Pass rate
96.3%
Above average — 1.5 pts ahead of the 94.8% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 136 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £39–£95
2023 Kia Rio MOT pass rate
- 2023
- 3 trims combined
- typical 16,201 mi
Most common fault
Tyres
28.6% of faults · 19.8% nationally
mostly tread below the limit, cuts and sidewall bulges.
Which year to buy
- Best 2023 96.3% pass · this year
- Avoid 2002 67.7% pass
Across the 23 years on record, a spread of 28.6 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 96.2%
- Typical mileage
- 16k mi
The 2023 Kia Rio MOT pass rate is 96.3% of its MOT tests — 1.5 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. Tyres is the biggest single reason it fails, at 28.6% of what testers record.
Check your postcode
MOT pass rates are national — type your postcode to see how Kia Rio does in your corner of the country.
Expert verdict
Advisories: 4.3× the national share
Advisories make up 17.9% of everything recorded on the 2023 Kia Rio, against 4.2% nationally — 13.7 points above. Tyres are still the single largest share at 28.6%, but at 19.8% nationally that one is ordinary. Most of what testers record here is advisory — worth reading, not worth walking away from on its own.
- When it fails, it costs. Only 27% 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.
- Based on a small sample. 136 tests back this page. That is enough to publish and to index, not enough to treat the decimal places as precise — read the pattern, not the second digit.
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 Rio? Get an email when these numbers change .
Every Kia Rio first registered in 2023 is combined here — 3 trim and body variants in total — so the sample is as large as the DVSA data allows.
How does the 2023 Kia Rio compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 94.8%, so this figure is 1.5 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 96.2%. The median 2023 Kia Rio in this dataset had covered 16,201 mi.
The most common fuel recorded here is Petrol — 90% of tests, with a 96.7% pass rate. Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 94.7% of the time, April–September 100.0%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Headlamp aim too low", noted on 1.47% of tests.
- 136 recorded tests behind this page.
- 96.3% overall pass rate, 96.2% 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
- 136
- Typical mileage (median)
- 16,201 mi
- Make and model
- Kia Rio
- 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 Rio MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 78% so small gaps stay visible.
Fuel type and reliability
Pass rate by fuel type. Petrol is the most common here (90% of tests).
Regional pass rates for the Rio
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| Scotland | 27 | 100.0% |
| North West | 22 | 95.5% |
| East of England | 17 | 94.1% |
| South East | 15 | 86.7% |
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 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 2023 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 1.5% 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 battery 0.7% of tests
“battery(ies) insecure”
Check the battery is secure and its terminals are clean and tight — a loose battery is a fail on its own, and a weak one shows up as slow cranking on a cold morning.
-
Check tyre pressures and valves 0.7% of tests
“tyre pressure monitoring system malfunctioning or obviously inoperative”
Set the pressures to the figures on the door pillar, not the tyre wall, and check the valves do not hiss. A leaking valve is a two-minute fix that fails a test.
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 Rio through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £39–£95 — and 27% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £39–£95
- Cheapest common item: rear fog lamp missing
- £3–£15
- Dearest common item: windscreen damaged
- £80–£200
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 70%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 27%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 136 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 2023 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 2023 cars with a similar record
- Mercedes-Benz Eqe 96.5%
- Ford Puma 96.5%
- Toyota Corolla 95.7%
- Levc Tx 97.0%
- Polestar Polestar 94.6%
- Tesla Model Y 92.9%
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 Rio 10 failure items · 6 advisories · 6 inspection categories · mileage brackets · all of it in the page, none of it above the fold
Every inspection category
Shares of the 28 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 | 8 | 28.60% | 19.76% | +8.84 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 6 | 21.40% | 12.21% | +9.19 |
| Visibility | 5 | 17.90% | 4.97% | +12.93 |
| Non-component advisories | 5 | 17.90% | 4.18% | +13.72 |
| Brakes | 3 | 10.70% | 20.89% | −10.19 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 1 | 3.60% | 5.52% | −1.92 |
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 | 1.5% | £30–80 |
| Battery(ies) insecure but not likely to fall from carrier Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 0.74% | £60–140 |
| Has a bulge, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Tyres | Major | 0.74% | £45–95 |
| Has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords Tyres | Major | 0.74% | £45–95 |
| Position lamp incorrect colour Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 0.74% | £5–25 |
| Rear fog lamp missing Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 0.74% | £3–15 |
| Side repeaters missing Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 0.74% | £5–25 |
| Tyre pressure monitoring system malfunctioning or obviously inoperative Tyres | Rectified | 0.74% | £45–95 |
| Windscreen damaged and affecting the driver's view of the road Visibility | Major | 0.74% | £80–200 |
| Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view Visibility | Minor | 0.74% | £80–200 |
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 | 2.2% | £45–95 |
| Non-component advisories Child Seat fitted not allowing full inspection of adult belt Non-component advisories | Advisory | 2.2% | £20–80 |
| Brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick Brakes | Advisory | 1.5% | £18–45 |
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Advisory | 1.5% | £45–95 |
| Brake discs significantly and obviously worn Brakes | Advisory | 0.74% | £45–110 |
| Driver's view of an obligatory external mirror significantly affected by an obstruction Visibility | Advisory | 0.74% | £20–80 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 118 | 97.5% | 15,467 mi |
| 30-60k | 15 | 86.7% | 35,638 mi |
| 60-90k | 3 | 100.0% | 68,945 mi |
Source: 136 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 Rio MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2023 Kia Rio?
96.3% of the 136 2023 Kia Rio tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 94.8% for cars first used in 2023. First-attempt pass rate: 96.2%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2023 Kia Rio?
The three most recorded items are headlamp aim too low (1.47%), battery(ies) insecure but not likely to fall from carrier (0.74%), has a bulge, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure (0.74%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2023 Kia Rio MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 97.5% of the time, falling to 100.0% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2023 Kia Rio in this dataset had covered 16,201 mi.
Which fuel type is most reliable for a 2023 Kia Rio?
Petrol: 96.7% pass rate across 122 tests. Hybrid: 92.9% pass rate across 14 tests. Shares are of the tests on this vehicle that recorded each fuel type.
Does the season affect the 2023 Kia Rio MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 94.7% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 100.0%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.