113,896 tests in 2025
Kia Ceed reliability and MOT pass rate
73.7% passed first time. The 26.3% fail rate is 3.7 points worse than the all-car average, on a median example 10 years old with 75,335 miles.
Pass rate
73.7%
22.6% of all cars failed; 26.3% of these did.
Fixed on the day
5.7%
Passed after a defect was put right during the visit.
Median at test
75,335 mi
10 years old.
Fail rate by age
| Age at test | Tests | Fail rate |
|---|---|---|
| 3-5 years | 14,884 | 11.7% |
| 6-9 years | 34,317 | 17.3% |
| 10-13 years | 40,614 | 31.6% |
| 14+ years | 23,737 | 39.7% |
What the Ceed fails on
Share of failed tests with at least one fail item in each DVSA inspection section. A test can fail in several sections at once.
- Suspension578 dangerous35%
- Brakes4,782 dangerous34.7%
- Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment291 dangerous33.2%
- Tyres8,770 dangerous27.2%
- Steering296 dangerous17.5%
- Visibility11 dangerous15.9%
- Noise, emissions and leaks16 dangerous6.7%
- Body, chassis, structure57 dangerous6.7%
Is the Ceed getting worse?
The fail rate rose 1.5 points to 26.8% from 2022 to 2025, against a rising rate across all cars.
| Year | Tests | Median age | Fail rate | All cars | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 118,919 | — | 25.3% | 22.5% | |
| 2023 | 118,494 | — | 26.6% | 22.8% | |
| 2024 | 102,068 | — | 28% | 23.2% | |
| 2025 | 109,156 | — | 26.8% | 22.6% |
Fail rate is first attempts at class 4 tests. Median age is the age of a typical Ceed at its test that year, and it is the number to watch: across the whole fleet each extra year of age adds roughly 1.9 points to the fail rate, so a model whose age and fail rate rise together is simply getting older.
The exact defects that fail it
Every failure item DVSA recorded against a Ceed in 2025, counted by how many tests each one appeared on.
- 1Track rod end: ball joint has excessive play3,760 tests
- 2Tread depth: tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm3,100 tests
- 3Pins and bushes: pin or bush excessively worn2,851 tests
- 4Rbt (sp): efficiency below requirements2,837 tests
- 5Position lamp: not working2,827 tests
- 6Brake pads: less than 1.5 mm thick2,786 tests
- 7Ball joint: ball joint excessively worn2,501 tests
- 8Stop lamp: not working2,294 tests
What wears out first
Advisories are the tester flagging wear that is still legal. A typical Ceed collects 2.85 of them per test, and these are the ones that come up most. Treat it as the running-repairs list for the next year or two.
- 1Tread depth: tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm21,033 tests
- 2Brake discs: in such a condition that it is seriously weakened14,212 tests
- 3Pins and bushes: pin or bush excessively worn13,159 tests
- 4Brake pads: less than 1.5 mm thick10,983 tests
- 5Condition: has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure9,948 tests
- 6Coil spring: corroded so that its cross sectional area is reduced and seriously weakened5,056 tests
- 7Service brake performance: excessively binding4,785 tests
- 8Sub-frame: corroded and seriously weakened4,758 tests
Questions
What is the Kia Ceed MOT pass rate?
73.7% of the 113,896 Kia Ceed first-attempt MOTs in 2025 passed. The fail rate of 26.3% compares with 22.6% across all cars. A further 5.7% passed after a defect was fixed during the test visit.
What does a Kia Ceed usually fail on?
The single most common failure is "Track rod end: ball joint has excessive play", recorded on 3,760 failed tests, followed by "Tread depth: tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm" and "Pins and bushes: pin or bush excessively worn". By section, suspension appears in 35% of failures, brakes appears in 34.7% of failures, lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment appears in 33.2% of failures.
Does age change the odds?
Sharply. At 3 to 5 years old the fail rate was 11.7%; at 14+ years it was 39.7%. The median Kia Ceed tested in 2025 was 10 years old with 75,335 miles.
Is the Kia Ceed getting less reliable?
The fail rate rose 1.5 points to 26.8% from 2022 to 2025, against a rising rate across all cars.
First-attempt class 4 tests, 2025, from DVSA’s anonymised MOT data (OGL v3, retrieved 2026-09-12). DVSA records newer cars trim by trim; this page adds every Ceed trim together. Year-on-year figures come from the same DVSA extracts for 2026 and earlier years. Full method on the pass rates hub.
Other Kia models
Checking a particular Ceed?
The odds above are the model. The car in front of you has its own record: every test, every advisory, the mileage at each one.
Due a test? Find an approved MOT station near you.