Model Reports 5 min read Updated 18 Oct 2026

Kia Ceed 2011: reliability & common MOT faults

In 2025, 50 in every 100 first MOTs on a 2011 Kia Ceed were passes. Most common reason for a fail: Individual sidelight or tail light (front).

Summary

A 2011 Kia Ceed passed first time about 3 in every 100 less often than the average of the 2010 and 2012 model years.

At a glance

How 6,260 first tests went in 2025.

Passed first time
50 in every 100
Did not pass first time
50 in every 1003,133 failed first-attempt tests
The typical car
14 yearsabout 102,955 miles
First tests counted
6,260

What failed most often

  1. Individual sidelight or tail light (front)19 in every 100 failed tests
  2. Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test)17 in every 100 failed tests
  3. Brake light11 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 Kia Ceed 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

Five faults and one wear pattern. The strongest is the brake hand lever: 6.0 times as often as on similar cars.

Figures below are measured across the 3,131 of 3,133 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.

Brake hand lever

Failed on 89 first tests6.0 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

What it means

A brake lever is failed for insufficient reserve only if it is touching the floor or handlebar. On motorcycle derived systems the lever may touch the handlebar, so the extent of reserve travel is assessed during the brake test. A lever not releasing correctly is Minor, and Major where the functionality of the brakes is affected.

Handbrake lever

Failed on 108 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 efficiency below minimum (roller test)

Failed on 520 first tests2.8 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.

Handbrake performance (roller test, rear)

Failed on 101 first tests2.8 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 87 first tests2.2 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.

Electronic stability control

Failed on 68 first tests2.2 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

An ESC warning lamp is failed only when the tester is certain it indicates an ESC malfunction, because the lamp takes various forms and the owner's handbook may need checking. The system is also called ESP, VDC or DSC, among many other names. Every failure row is Major, covering the lamp, wheel speed sensors, wiring, other components and the switch.

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

Suspension

One fault: suspension arm ball joint dust cover (front), 3.5 times as often as on similar cars.

Suspension arm ball joint dust cover (front)

Failed on 184 first tests3.5 times as often as similar carsLikely 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.

Lamps and electrical

Two faults and one wear pattern. The strongest is the brake light (rear): 2.4 times as often as on similar cars.

Brake light (rear)

Failed on 351 first tests2.4 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 42 first tests2.1 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.

Headlight

Failed on 260 first tests2.0 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

On vehicles first used on or after a set date, a halogen headlamp unit converted to take HID or LED bulbs fails for light source and lamp not compatible, which is Major. A complete unit built with those light sources is not failed for that. The precise position of the lamps is not part of the inspection beyond a visual look to see that they sit at about the same height and distance from each side.

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.

Side repeater indicators (front)

Noted on 112 first tests25 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

All direction indicators

Noted on 21 first tests8.6 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Anti-roll bar ball joint (rear)

Noted on 29 first tests6.6 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Steering rack play

Noted on 63 first tests5.0 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Suspension arm pins and bushes (rear)

Noted on 300 first tests4.7 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Anti-roll bar linkage ball joints (rear)

Noted on 92 first tests4.2 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

Individual direction indicators (front)

Noted on 99 first tests3.8 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
50in every 100
Passed on the first test.
Fixed at the station
10in every 100
Failed, then fixed at the test station the same day.
Failed
40in every 100
Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.

First-attempt pass 50.0% of 6,260 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 59.6%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 10 fixed and the 40 not fixed make the 50 in every 100 that did not pass first time.

Petrol and diesel

First testsTypical mileagePassed first time, as testedPassed first time, same mileage
Diesel4,530111,146 miles4950
Petrol1,73084,525 miles5351

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, 49 in every 100 passed first time.

YearPassed first timeFirst tests
200750 in every 1001,903
200848 in every 1003,559
200951 in every 1005,789
201050 in every 1006,630
2011 This car50 in every 1006,260
201255 in every 10010,601
201361 in every 10010,238
201463 in every 10010,448
201571 in every 10010,689
201674 in every 1009,185
201777 in every 1008,177
201880 in every 1008,811
201983 in every 1009,533
202083 in every 1004,078
202184 in every 1004,937
202287 in every 1006,207

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 Ceed.

Of 2011 Ceed vehicles with under 74,000 miles, 61 in every 100 passed their 2025 MOT first time. With 135,000 miles or more, 43 in every 100 did.

Under 74,0001,261 tests
61
74,000–95,0001,281 tests
49
95,000–113,000 Typical car1,235 tests
50
113,000–135,0001,216 tests
46
135,000 and over1,265 tests
43

Petrol or diesel?

Typical mileagePassed first time,
as tested		Passed first time,
same mileage
Diesel111,146 miles4950
Petrol84,525 miles5351

Figures are in every 100 first tests. Petrol cars look better on the raw figures only because diesel cars have done more miles (typically 111,146 against 84,525). 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 74,00095,000–113,000135,000 and over
Individual sidelight or tail light (front)5.210.412.3
Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test)2.47.912.4
Brake light4.44.96.6
Headlight (front)2.14.56.0
Windscreen washers2.73.85.6

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

When a car fails

20in every 100

of failed cars had one item to fix.

57in every 100

of failed cars had three or more items to fix.

14in 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 2011 Kia Ceed passed first time about 3 in every 100 less often than the average of the 2010 and 2012 model years. In 2025, 50.0% of 6,260 first MOTs on the 2011 Kia Ceed passed first time (PRS: items fixed at the station the same day, counted as a fail). The official-style rate including PRS is 59.6%. Among 3,133 failed first-attempt MOT tests (test year 2025), Brake hand lever appears more often than on similar cars (2.8% of those tests; 89 observed failures; about 6.0× 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 Kia Ceed at the first attempt were Individual sidelight or tail light (front) (18.7%), Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test) (16.6%) and Brake light (11.2%), 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: Brake hand lever (2.8% of those tests; 89 observed failures; about 6.0× more often than similar cars). These are statistical signals, not a diagnosis of any individual car.
Brake hand lever shows up more often than on similar cars (2.8% of those tests; 89 observed failures; about 6.0× 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 Kia Ceed include Brake hand lever, Handbrake lever, Suspension arm ball joint dust cover (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 2011 Kia Ceed (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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