Model Reports 4 min read Updated 18 Oct 2026

Kia Optima 2017: reliability & common MOT faults

In 2025, 80 in every 100 first MOTs on a 2017 Kia Optima were passes. Most common reason for a fail: Tyre condition (rear).

Summary

The 2017 Kia Optima follows the pattern of the model years either side.

At a glance

How 3,012 first tests went in 2025.

Passed first time
80 in every 100
Did not pass first time
20 in every 100594 failed first-attempt tests
The typical car
8 yearsabout 81,542 miles
First tests counted
3,012

What failed most often

  1. Tyre condition (rear)15 in every 100 failed tests
  2. Brake pads (rear)14 in every 100 failed tests
  3. Tyre tread depth (front)12 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 2017 Kia Optima 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

Two faults and one wear pattern. The strongest is the electronic parking brake: 35 times as often as on similar cars.

Figures below are measured across the 594 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.

Electronic parking brake

Failed on 24 first tests35 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.

Anti-lock braking system (ABS)

Failed on 41 first tests8.9 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

What it means

ABS is failed as removed only where it has obviously been removed, because not every vehicle in the age range where removal is not permitted has ABS. A warning lamp that does not light or shows an ABS fault is Major, as is a missing or excessively damaged wheel speed sensor. Every failure row for this component is Major.

Brake pads (rear)

Failed on 85 first tests2.5 times as often as similar carsWear pattern

What it means

A pad worn down to its wear indicator, or contaminated with oil or grease, is Major. A pad worn below the set thickness limit, missing or incorrectly mounted is Dangerous. The manual treats an illuminated brake wear indicator as no reason for failure, although DVSA also lists an illuminated indicator as a Major row.

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)

Failed on 89 first tests2.0 times as often as similar carsWear pattern

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.

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.

Number plates (rear)

Noted on 20 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
80in 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
17in every 100
Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.

First-attempt pass 80.3% of 3,012 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 82.9%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 3 fixed and the 17 not fixed make the 20 in every 100 that did not pass first time.

Same model, other years

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

406080100201420152016201720182019Older carsNewer cars
406080100201420152016201720182019Older carsNewer cars

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

YearPassed first timeFirst tests
201467 in every 100532
201572 in every 100552
201680 in every 1001,141
2017 This car80 in every 1003,012
201882 in every 1002,469
201980 in every 1001,531

If you are buying one

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

Mileage makes little difference on a 2017 Optima.

Of 2017 Optima vehicles with under 61,000 miles, 83 in every 100 passed their 2025 MOT first time. With 109,000 miles or more, 81 in every 100 did.

Under 61,000603 tests
83
61,000–75,000601 tests
83
75,000–89,000 Typical car596 tests
78
89,000–109,000601 tests
78
109,000 and over611 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 61,00075,000–89,000109,000 and over
Tyre condition (rear)3.02.94.1
Brake pads (rear)3.23.21.5
Tyre tread depth (front)1.32.52.8

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

When a car fails

47in every 100

of failed cars had one item to fix.

22in every 100

of failed cars had three or more items to fix.

9in 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 2017 Kia Optima follows the pattern of the model years either side. Its main cause of failure was Tyre condition (rear), about 15 in every 100 failed tests. In 2025, 80.3% of 3,012 first MOTs on the 2017 Kia Optima passed first time (PRS: items fixed at the station the same day, counted as a fail). The official-style rate including PRS is 82.9%. Among 594 failed first-attempt MOT tests (test year 2025), Electronic parking brake appears more often than on similar cars (4.0% of those tests; 24 observed failures; about 35× 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 2017 Kia Optima at the first attempt were Tyre condition (rear) (15.0%), Brake pads (rear) (14.3%) and Tyre tread depth (front) (12.3%), 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: Electronic parking brake (4.0% of those tests; 24 observed failures; about 35× more often than similar cars). These are statistical signals, not a diagnosis of any individual car.
Electronic parking brake shows up more often than on similar cars (4.0% of those tests; 24 observed failures; about 35× 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 2017 Kia Optima include Electronic parking brake, Anti-lock braking system (ABS). 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 2017 Kia Optima (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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