Model Reports 4 min read Updated 18 Oct 2026

Kia Sorento 2014: reliability & common MOT faults

In 2025, 67 in every 100 first MOTs on a 2014 Kia Sorento were passes. Most common reason for a fail: Track rod end (front).

Summary

The 2014 Kia Sorento follows the pattern of the model years either side.

At a glance

How 2,700 first tests went in 2025.

Passed first time
67 in every 100
Did not pass first time
33 in every 100902 failed first-attempt tests
The typical car
11 yearsabout 91,356 miles
First tests counted
2,700

What failed most often

  1. Track rod end (front)27 in every 100 failed tests
  2. Tyre condition (rear)9 in every 100 failed tests
  3. Suspension arm ball joint (front)9 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 2014 Kia Sorento 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

One fault: anti-roll bar linkage ball joints (rear), 31 times as often as on similar cars.

Figures below are measured across the 902 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.

Anti-roll bar linkage ball joints (rear)

Failed on 48 first tests31 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

What it means

Excessive wear on an anti-roll bar linkage ball joint is Major. A joint likely to become detached is graded Dangerous.

Also noted as an advisory

Testers also noted it as an advisory, worn but not yet failing, on 30 first tests, 13 times as often as on similar cars.

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 brake performance not tested: 5.0 times as often as on similar cars.

Brake performance not tested

Failed on 20 first tests5.0 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

A brake performance test recorded as unable to be tested is Major. DVSA says the result 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 has to go in the additional information box.

Rigid brake pipes (rear)

Failed on 38 first tests4.6 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

What it means

Chafing, corrosion or damage to a rigid brake pipe justifies rejection once its wall thickness is reduced by a set amount, although DVSA accepts this is not easy to determine. If a tester is not sure, the benefit of the doubt applies. A leaking pipe or connection is graded Dangerous on a hydraulic system and Major on an air system.

Also noted as an advisory

Testers also noted it as an advisory, worn but not yet failing, on 76 first tests, 3.1 times as often as on similar cars.

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

Steering

One fault: track rod end (front), 4.8 times as often as on similar cars.

Track rod end (front)

Failed on 241 first tests4.8 times as often as similar carsLikely 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.

Also noted as an advisory

Testers also noted it as an advisory, worn but not yet failing, on 42 first tests, 3.3 times as often as on similar cars.

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

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.

Suspension sub-frame (rear)

Noted on 49 first tests2.7 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Suspension arm pins and bushes (rear)

Noted on 37 first tests2.5 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Suspension arm (rear)

Noted on 34 first tests2.5 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
67in 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
30in every 100
Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.

First-attempt pass 66.6% of 2,700 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 70.3%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 3 fixed and the 30 not fixed make the 33 in every 100 that did not pass first time.

Same model, other years

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

4060801002005201020142020Older carsNewer cars
406080100201020142020Older 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, 68 in every 100 passed first time.

YearPassed first timeFirst tests
200452 in every 100316
200552 in every 100605
200652 in every 1001,137
200751 in every 100822
200852 in every 100646
200954 in every 100998
201058 in every 1001,556
201156 in every 1001,391
201256 in every 1001,674
201363 in every 1001,952
2014 This car67 in every 1002,700
201572 in every 1003,761
201674 in every 1002,982
201779 in every 1002,965
201882 in every 1002,598
201982 in every 1002,623
202083 in every 1001,116
202185 in every 1002,161
202287 in every 1001,966

If you are buying one

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

Mileage matters most on a 2014 Sorento.

Of 2014 Sorento vehicles with under 67,000 miles, 84 in every 100 passed their 2025 MOT first time. With 118,000 miles or more, 57 in every 100 did.

Under 67,000538 tests
84
67,000–84,000532 tests
70
84,000–99,000 Typical car554 tests
64
99,000–118,000520 tests
59
118,000 and over556 tests
57

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 67,00084,000–99,000118,000 and over
Track rod end (front)4.19.211.9
Tyre condition (rear)0.72.22.7
Suspension arm ball joint (front)0.62.24.7
Tyre tread depth (front)0.72.34.5
Brake pads (rear)0.62.32.7

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

When a car fails

41in every 100

of failed cars had one item to fix.

33in every 100

of failed cars had three or more items to fix.

11in 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 2014 Kia Sorento follows the pattern of the model years either side. Its main cause of failure was Track rod end (front), about 27 in every 100 failed tests. In 2025, 66.6% of 2,700 first MOTs on the 2014 Kia Sorento passed first time (PRS: items fixed at the station the same day, counted as a fail). The official-style rate including PRS is 70.3%. Among 902 failed first-attempt MOT tests (test year 2025), Anti-roll bar linkage ball joints (rear) appears more often than on similar cars (5.3% of those tests; 48 observed failures; about 31× 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 2014 Kia Sorento at the first attempt were Track rod end (front) (26.7%), Tyre condition (rear) (9.0%) and Suspension arm ball joint (front) (9.0%), 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: Anti-roll bar linkage ball joints (rear) (5.3% of those tests; 48 observed failures; about 31× more often than similar cars). These are statistical signals, not a diagnosis of any individual car.
Anti-roll bar linkage ball joints (rear) shows up more often than on similar cars (5.3% of those tests; 48 observed failures; about 31× 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 2014 Kia Sorento include Anti-roll bar linkage ball joints (rear), Brake performance not tested, Track rod end (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 2014 Kia Sorento (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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