Model Reports 4 min read Updated 18 Oct 2026

Kia Sorento 2021: reliability & common MOT faults

In 2025, 85 in every 100 first MOTs on a 2021 Kia Sorento were passes. Most common reason for a fail: Windscreen wipers (front).

Summary

The 2021 Kia Sorento follows the pattern of the model years either side.

At a glance

How 2,161 first tests went in 2025.

Passed first time
85 in every 100
Did not pass first time
15 in every 100314 failed first-attempt tests
The typical car
4 yearsabout 36,269 miles
First tests counted
2,161

What failed most often

  1. Windscreen wipers (front)17 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 2021 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.

Lamps and electrical

Two faults. The strongest is the front fog lights: 32 times as often as on similar cars.

Figures below are measured across the 314 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.

Front fog lights

Failed on 24 first tests32 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

Front fog lamps are only inspected on vehicles first used from a set date, and on those a lamp that is not working is graded Major. With a multiple light source, up to half not functioning is Minor and more than half is Major. Lamps that are not wired up and have no switch are not required to work, and testers give the benefit of the doubt if unsure they are connected.

Rear fog light

Failed on 29 first tests17 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

A missing obligatory rear fog lamp, one that is not working, or one that does not emit a steady red light is graded Major. A rear fog lamp adversely affected by the operation of any other lamp is Major too. The manual allows it to go out when main beam is switched on or when dipped beam headlamps are switched off.

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

Noise, emissions and leaks

One fault: petrol engine warning light, 4.3 times as often as on similar cars.

Petrol engine warning light

Failed on 21 first tests4.3 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

The malfunction indicator lamp (MIL) on a petrol engine is a Major failure when it is illuminated indicating a malfunction. The detail line DVSA gives for the same row also names an inoperative lamp. The test covers only certain petrol vehicles, depending on their age, size and fuel type.

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
85in 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
12in every 100
Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.

First-attempt pass 85.5% of 2,161 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 88.1%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 3 fixed and the 12 not fixed make the 15 in every 100 that did not pass first time.

By fuel type

First testsTypical mileagePassed first time, as testedPassed first time, same mileage
Hybrid1,71436,150 miles8686
Diesel44536,499 miles8484

Figures are in every 100 first tests. Cars with more miles usually fail more often, so the same-mileage figure gives every fuel the mileage mix of all the cars in this year.

Same model, other years

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

4060801002005201020152021Older cars
40608010020102021Older 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, 86 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
201467 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
2021 This car85 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 makes little difference on a 2021 Sorento.

Of 2021 Sorento vehicles with under 26,000 miles, 88 in every 100 passed their 2025 MOT first time. With 50,000 miles or more, 85 in every 100 did.

Under 26,000439 tests
88
26,000–33,000414 tests
83
33,000–40,000 Typical car436 tests
83
40,000–50,000428 tests
89
50,000 and over444 tests
85

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 26,00033,000–40,00050,000 and over
Windscreen wipers (front)2.54.60.7

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

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 2021 Kia Sorento follows the pattern of the model years either side. Its main cause of failure was Windscreen wipers (front), about 17 in every 100 failed tests. In 2025, 85.5% of 2,161 first MOTs on the 2021 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 88.1%. Among 314 failed first-attempt MOT tests (test year 2025), Front fog lights appears more often than on similar cars (7.6% of those tests; 24 observed failures; about 32× 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 2021 Kia Sorento at the first attempt were Windscreen wipers (front) (17.2%), 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: Front fog lights (7.6% of those tests; 24 observed failures; about 32× more often than similar cars). These are statistical signals, not a diagnosis of any individual car.
Front fog lights shows up more often than on similar cars (7.6% of those tests; 24 observed failures; about 32× 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 2021 Kia Sorento include Front fog lights, Rear fog light, Petrol engine warning light. These are the faults that stand out compared with similar cars, not a complete list of what can go wrong on any individual car.
This page highlights MOT failure patterns for the 2021 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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