At a glance
How 6,079 first tests went in 2025.
- Passed first time
- 86 in every 100
- Did not pass first time
- 14 in every 100880 failed first-attempt tests
- The typical car
- 7 yearsabout 59,922 miles
- First tests counted
- 6,079
What failed most often
- Tyre condition (rear)17 in every 100 failed tests
- Tyre tread depth (front)8 in every 100 failed tests
- Windscreen wipers (front)7 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.
These are patterns across 2018 Kia Niro 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
Three faults. The strongest is the brake efficiency below minimum (roller test): 16 times as often as on similar cars.
Figures below are measured across the 879 of 880 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 efficiency below minimum (roller test)
Brake performance (roller test, rear)
Also noted as an advisory
Testers also noted it as an advisory, worn but not yet failing, on 28 first tests, 2.8 times as often as on similar cars.
Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test)
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. Advisories count notes recorded on failed first tests only.
Lamps and electrical
Two faults. The strongest is the side repeater indicators: 3.6 times as often as on similar cars.
Side repeater indicators
What it means
Sequential or dynamic direction indicators are not a reason to fail. Where a side repeater is required, it is allowed to be part of the front direction indicator if it has a marked wraparound lens, or an amber light coming through the front lens when viewed from a set distance to the side of the rear bumper. A lens defect with no effect on the emitted light is Minor, and one that adversely affects the light is Major.
Number plate lights (rear)
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.
Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage.
Tyres
One wear pattern: tyre condition (rear), 2.0 times as often as on similar cars.
Tyre condition (rear)
What it means
Exposed or damaged ply or cords are graded Dangerous. A cut in excess of the requirements and deep enough to reach the ply or cords is Major, and testers may open the cut with a blunt instrument to check its depth. A tyre contacting the vehicle through flexing or suspension movement is not a defect; fouling fails only at the time of test.
Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. 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
- 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 85.5% of 6,079 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 88.9%: 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.
Same model, other years
Passed first time in every 100, all tested in 2025.
Newer cars are younger, so look for a jump rather than the climb. A year earlier (2024), when these cars were a year younger, 85 in every 100 passed first time.
| Year | Passed first time | First tests |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 84 in every 100 | 1,188 |
| 2017 | 84 in every 100 | 4,067 |
| 2018 This car | 86 in every 100 | 6,079 |
| 2019 | 86 in every 100 | 8,770 |
| 2020 | 86 in every 100 | 17,538 |
| 2021 | 87 in every 100 | 22,687 |
| 2022 | 88 in every 100 | 22,596 |
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 2018 Niro.
Of 2018 Niro vehicles with under 39,000 miles, 89 in every 100 passed their 2025 MOT first time. With 97,000 miles or more, 83 in every 100 did.
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 39,000 | 53,000–68,000 | 97,000 and over | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tyre condition (rear) | 3.4 | 2.7 | 0.9 |
| Tyre tread depth (front) | 0.5 | 1.3 | 1.2 |
| Windscreen wipers (front) | 1.2 | 0.7 | 0.9 |
| Brake pads (rear) | 0.2 | 1.2 | 1.1 |
| Brake efficiency below minimum (roller test) | 0.2 | 0.9 | 1.1 |
Faults per 100 first tests, by the car's mileage at the test.
When a car fails
of failed cars had one item to fix.
of failed cars had three or more items to fix.
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.
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.
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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