Pass rate
75.1%
Around average — 2.1 pts behind the 77.2% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 49,983 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £32–£82
2012 Kia Picanto MOT pass rate
- 2012
- typical 62,699 mi
Check your postcode
Most common fault
Brakes
34.1% of faults · 20.9% nationally
mostly worn pads and discs, corroded pipes and a handbrake that will not hold.
Part only £25–£55 for Rigid brake pipes excessively corroded. What fitting it takes →
6.8 pts down across model years — 7.8% in 2004, 1.0% in 2017.
Which year to buy
- Best 2023 94.1% pass
- Avoid 2006 67.8% pass
Across the 20 years on record, a spread of 26.3 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 67.9%
- Typical mileage
- 63k mi
The 2012 Kia Picanto MOT pass rate is 75.1% of its MOT tests — 2.1 points behind what its age and mileage predict. Brakes is the biggest single reason it fails, at 34.1% of what testers record.
Expert verdict
Brakes: 1.6× the national share
Brakes make up 34.1% of everything recorded on the 2012 Kia Picanto, against 20.9% nationally — 13.2 points above. Have the discs and pads measured rather than glanced at, and ask whether the handbrake holds on a slope.
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 Kia Picanto? Get an email when these numbers change .
How does the 2012 Kia Picanto compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 77.2%, so this figure is 2.1 points behind what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 67.9%. The median 2012 Kia Picanto in this dataset had covered 62,699 mi.
The most common fuel recorded here is Petrol — 100% of tests, with a 75.1% pass rate. Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 74.9% of the time, April–September 75.3%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources", noted on 6.37% of tests.
- 49,983 recorded tests behind this page.
- 75.1% overall pass rate, 67.9% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the Kia Picanto, the average is 80.5% — best year 2023 (94.1%), worst 2006 (67.8%).
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
- 49,983
- Typical mileage (median)
- 62,699 mi
- Make and model
- Kia Picanto
- Updated
- 2026-11-07
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 Picanto MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 60% so small gaps stay visible.
Fuel type and reliability
Pass rate by fuel type. Petrol is the most common here (100% of tests).
Where the Kia Picanto is most common
Across all Picanto model years on record (2004–2023): 249,372 Kia Picanto cars tested in a recordable postcode area, across 636,124 tests. Birmingham (B) has the most, with 6,780 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.
| # | Postcode area | Cars | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Birmingham (B) | 6,780 | 83.7% |
| 2 | Sheffield (S) | 5,912 | 82.2% |
| 3 | Nottingham (NG) | 5,699 | 78.9% |
| 4 | Portsmouth (PO) | 5,674 | 80.6% |
| 5 | Manchester (M) | 4,733 | 80.0% |
| 6 | Cardiff (CF) | 4,601 | 79.1% |
| 7 | Bristol (BS) | 4,543 | 77.2% |
| 8 | Swansea (SA) | 4,247 | 79.8% |
| 9 | Stockport (SK) | 4,061 | 83.0% |
| 10 | Peterborough (PE) | 3,930 | 81.7% |
| 11 | Glasgow (G) | 3,901 | 76.3% |
| 12 | Guildford (GU) | 3,845 | 83.0% |
| 13 | Leicester (LE) | 3,831 | 83.0% |
| 14 | Brighton (BN) | 3,824 | 80.7% |
| 15 | Derby (DE) | 3,591 | 82.4% |
| 16 | Southampton (SO) | 3,446 | 82.0% |
| 17 | Maidstone (ME) | 3,352 | 83.3% |
| 18 | Edinburgh (EH) | 3,303 | 74.3% |
| 19 | Bolton (BL) | 3,286 | 81.5% |
| 20 | Newcastle upon Tyne (NE) | 3,224 | 78.3% |
The twenty areas with the most Kia Picanto 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 →
Regional pass rates for the Picanto
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South East | 9,907 | 78.3% |
| North West | 6,961 | 74.9% |
| South West | 5,287 | 75.3% |
| Yorkshire | 4,957 | 74.0% |
| East of England | 4,644 | 78.6% |
| Scotland | 4,496 | 64.7% |
| West Midlands | 4,185 | 78.0% |
| East Midlands | 3,609 | 75.1% |
| Wales | 2,741 | 72.8% |
| North East | 1,760 | 69.6% |
| London | 1,436 | 81.5% |
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 Picanto
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 Picanto
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 6.4% 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 3.4% of tests
“ball joint excessively worn”
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 2.6% 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 Picanto through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £32–£82 — and 39% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £32–£82
- 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
- 60%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 39%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 49,983 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 Picanto, side by side
20 model years on record, from 2004 to 2023. Across them the pass rate runs from 67.8% to 94.1% — a spread of 26.3 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2004 69.2% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2005 68.6% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2006 67.8% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2007 69.6% ball joint dust cover severely…
- 2008 70.8% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2009 71.9% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2010 72.7% ball joint dust cover severely…
- 2011 73.3% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2012 75.1%registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2013 77.9% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2014 80.9% rbt (sp) efficiency below…
- 2015 83.0% rbt (sp) efficiency below…
- 2016 83.4% rbt (sp) efficiency below…
- 2017 87.1% wipers does not clear the…
- 2018 89.9% wipers does not clear the…
- 2019 90.8% wipers does not clear the…
- 2020 92.5% wipers blade defective
- 2021 92.6% wipers blade defective
- 2022 92.3% has a cut in excess of the…
- 2023 94.1% headlamp aim too low
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 Kia Picanto 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
- Fiat 500 75.1%
- Fiat 500C 75.1%
- Fiat Qubo 75.1%
- Vauxhall Mokka 75.0%
- Alfa Romeo Mito 75.2%
- 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 Kia Picanto 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 98,498 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 | 34,322 | 34.10% | 20.89% | +13.21 |
| Tyres | 17,548 | 17.40% | 19.76% | −2.36 |
| Suspension | 16,966 | 16.80% | 20.98% | −4.18 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 11,385 | 11.30% | 12.21% | −0.91 |
| Visibility | 4,451 | 4.40% | 4.97% | −0.57 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 4,167 | 4.10% | 5.52% | −1.42 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 3,536 | 3.50% | 5.57% | −2.07 |
| Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | 2,356 | 2.30% | 0.82% | +1.48 |
| Non-component advisories | 2,134 | 2.10% | 4.18% | −2.08 |
| Identification of the vehicle | 1,633 | 1.60% | 1.76% | −0.16 |
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 | 6.4% | £5–20 |
| Rbt (sp) efficiency below requirements Brakes | Major | 4.0% | £45–110 |
| Position lamp not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 3.7% | £5–25 |
| Ball joint excessively worn Suspension | Major | 3.4% | £18–45 |
| Parking brake performance inoperative on one side Brakes | Major | 2.9% | £60–150 |
| Coil spring fractured or broken Suspension | Major | 2.6% | £25–65 |
| Rigid brake pipes excessively corroded Brakes | Major | 2.4% | £80–180 |
| Position lamp not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Rectified | 2.0% | £5–25 |
| Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view Visibility | Minor | 1.8% | £80–200 |
| Service brake performance excessively binding Brakes | Major | 1.8% | £60–150 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rigid brake pipes excessively corroded Brakes | Advisory | 17.4% | £80–180 |
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Advisory | 16.3% | £45–95 |
| Brake discs in such a condition that it is seriously weakened Brakes | Advisory | 11.7% | £45–110 |
| Has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Tyres | Advisory | 10.2% | £45–95 |
| Pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn Suspension | Advisory | 7.3% | £40–150 |
| Brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick Brakes | Advisory | 6.9% | £18–45 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 4,612 | 85.5% | 22,036 mi |
| 30-60k | 18,369 | 78.1% | 46,421 mi |
| 60-90k | 18,419 | 72.4% | 73,673 mi |
| 90-120k | 6,921 | 69.2% | 101,209 mi |
| 120k+ | 1,654 | 68.0% | 136,001 mi |
Source: 49,983 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 Picanto MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2012 Kia Picanto?
75.1% of the 49,983 2012 Kia Picanto tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 77.2% for cars first used in 2012. First-attempt pass rate: 67.9%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2012 Kia Picanto?
The three most recorded items are registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources (6.37%), rbt (sp) efficiency below requirements (3.98%), position lamp not working (3.70%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2012 Kia Picanto MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 85.5% of the time, falling to 68.0% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2012 Kia Picanto in this dataset had covered 62,699 mi.
Which fuel type is most reliable for a 2012 Kia Picanto?
Petrol: 75.1% pass rate across 49,952 tests. Diesel: 74.2% pass rate across 31 tests. Shares are of the tests on this vehicle that recorded each fuel type.
Does the season affect the 2012 Kia Picanto MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 74.9% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 75.3%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.