Model Reports 4 min read Updated 18 Oct 2026

Kia Picanto 2004: reliability & common MOT faults

In 2025, 49 in every 100 first MOTs on a 2004 Kia Picanto were passes. Most common reason for a fail: Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test).

Summary

The 2004 Kia Picanto follows the pattern of the model years either side.

At a glance

How 1,285 first tests went in 2025.

Passed first time
49 in every 100
Did not pass first time
51 in every 100652 failed first-attempt tests
The typical car
21 yearsabout 72,652 miles
First tests counted
1,285

What failed most often

  1. Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test)23 in every 100 failed tests
  2. Individual sidelight or tail light (front)16 in every 100 failed tests
  3. Suspension mounting area (rear)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 2004 Kia Picanto 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.

Suspension

Two faults. The strongest is the suspension arm (front): 17 times as often as on similar cars.

Figures below are measured across the 650 of 652 failed first attempts (99.7%) 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.

Suspension arm (front)

Failed on 49 first tests17 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

What it means

A missing bump stop rubber is not a reason to fail a suspension arm. A component that is fractured, missing or likely to fail is graded Dangerous, and one excessively damaged or corroded is Major. On some vehicles, some highly stressed parts are thin pressed steel, and many of those have hollow box sections or up-facing areas that can collect road dirt and salt, so they get special attention.

Also noted as an advisory

Testers also noted it as an advisory, worn but not yet failing, on 56 first tests, 3.3 times as often as on similar cars.

Suspension mounting area (rear)

Failed on 77 first tests2.5 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

The load bearing structure within a set distance of a sub-frame, spring or suspension component mounting is a prescribed area. Major applies when its strength or continuity is significantly reduced or it is inadequately repaired. Dangerous applies when it is so weakened that control of the vehicle is likely to be adversely affected.

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage. Advisories count notes recorded on failed first tests only.

Brakes

Two faults. The strongest is the handbrake performance (roller test, rear): 3.9 times as often as on similar cars.

Handbrake performance (roller test, rear)

Failed on 26 first tests3.9 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.

Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test)

Failed on 147 first tests3.5 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.

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

Body and structure

One fault: chassis condition (rear), 2.4 times as often as on similar cars.

Chassis condition (rear)

Failed on 20 first tests2.4 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

A main load-bearing structural member that is fractured, deformed, modified or inadequately repaired is Major when structural rigidity is significantly reduced, and Dangerous where steering or braking is likely to be adversely affected. Corrosion of the body, cab or chassis at a mounting point is Dangerous where overall security or stability is impaired.

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. Advisories for the faults above are shown with those faults.

Macpherson strut pins and bushes (front)

Noted on 42 first tests7.2 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Coil spring (rear)

Noted on 153 first tests3.1 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Brake performance (roller test, front)

Noted on 40 first tests2.7 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Brake discs (rear)

Noted on 79 first tests2.2 times as often as similar carsWear pattern

Coil spring (front)

Noted on 51 first tests2.0 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
49in 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
44in every 100
Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.

First-attempt pass 49.3% of 1,285 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 56.2%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 7 fixed and the 44 not fixed make the 51 in every 100 that did not pass first time.

Same model, other years

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

4060801002004201020152020Newer cars
406080100200420102020Newer 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, 53 in every 100 passed first time.

YearPassed first timeFirst tests
2004 This car49 in every 1001,285
200548 in every 1002,649
200647 in every 1002,930
200750 in every 1002,119
200852 in every 1002,695
200954 in every 10011,352
201055 in every 10011,799
201157 in every 1009,733
201259 in every 10012,293
201364 in every 10012,004
201469 in every 10013,850
201574 in every 10013,160
201675 in every 10012,159
201780 in every 10012,878
201883 in every 10015,887
201984 in every 10017,030
202086 in every 1008,674
202186 in every 10010,577
202288 in every 1009,845

FAQs

Short answers about how to read this model-year guide.

The 2004 Kia Picanto follows the pattern of the model years either side. Its main cause of failure was Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test), about 23 in every 100 failed tests. In 2025, 49.3% of 1,285 first MOTs on the 2004 Kia Picanto passed first time (PRS: items fixed at the station the same day, counted as a fail). The official-style rate including PRS is 56.2%. Among 652 failed first-attempt MOT tests (test year 2025), Suspension arm (front) appears more often than on similar cars (7.5% of those tests; 49 observed failures; about 17× 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 2004 Kia Picanto at the first attempt were Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test) (22.6%), Individual sidelight or tail light (front) (16.0%) and Suspension mounting area (rear) (11.8%), 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: Suspension arm (front) (7.5% of those tests; 49 observed failures; about 17× more often than similar cars). These are statistical signals, not a diagnosis of any individual car.
Suspension arm (front) shows up more often than on similar cars (7.5% of those tests; 49 observed failures; about 17× 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 2004 Kia Picanto include Suspension arm (front), Handbrake performance (roller test, rear), 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.
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 2004 Kia Picanto (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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