Pass rate
74.3%
Below average — 2.9 pts behind the 77.2% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 34,529 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £20–£53
2012 Kia Rio MOT pass rate
- 2012
- typical 82,353 mi
Check your postcode
Most common fault
Brakes
24.7% of faults · 20.9% nationally
mostly worn pads and discs, corroded pipes and a handbrake that will not hold.
Which year to buy
- Best 2023 96.3% pass
- Avoid 2002 67.7% pass
Across the 23 years on record, a spread of 28.6 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 66.7%
- Typical mileage
- 82k mi
The 2012 Kia Rio MOT pass rate is 74.3% of its MOT tests — 2.9 points behind what its age and mileage predict. Brakes is the biggest single reason it fails, at 24.7% of what testers record.
Watching a Kia Rio? Get an email when these numbers change .
How does the 2012 Kia Rio compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 77.2%, so this figure is 2.9 points behind what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 66.7%. The median 2012 Kia Rio in this dataset had covered 82,353 mi.
The most common fuel recorded here is Petrol — 70% of tests, with a 75.5% pass rate. Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 74.3% 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 7.57% of tests.
- 34,529 recorded tests behind this page.
- 74.3% overall pass rate, 66.7% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the Kia Rio, the average is 79.8% — best year 2023 (96.3%), worst 2002 (67.7%).
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
- 34,529
- Typical mileage (median)
- 82,353 mi
- Make and model
- Kia Rio
- 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 Rio MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 62% so small gaps stay visible.
Fuel type and reliability
Pass rate by fuel type. Petrol is the most common here (70% of tests).
Where the Kia Rio is most common
Across all Rio model years on record (2001–2023): 138,616 Kia Rio cars tested in a recordable postcode area, across 355,407 tests. Birmingham (B) has the most, with 3,732 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) | 3,732 | 83.3% |
| 2 | Sheffield (S) | 3,380 | 82.2% |
| 3 | Nottingham (NG) | 3,160 | 78.1% |
| 4 | Manchester (M) | 2,857 | 80.3% |
| 5 | Portsmouth (PO) | 2,700 | 79.6% |
| 6 | Peterborough (PE) | 2,632 | 80.8% |
| 7 | Swansea (SA) | 2,518 | 78.4% |
| 8 | Glasgow (G) | 2,371 | 77.3% |
| 9 | Cardiff (CF) | 2,308 | 78.0% |
| 10 | Leicester (LE) | 2,221 | 81.8% |
| 11 | Guildford (GU) | 2,148 | 82.6% |
| 12 | Stockport (SK) | 2,112 | 81.5% |
| 13 | Bolton (BL) | 2,101 | 81.8% |
| 14 | Derby (DE) | 1,995 | 80.8% |
| 15 | Bristol (BS) | 1,973 | 75.6% |
| 16 | Southampton (SO) | 1,916 | 80.2% |
| 17 | Edinburgh (EH) | 1,911 | 74.8% |
| 18 | Brighton (BN) | 1,887 | 78.3% |
| 19 | Doncaster (DN) | 1,873 | 79.8% |
| 20 | Maidstone (ME) | 1,784 | 83.1% |
The twenty areas with the most Kia Rio 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 Rio
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South East | 6,358 | 76.7% |
| North West | 4,681 | 74.4% |
| East of England | 3,755 | 77.1% |
| South West | 3,525 | 72.2% |
| Scotland | 3,439 | 67.1% |
| Yorkshire | 3,250 | 74.4% |
| West Midlands | 2,929 | 77.8% |
| East Midlands | 2,581 | 73.7% |
| Wales | 1,787 | 71.3% |
| North East | 1,240 | 70.6% |
| London | 983 | 81.4% |
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 2012 Rio
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 Rio
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 7.6% 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 4.6% of tests
“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.
-
Check the windscreen 2.0% of tests
“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.
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 Rio through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £20–£53 — and 43% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £20–£53
- Cheapest common item: srs malfunction indicator lamp warning lamp…
- £3–£12
- Dearest common item: windscreen damaged
- £80–£200
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 90%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 43%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 34,529 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 Rio, side by side
23 model years on record, from 2001 to 2023. Across them the pass rate runs from 67.7% to 96.3% — a spread of 28.6 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2001 73.2% headlamp lens slightly defective
- 2002 67.7% headlamp lens slightly defective
- 2003 68.8% headlamp lens slightly defective
- 2004 68.2% joints constant velocity boot…
- 2005 68.7% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2006 70.0% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2007 70.0% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2008 69.9% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2009 72.2% track rod end ball joint has…
- 2010 72.3% track rod end ball joint has…
- 2011 72.2% track rod end ball joint has…
- 2012 74.3%registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2013 75.7% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2014 78.4% track rod end ball joint dust…
- 2015 83.6% tread depth below requirements of…
- 2016 85.1% tread depth below requirements of…
- 2017 87.8% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2018 89.7% wipers does not clear the…
- 2019 90.3% wipers does not clear the…
- 2020 92.0% wipers does not clear the…
- 2021 92.7% wipers blade defective
- 2022 93.8% has a cut in excess of the…
- 2023 96.3% 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 Rio 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
- Peugeot 208 74.3%
- Hyundai IX35 74.3%
- Fiat Punto 74.3%
- Toyota Hilux 74.3%
- Ford Ranger 74.3%
- Volvo S40 74.4%
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 Rio 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 71,922 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 | 18,265 | 24.70% | 20.89% | +3.81 |
| Suspension | 15,674 | 21.20% | 20.98% | +0.22 |
| Tyres | 12,645 | 17.10% | 19.76% | −2.66 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 10,227 | 13.90% | 12.21% | +1.69 |
| Visibility | 3,287 | 4.50% | 4.97% | −0.47 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 3,269 | 4.40% | 5.52% | −1.12 |
| Non-component advisories | 2,692 | 3.60% | 4.18% | −0.58 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 2,656 | 3.60% | 5.57% | −1.97 |
| Steering | 1,890 | 2.60% | 2.57% | +0.03 |
| Identification of the vehicle | 1,317 | 1.80% | 1.76% | +0.04 |
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 | 7.6% | £5–20 |
| Ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated Suspension | Minor | 4.6% | £18–45 |
| Ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt Suspension | Major | 3.7% | £18–45 |
| Ball joint excessively worn Suspension | Major | 3.5% | £18–45 |
| Rbt (sp) efficiency below requirements Brakes | Major | 3.1% | £45–110 |
| Srs malfunction indicator lamp warning lamp indicates a fault Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | Major | 2.5% | £3–12 |
| Position lamp not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 2.1% | £5–25 |
| Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view Visibility | Minor | 2.0% | £80–200 |
| Position lamp with a multiple light source up to 1/2 not functioning Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 1.8% | £5–25 |
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Major | 1.8% | £45–95 |
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 | 18.0% | £45–95 |
| Brake discs in such a condition that it is seriously weakened Brakes | Advisory | 14.5% | £45–110 |
| Has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Tyres | Advisory | 9.3% | £45–95 |
| Sub-frame corroded and seriously weakened Suspension | Advisory | 8.2% | £180–450 |
| Brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick Brakes | Advisory | 7.4% | £18–45 |
| Rigid brake pipes excessively corroded Brakes | Advisory | 5.7% | £80–180 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 953 | 84.5% | 22,375 mi |
| 30-60k | 6,938 | 78.8% | 47,913 mi |
| 60-90k | 12,701 | 74.1% | 75,509 mi |
| 90-120k | 9,496 | 72.2% | 103,144 mi |
| 120k+ | 4,428 | 70.2% | 139,614 mi |
Source: 34,529 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 Rio MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2012 Kia Rio?
74.3% of the 34,529 2012 Kia Rio tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 77.2% for cars first used in 2012. First-attempt pass rate: 66.7%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2012 Kia Rio?
The three most recorded items are registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources (7.57%), ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated (4.60%), ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt (3.66%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2012 Kia Rio MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 84.5% of the time, falling to 70.2% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2012 Kia Rio in this dataset had covered 82,353 mi.
Which fuel type is most reliable for a 2012 Kia Rio?
Petrol: 75.5% pass rate across 24,257 tests. Diesel: 71.4% pass rate across 10,272 tests. Shares are of the tests on this vehicle that recorded each fuel type.
Does the season affect the 2012 Kia Rio MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 74.3% 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.