Kia Carens MOT Pass Rate & Official DVSA Failure Statistics

Kia Carens MOT History and Failure Rates vs UK National Average

The Kia Carens passed on its first attempt in 70.4%, and its overall record sits −4.4 percentage points below the national average for all cars. These figures come from every recorded DVSA MOT test for the Kia Carens in the 2023–2025 data: 55,416 tests across 17 model years (2003–2019). A test still carries exactly one pass or fail verdict.

Figures are computed from every recorded DVSA test for this model in the 2023–2025 data.

Most Common Kia Carens MOT Problems by Failure Category

Every MOT failure a tester records belongs to one inspection section of the DVSA manual. For the Kia Carens, the Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment section leads the record — the breakdown below shows where the recorded failures cluster, then the exact strings behind the three biggest sections.

Shares are over the Kia Carens's recorded defect strings, merged across its year pages.

Top Recorded Kia Carens DVSA MOT Test Statistics & Defect Descriptions

The descriptions below are the exact DVSA failure strings testers recorded most often for the Kia Carens, each with how many of the model's 55,416 tests it was noted on.

• "Stop lamp not working" (Major) — noted on about 1,911 Kia Carens tests, 3.4% of the model's MOT record.
• "Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources" (Minor) — noted on about 1,906 Kia Carens tests, 3.4% of the model's MOT record.
• "Rbt (sp) efficiency below requirements" (Major) — noted on about 1,682 Kia Carens tests, 3.0% of the model's MOT record.
• "Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view" (Minor) — noted on about 1,331 Kia Carens tests, 2.4% of the model's MOT record.
• "Brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick" (Major) — noted on about 1,056 Kia Carens tests, 1.9% of the model's MOT record.
• "Ball joint excessively worn" (Major) — noted on about 911 Kia Carens tests, 1.6% of the model's MOT record.

Best and Worst Kia Carens Model Years by Pass Rate

The strongest Kia Carens model year on record is 2018 (83.4% across 5,641 tests), and the weakest is 2005 (61.3%). The gap between them is 22.1 points. Years with fewer than 50 recorded tests are excluded, so these are the years with enough MOT history to mean something.

Kia Carens reliability is improving in the DVSA data — the pass rate moves about 1.0 points a year across the most recent model years shown above.

Newest model year first. Only years with at least 50 recorded tests are listed.

Pre-MOT Inspection Checklist for Kia Carens Owners

These checks follow this Kia Carens's own most-recorded failure strings, starting with what a tester is most likely to flag on a Kia Carens.

• the lights — “stop lamp not working”

  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.

• the windscreen — “windscreen damaged”

  Check the driver’s side of the screen within the swept area for chips and cracks; anything larger than 10mm in the driver’s central view is a fail. Most chips can be resin-repaired for far less than a new screen.

• the brakes — “brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick”

  Look through the spokes of each wheel at the pad — less than 3mm of friction material, or a lip on the disc edge, is the usual failure. Check the handbrake holds on a slope with a few clicks, not at the top of its travel.

Derived from the DVSA failure strings testers recorded for the Kia Carens. A check that finds nothing means the item is likely fine, not that the test is guaranteed.

Where the Kia Carens is most common

Across every Carens model year on record (2003–2019): 21,122 Kia Carens cars tested in a recordable postcode area, across 55,416 tests. Birmingham (B) has the most, with 723 cars tested there. Cars are counted by the postcode area of the MOT station, so this is where they were tested, not necessarily where their owners live.

The twenty areas with the most Kia Carens cars in the record, sorted by car count — sort the columns for a different question. Cars tested at a station whose postcode area could not be resolved are counted in the model's total but in no area, so the shares add up to slightly under 100% even across every area, and an area's cars are a subset of the model's. Pass rate is blank below 30 tests in an area, where a percentage is noise rather than a finding. How this model's pass rate varies by postcode →

Frequently Asked Questions: Kia Carens MOT & Reliability