake performance (roller test, rear)

Failed on 50 first tests9.1 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 169 first tests6.5 times as often as similar carsStrong 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, front)

Failed on 24 first tests2.2 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.

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

Lamps and electrical

One fault: brake light (rear), 3.2 times as often as on similar cars.

Brake light (rear)

Failed on 83 first tests3.2 times as often as similar carsLikely 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.

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

Steering

One fault: track rod end, 2.4 times as often as on similar cars.

Track rod end

Failed on 32 first tests2.4 times as often as similar carsPossible 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.

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

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.

Flexible brake hoses (rear)

Noted on 23 first tests4.5 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Individual direction indicators (rear)

Noted on 20 first tests3.9 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Brake performance (roller test, rear)

Noted on 37 first tests2.3 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Number plates (rear)

Noted on 29 first tests2.1 times as often as similar carsElevated 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
72in every 100
Passed on the first test.
Fixed at the station
7in every 100
Failed, then fixed at the test station the same day.
Failed
21in every 100
Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.

First-attempt pass 72.3% of 3,184 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 79.0%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 7 fixed and the 21 not fixed make the 28 in every 100 that did not pass first time.

Petrol and diesel

First testsTypical mileagePassed first time, as tested
Petrol2,85447,702 miles73
Diesel33063,522 miles67

Figures are in every 100 first tests.

Same model, other years

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

40608010020102015Older carsNewer cars
40608010020102015Older 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, 75 in every 100 passed first time.

YearPassed first timeFirst tests
201051 in every 100306
201154 in every 1003,295
201255 in every 1003,349
201356 in every 1003,233
201463 in every 1003,344
2015 This car72 in every 1003,184
201677 in every 1003,566
201783 in every 1003,826
201888 in every 1002,119
201989 in every 1001,478

If you are buying one

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

Mileage matters most on a 2015 Hyundai ix20.

Of 2015 Hyundai ix20 vehicles with under 32,000 miles, 87 in every 100 passed their 2025 MOT first time. With 72,000 miles or more, 56 in every 100 did.

Under 32,000625 tests
87
32,000–44,000649 tests
77
44,000–56,000 Typical car635 tests
72
56,000–72,000647 tests
70
72,000 and over628 tests
56

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 32,00044,000–56,00072,000 and over
Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test)1.35.210.5
Brake light (rear)0.63.14.3
Track rod end (front)0.21.74.9
Headlight aim0.81.93.8
Brake pads (rear)0.82.42.4

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

When a car fails

42in every 100

of failed cars had one item to fix.

31in every 100

of failed cars had three or more items to fix.

7in 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 2015 Hyundai ix20 passed first time about 3 in every 100 more often than the average of the 2014 and 2016 model years. In 2025, 72.3% of 3,184 first MOTs on the 2015 Hyundai ix20 passed first time (PRS: items fixed at the station the same day, counted as a fail). The official-style rate including PRS is 79.0%. Among 881 failed first-attempt MOT tests (test year 2025), Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test) appears more often than on similar cars (19.2% of those tests; 169 observed failures; about 6.5× 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 2015 Hyundai ix20 at the first attempt were Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test) (19.2%), Brake light (rear) (9.4%) and Track rod end (front) (7.6%), 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 efficiency below minimum (roller test) (19.2% of those tests; 169 observed failures; about 6.5× more often than similar cars). These are statistical signals, not a diagnosis of any individual car.
Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test) shows up more often than on similar cars (19.2% of those tests; 169 observed failures; about 6.5× 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 2015 Hyundai ix20 include Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test), Handbrake performance (roller test, rear), 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 2015 Hyundai ix20 (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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