Pass rate
74.7%
Below average — 2.5 pts behind the 77.2% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 11,617 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £23–£65
2012 Hyundai I40 MOT pass rate
- 2012
- 2 trims combined
- typical 107,695 mi
Most common fault
Brakes
25.3% of faults · 20.9% nationally
mostly worn pads and discs, corroded pipes and a handbrake that will not hold.
Part only £25–£40 for Brake pads under 1.5 mm. What fitting it takes →
1.3 pts down across model years — 5.5% in 2011, 4.2% in 2019.
Which year to buy
- Best 2019 89.6% pass
- Avoid 2011 74.1% pass
Across the 9 years on record, a spread of 15.5 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 67.4%
- Typical mileage
- 108k mi
The 2012 Hyundai I40 MOT pass rate is 74.7% of its MOT tests — 2.5 points behind what its age and mileage predict. Brakes is the biggest single reason it fails, at 25.3% of what testers record.
Check your postcode
MOT pass rates are national — type your postcode to see how Hyundai I40 does in your corner of the country.
Expert verdict
Steering: 3.4× the national share
Steering accounts for 8.7% of everything recorded on the 2012 Hyundai I40, against 2.6% nationally — 6.1 points above. Brakes are still the single largest share at 25.3%, but at 20.9% nationally that one is ordinary. Ask for the steering to be checked for play with the wheels on the ground, not on a jack.
Written from this page's own figures: fault shares against the national composition, the like-for-like pass rate, and the priced repair list. How these are worked out
Watching a Hyundai I40? Get an email when these numbers change .
Every Hyundai I40 first registered in 2012 is combined here — 2 trim and body variants in total — so the sample is as large as the DVSA data allows.
How does the 2012 Hyundai I40 compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 77.2%, so this figure is 2.5 points behind what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 67.4%. The median 2012 Hyundai I40 in this dataset had covered 107,695 mi.
The most common fuel recorded here is Diesel — 94% of tests, with a 74.9% pass rate. Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 74.9% of the time, April–September 74.3%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources", noted on 7.40% of tests.
- 11,617 recorded tests behind this page.
- 74.7% overall pass rate, 67.4% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the Hyundai I40, the average is 80.7% — best year 2019 (89.6%), worst 2011 (74.1%).
Figures count every completed test on this vehicle-year in the dataset, including retests. See methodology for the exact definition.
This page's data
- Tests analysed
- 11,617
- Typical mileage (median)
- 107,695 mi
- Make and model
- Hyundai I40
- Updated
- 2026-11-05
Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data (2023–2025), OGL v3.0.
Top part to budget for
Number Plate Lamp
Usually a DIY or independent-garage job.
Does mileage affect the I40 MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 65% so small gaps stay visible.
Fuel type and reliability
Pass rate by fuel type. Diesel is the most common here (94% of tests).
Regional pass rates for the I40
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| North West | 1,698 | 76.0% |
| South East | 1,622 | 77.2% |
| West Midlands | 1,440 | 77.0% |
| Yorkshire | 1,414 | 72.5% |
| South West | 1,262 | 71.3% |
| East of England | 1,215 | 78.8% |
| Scotland | 957 | 67.9% |
| East Midlands | 917 | 76.2% |
| Wales | 598 | 72.4% |
| North East | 409 | 70.2% |
| London | 85 | 84.7% |
Regions come from the postcode area recorded at the test station. Areas on region borders are assigned to the region with the majority of their population.
What fails a 2012 I40
Everything a tester recorded on this vehicle, grouped into the inspection sections that produced it. The notch on each bar is the national share, so you can see at a glance whether this car is unusual or just ordinary.
A test can record several items, so these percentages do not add up to 100%. The exact strings, with prices, are in the full DVSA record at the bottom of this page.
Before your test
Three checks worth doing on a 2012 I40
These are not generic tips — they are the faults recorded most often on this exact model, rewritten as things you can check yourself. All three take about ten minutes and cost nothing.
-
Check the lights 7.4% of tests
“registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources”
Switch everything on and walk round the car: both headlamps on dip and main, every indicator, both brake lights, reverse, fog and the two number-plate lamps. A bulb is a few pounds and a five-minute job.
-
Check the suspension joints 5.0% of tests
“track rod end ball joint has excessive play”
With the car parked on level ground, rock the top of each front wheel in and out while someone watches the suspension arm. Clunks, or rubber boots split and greasy, are what testers record here.
-
Check the coil springs 3.8% of tests
“coil spring fractured or broken”
Look up inside each wheel arch with a torch, all the way round the spring. A snapped spring usually breaks at the very bottom coil, where a quick glance will not reach.
Shares are the proportion of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item, so they overlap: one test can record several.
What it costs to get a 2012 I40 through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £23–£65 — and 37% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £23–£65
- Cheapest common item: registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the…
- £5–£20
- Dearest common item: windscreen damaged
- £80–£200
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 70%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 37%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 11,617 MOT tests on this vehicle. They exclude diagnostics, retest fees and garage labour where the part is a DIY fit, and they are not figures from the DVSA dataset. Older and higher-mileage examples cost more than the average. How these estimates are built → · All MOT repair costs → · Cheapest cars to put through a test →
Every year of the I40, side by side
9 model years on record, from 2011 to 2019. Across them the pass rate runs from 74.1% to 89.6% — a spread of 15.5 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2011 74.1% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2012 74.7%registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2013 76.2% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2014 78.6% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2015 81.9% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2016 84.9% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2017 87.0% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2018 87.0% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2019 89.6% brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick
Colour is the pass rate on a fixed scale, so a block means the same thing on any model. Each year links to its own page with the full fault breakdown.
Compare the 2012 Hyundai I40 with another year
The raw pass rate mostly measures age. The year comparison adds the like-for-like figure, the mileage bands and the repair bill.
Other 2012 cars with a similar record
- Ford Fiesta 74.7%
- SEAT Ibiza 74.7%
- Fiat 500 C 74.7%
- Chevrolet Orlando 74.8%
- Mitsubishi L200 74.6%
- Vauxhall Corsa 74.9%
Closest pass rates among 2012 cars with at least 2,000 tests, so a small sample cannot flatter itself into the list. See the full rankings: best and worst MOT pass rates.
The full DVSA record for the 2012 Hyundai I40 10 failure items · 6 advisories · 10 inspection categories · mileage brackets · all of it in the page, none of it above the fold
Every inspection category
Shares of the 24,766 individual items recorded on this vehicle, and the same share across all cars nationally. A single test can record several items, so a row is not a percentage of tests.
| Category | Items | This car | Nationally | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brakes | 6,331 | 25.30% | 20.89% | +4.41 |
| Suspension | 4,960 | 19.80% | 20.98% | −1.18 |
| Tyres | 4,349 | 17.40% | 19.76% | −2.36 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 2,524 | 10.10% | 12.21% | −2.11 |
| Steering | 2,170 | 8.70% | 2.57% | +6.13 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 1,366 | 5.50% | 5.52% | −0.02 |
| Non-component advisories | 1,198 | 4.80% | 4.18% | +0.62 |
| Visibility | 878 | 3.50% | 4.97% | −1.47 |
| Identification of the vehicle | 510 | 2.00% | 1.76% | +0.24 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 480 | 1.90% | 5.57% | −3.67 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 7.4% | £5–20 |
| Track rod end ball joint has excessive play Steering | Major | 5.0% | £18–45 |
| Coil spring fractured or broken Suspension | Major | 3.8% | £25–65 |
| Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view Visibility | Minor | 2.5% | £80–200 |
| Brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick Brakes | Major | 2.2% | £18–45 |
| Service brake performance excessively binding Brakes | Major | 1.9% | £60–150 |
| Headlamp not working on dipped beam Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 1.8% | £5–25 |
| Linkage ball joints ball joint excessively worn Suspension | Major | 1.7% | £18–45 |
| Position lamp with a multiple light source up to 1/2 not functioning Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 1.7% | £5–25 |
| Pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn Suspension | Major | 1.6% | £40–150 |
Severity is as recorded: Major and Dangerous fail the test outright; Minor and Advisory do not. Costs are estimates from typical UK parts prices — see how they are built.
What testers noted without failing the car
Advisories are the early warnings — the same parts a year or two before they fail. Reading them is how you tell a car that has been maintained from one that has been patched.
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Advisory | 20.9% | £45–95 |
| Brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick Brakes | Advisory | 10.5% | £18–45 |
| Brake discs in such a condition that it is seriously weakened Brakes | Advisory | 10.2% | £45–110 |
| Rigid brake pipes excessively corroded Brakes | Advisory | 8.8% | £80–180 |
| Engine oil leaks leaking excessively from engine Noise, emissions and leaks | Advisory | 8.6% | £200–700 |
| Pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn Suspension | Advisory | 6.9% | £40–150 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 60 | 88.3% | 23,576 mi |
| 30-60k | 653 | 79.8% | 48,929 mi |
| 60-90k | 2,613 | 75.4% | 77,660 mi |
| 90-120k | 4,121 | 73.2% | 104,735 mi |
| 120k+ | 4,167 | 74.7% | 148,478 mi |
Source: 11,617 recorded tests on this vehicle-year. Every row above is recomputed from the same DVSA extract as the rest of the page — see the methodology.
2012 I40 MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2012 Hyundai I40?
74.7% of the 11,617 2012 Hyundai I40 tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 77.2% for cars first used in 2012. First-attempt pass rate: 67.4%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2012 Hyundai I40?
The three most recorded items are registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources (7.40%), track rod end ball joint has excessive play (5.05%), coil spring fractured or broken (3.76%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2012 Hyundai I40 MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 88.3% of the time, falling to 74.7% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2012 Hyundai I40 in this dataset had covered 107,695 mi.
Which fuel type is most reliable for a 2012 Hyundai I40?
Diesel: 74.9% pass rate across 10,904 tests. Petrol: 71.5% pass rate across 713 tests. Shares are of the tests on this vehicle that recorded each fuel type.
Does the season affect the 2012 Hyundai I40 MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 74.9% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 74.3%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.