At a glance
How 2,982 first tests went in 2025.
- Passed first time
- 74 in every 100
- Did not pass first time
- 26 in every 100763 failed first-attempt tests
- The typical car
- 9 yearsabout 76,817 miles
- First tests counted
- 2,982
What failed most often
- Suspension arm pins and bushes (rear)10 in every 100 failed tests
- Suspension arm ball joint (front)10 in every 100 failed tests
- Brake pads (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.
These are patterns across 2016 Kia Sorento 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
One fault and one wear pattern. The strongest is the electronic parking brake: 45 times as often as on similar cars.
Figures below are measured across the 763 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
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.
Brake pads (front)
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.
Lamps and electrical
One fault: headlight cleaning device, 30 times as often as on similar cars.
Headlight cleaning device
What it means
A headlamp cleaning device that is inoperative is graded Minor. Where the headlamps are LED or gas discharge (HID) systems, an inoperative cleaning device is graded Major.
Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage.
Suspension
Three faults. The strongest is the suspension arm pins and bushes (rear): 23 times as often as on similar cars.
Suspension arm pins and bushes (rear)
What it means
Pins and bushes on suspension arms fail as Major when they are excessively worn. They are graded Dangerous when likely to become detached. DVSA uses the same wording for a suspension joint.
Also noted as an advisory
Testers also noted it as an advisory, worn but not yet failing, on 88 first tests, 12 times as often as on similar cars.
Shock absorbers (rear)
What it means
Slight seepage that leaves a film of fluid on a shock absorber does not fail it. Severe leakage, or damage so that it does not function, is Major. A shock absorber missing or likely to become detached is graded Dangerous, though a missing one is only rejected if shock absorbers were fitted as standard.
Also noted as an advisory
Testers also noted it as an advisory, worn but not yet failing, on 36 first tests, 2.1 times as often as on similar cars.
Anti-roll bar linkage ball joint dust cover (front)
What it means
A suspension joint dust cover that is severely deteriorated is Minor. It becomes Major once it is missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt, so what matters is whether it still keeps dirt out. DVSA words this for any suspension joint dust cover, and files it here under anti-roll bars.
Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage. Advisories count notes recorded on failed first tests only.
Noise, emissions and leaks
One fault: diesel engine warning light, 2.4 times as often as on similar cars.
Diesel engine warning light
What it means
An engine malfunction indicator lamp that is illuminated to show a malfunction is graded Major on a diesel, but only on the diesels the test covers, which depends on the vehicle type and when it was first used. DVSA lists it under exhaust emissions for compression ignition engines, and the detail line for the row also names an inoperative lamp.
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.
Transmission oil leaks (rear)
Rigid brake pipes (rear)
Rigid brake pipes (front)
Suspension arm ball joint (front)
Number plates (rear)
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
- 74in every 100
- Passed on the first test.
- Fixed at the station
- 4in every 100
- Failed, then fixed at the test station the same day.
- Failed
- 22in every 100
- Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.
First-attempt pass 74.4% of 2,982 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 78.2%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 4 fixed and the 22 not fixed make the 26 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, 77 in every 100 passed first time.
| Year | Passed first time | First tests |
|---|---|---|
| 2004 | 52 in every 100 | 316 |
| 2005 | 52 in every 100 | 605 |
| 2006 | 52 in every 100 | 1,137 |
| 2007 | 51 in every 100 | 822 |
| 2008 | 52 in every 100 | 646 |
| 2009 | 54 in every 100 | 998 |
| 2010 | 58 in every 100 | 1,556 |
| 2011 | 56 in every 100 | 1,391 |
| 2012 | 56 in every 100 | 1,674 |
| 2013 | 63 in every 100 | 1,952 |
| 2014 | 67 in every 100 | 2,700 |
| 2015 | 72 in every 100 | 3,761 |
| 2016 This car | 74 in every 100 | 2,982 |
| 2017 | 79 in every 100 | 2,965 |
| 2018 | 82 in every 100 | 2,598 |
| 2019 | 82 in every 100 | 2,623 |
| 2020 | 83 in every 100 | 1,116 |
| 2021 | 85 in every 100 | 2,161 |
| 2022 | 87 in every 100 | 1,966 |
If you are buying one
What this year's MOT record means for the decision in front of you.
Mileage matters most on a 2016 Sorento.
Of 2016 Sorento vehicles with under 57,000 miles, 79 in every 100 passed their 2025 MOT first time. With 101,000 miles or more, 66 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 57,000 | 70,000–84,000 | 101,000 and over | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Suspension arm pins and bushes (rear) | 1.4 | 3.7 | 3.6 |
| Suspension arm ball joint (front) | 0.3 | 1.8 | 6.1 |
| Brake pads (front) | 2.5 | 2.3 | 2.4 |
| Tyre condition (rear) | 1.7 | 2.3 | 3.6 |
| Diesel engine warning light | 1.0 | 2.1 | 3.1 |
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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