Model Reports 4 min read Updated 18 Oct 2026

Kia Sportage 2008: reliability & common MOT faults

In 2025, 54 in every 100 first MOTs on a 2008 Kia Sportage were passes. Most common reason for a fail: Individual sidelight or tail light (front).

Summary

The 2008 Kia Sportage follows the pattern of the model years either side.

At a glance

How 1,057 first tests went in 2025.

Passed first time
54 in every 100
Did not pass first time
46 in every 100483 failed first-attempt tests
The typical car
17 yearsabout 106,702 miles
First tests counted
1,057

What failed most often

  1. Individual sidelight or tail light (front)16 in every 100 failed tests
  2. Suspension arm pins and bushes (front)11 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 2008 Kia Sportage 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.

Suspension

Two faults. The strongest is the suspension sub-frame (rear): 17 times as often as on similar cars.

Figures below are measured across the 482 of 483 failed first attempts (99.8%) 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 sub-frame (rear)

Failed on 34 first tests17 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

What it means

A suspension sub-frame insecurely attached to the chassis or axle is Major, and Dangerous when it is insecure and impairing directional stability. A sub-frame that is missing, likely to become detached, fractured or likely to fail is also Dangerous. Excessive damage or corrosion that seriously weakens it is Major.

Suspension arm pins and bushes (front)

Failed on 51 first tests2.4 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

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 92 first tests, 2.2 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

One wear pattern: brake discs (rear), 3.7 times as often as on similar cars.

Brake discs (rear)

Failed on 20 first tests3.7 times as often as similar carsWear pattern

What it means

A brake disc or drum must be significantly worn before it is rejected, and being worn below the manufacturer's recommended limits is not a reason in itself. Significantly and obviously worn is Major, as is contamination with oil or grease. A disc or drum that is fractured, insecure, seriously weakened or missing is graded Dangerous.

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.

Exhaust system (front)

Noted on 22 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
54in every 100
Passed on the first test.
Fixed at the station
8in every 100
Failed, then fixed at the test station the same day.
Failed
38in every 100
Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.

First-attempt pass 54.3% of 1,057 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 62.3%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 8 fixed and the 38 not fixed make the 46 in every 100 that did not pass first time.

Petrol and diesel

First testsPassed first time, as tested
Diesel71856
Petrol33751

Figures are in every 100 first tests.

Same model, other years

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

4060801002005200820152020Older carsNewer cars
40608010020082020Newer 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
200549 in every 100781
200650 in every 100741
200749 in every 100858
2008 This car54 in every 1001,057
200954 in every 1001,731
201056 in every 1003,425
201158 in every 1006,761
201259 in every 10011,560
201361 in every 10016,520
201468 in every 10017,894
201571 in every 10019,807
201675 in every 10035,201
201779 in every 10034,934
201882 in every 10032,321
201983 in every 10031,668
202083 in every 10018,121
202185 in every 10025,840
202289 in every 10027,880

FAQs

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

The 2008 Kia Sportage follows the pattern of the model years either side. Its main cause of failure was Individual sidelight or tail light (front), about 16 in every 100 failed tests. In 2025, 54.3% of 1,057 first MOTs on the 2008 Kia Sportage passed first time (PRS: items fixed at the station the same day, counted as a fail). The official-style rate including PRS is 62.3%. Among 483 failed first-attempt MOT tests (test year 2025), Suspension sub-frame (rear) appears more often than on similar cars (7.1% of those tests; 34 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 2008 Kia Sportage at the first attempt were Individual sidelight or tail light (front) (16.0%) and Suspension arm pins and bushes (front) (10.6%), 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 sub-frame (rear) (7.1% of those tests; 34 observed failures; about 17× more often than similar cars). These are statistical signals, not a diagnosis of any individual car.
Suspension sub-frame (rear) shows up more often than on similar cars (7.1% of those tests; 34 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 2008 Kia Sportage include Suspension sub-frame (rear), Suspension arm pins and bushes (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 2008 Kia Sportage (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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