Kia Picanto MOT Pass Rate & Official DVSA Failure Statistics

Kia Picanto MOT History and Failure Rates vs UK National Average

The Kia Picanto passed on its first attempt in 76.4%, and its overall record sits −0.5 percentage points below the national average for all cars. These figures come from every recorded DVSA MOT test for the Kia Picanto in the 2023–2025 data: 636,138 tests across 20 model years (2004–2023). 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 Picanto MOT Problems by Failure Category

Every MOT failure a tester records belongs to one inspection section of the DVSA manual. For the Kia Picanto, the Brakes 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 Picanto's recorded defect strings, merged across its year pages.

Top Recorded Kia Picanto DVSA MOT Test Statistics & Defect Descriptions

The descriptions below are the exact DVSA failure strings testers recorded most often for the Kia Picanto, each with how many of the model's 636,138 tests it was noted on.

• "Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources" (Minor) — noted on about 20,165 Kia Picanto tests, 3.2% of the model's MOT record.
• "Rbt (sp) efficiency below requirements" (Major) — noted on about 19,254 Kia Picanto tests, 3.0% of the model's MOT record.
• "Position lamp not working" (Major) — noted on about 14,243 Kia Picanto tests, 2.2% of the model's MOT record.
• "Ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated" (Minor) — noted on about 10,974 Kia Picanto tests, 1.7% of the model's MOT record.
• "Wipers does not clear the windscreen effectively" (Major) — noted on about 10,118 Kia Picanto tests, 1.6% of the model's MOT record.
• "Parking brake performance inoperative on one side" (Major) — noted on about 7,958 Kia Picanto tests, 1.3% of the model's MOT record.

Best and Worst Kia Picanto Model Years by Pass Rate

The strongest Kia Picanto model year on record is 2023 (94.1% across 461 tests), and the weakest is 2006 (67.8%). The gap between them is 26.3 points. Years with fewer than 50 recorded tests are excluded, so these are the years with enough MOT history to mean something.

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

Pre-MOT Inspection Checklist for Kia Picanto Owners

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

• the lights — “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.

• the suspension joints — “ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated”

  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.

• the wipers and washers — “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.

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

Where the Kia Picanto is most common

Across every Picanto model year 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.

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 →

Frequently Asked Questions: Kia Picanto MOT & Reliability