Pass rate
94.1%
Above average — 0.7 pts behind the 94.8% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 461 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £31–£80
2023 Kia Picanto MOT pass rate
- 2023
- typical 12,737 mi
Most common fault
Tyres
53.1% of faults · 19.8% nationally
mostly tread below the limit, cuts and sidewall bulges.
Part only £55–£85 for Tyre has a tear. What fitting it takes →
Which year to buy
- Best 2023 94.1% pass · this year
- Avoid 2006 67.8% pass
Across the 20 years on record, a spread of 26.3 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 93.9%
- Typical mileage
- 13k mi
The 2023 Kia Picanto MOT pass rate is 94.1% of its MOT tests — about what its age and mileage predict. Tyres is the biggest single reason it fails, at 53.1% of what testers record.
Check your postcode
MOT pass rates are national — type your postcode to see how Kia Picanto does in your corner of the country.
Expert verdict
Tyres: 2.7× the national share
Tyres make up 53.1% of everything recorded on the 2023 Kia Picanto, against 19.8% nationally — 33.3 points above. Check all four tyres yourself, including the inner shoulders, and look at the date stamp — a tyre can pass on tread and still be six years old.
- When it fails, it costs. Only 34% of this model’s typical repairs come in under £30 in parts — the failures here tend to be the kind that need a garage rather than a bulb.
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 2023 Kia Picanto compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 94.8%, so this figure is 0.7 points behind what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 93.9%. The median 2023 Kia Picanto in this dataset had covered 12,737 mi.
Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 93.0% of the time, April–September 97.5%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Headlamp aim too low", noted on 1.08% of tests.
- 461 recorded tests behind this page.
- 94.1% overall pass rate, 93.9% 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
- 461
- Typical mileage (median)
- 12,737 mi
- Make and model
- Kia Picanto
- Updated
- 2026-11-05
Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data (2023–2025), OGL v3.0.
Top part to budget for
Headlight Alignment
Typically a garage job — get quotes before committing.
Does mileage affect the Picanto MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 82% so small gaps stay visible.
Regional pass rates for the Picanto
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| Scotland | 83 | 96.4% |
| South East | 79 | 96.2% |
| North West | 67 | 89.6% |
| Yorkshire | 41 | 92.7% |
| West Midlands | 41 | 90.2% |
| East of England | 41 | 95.1% |
| East Midlands | 34 | 97.1% |
| South West | 29 | 96.6% |
| Wales | 18 | 94.4% |
| North East | 18 | 94.4% |
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 2023 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 2023 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 1.1% of tests
“headlamp aim too low”
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 wipers and washers 1.1% of tests
“wipers does not clear the windscreen effectively”
Run the wipers with the screen wet: they should clear it in one sweep without smearing or juddering. Top the washer bottle up and check both jets hit the screen.
-
Check the suspension joints 0.7% of tests
“pins and bushes pin or bush 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.
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 2023 Picanto through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £31–£80 — and 34% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £31–£80
- Cheapest common item: daytime running lamps not working
- £3–£15
- Dearest common item: windscreen damaged
- £80–£200
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 60%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 34%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 461 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 2023 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 2023 cars with a similar record
- Polestar Polestar 94.6%
- Tesla Model Y 92.9%
- Toyota Corolla 95.7%
- Mercedes-Benz Eqe 96.5%
- Ford Puma 96.5%
- Levc Tx 97.0%
Closest pass rates among 2023 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 2023 Kia Picanto 10 failure items · 6 advisories · 9 inspection categories · mileage brackets · all of it in the page, none of it above the fold
Every inspection category
Shares of the 145 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tyres | 77 | 53.10% | 19.76% | +33.34 |
| Suspension | 23 | 15.90% | 20.98% | −5.08 |
| Visibility | 15 | 10.30% | 4.97% | +5.33 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 13 | 9.00% | 12.21% | −3.21 |
| Non-component advisories | 8 | 5.50% | 4.18% | +1.32 |
| Brakes | 6 | 4.10% | 20.89% | −16.79 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 1 | 0.70% | 5.57% | −4.87 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 1 | 0.70% | 5.52% | −4.82 |
| Identification of the vehicle | 1 | 0.70% | 1.76% | −1.06 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Headlamp aim too low Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Rectified | 1.1% | £30–80 |
| Wipers does not clear the windscreen effectively Visibility | Major | 1.1% | £8–22 |
| Has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Tyres | Major | 0.87% | £45–95 |
| Daytime running lamps not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 0.65% | £3–15 |
| Pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn Suspension | Major | 0.65% | £40–150 |
| Washers provides insufficient washer liquid Visibility | Major | 0.65% | £5–15 |
| Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view Visibility | Minor | 0.65% | £80–200 |
| Has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords Tyres | Major | 0.43% | £45–95 |
| Has ply or cords exposed Tyres | Major | 0.43% | £45–95 |
| Headlamp aim too high Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Rectified | 0.43% | £30–80 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Tyres | Advisory | 8.2% | £45–95 |
| Pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn Suspension | Advisory | 4.1% | £40–150 |
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Advisory | 3.7% | £45–95 |
| Has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords Tyres | Advisory | 1.1% | £45–95 |
| Non-component advisories Nail in tyre Non-component advisories | Advisory | 1.1% | £45–95 |
| Tread depth tread pattern not visible over the whole tread area when minimum depth required is 1.0mm Tyres | Advisory | 0.87% | £45–95 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 428 | 94.4% | 13,032 mi |
| 30-60k | 31 | 90.3% | 39,666 mi |
| 60-90k | 1 | 100.0% | 60,320 mi |
Source: 461 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.
2023 Picanto MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2023 Kia Picanto?
94.1% of the 461 2023 Kia Picanto tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 94.8% for cars first used in 2023. First-attempt pass rate: 93.9%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2023 Kia Picanto?
The three most recorded items are headlamp aim too low (1.08%), wipers does not clear the windscreen effectively (1.08%), has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure (0.87%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2023 Kia Picanto MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 94.4% of the time, falling to 100.0% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2023 Kia Picanto in this dataset had covered 12,737 mi.
Does the season affect the 2023 Kia Picanto MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 93.0% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 97.5%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.