Kia Soul MOT failure rate and common faults
24,755 Kia Soul cars aged 3 to 20 took their MOT in 2025, and 29.5% failed at the first attempt. An average car of the same age failed 29.8% of the time, which makes the Kia Soul about as likely to fail than the typical car on the road. Here is what fails, and which years to look for.
29.5%
failed first time
24,755 MOT tests in 2025
-1%
vs same age average
average car of this age mix: 29.8%
126 of 208
age adjusted rank
among cars; 1 fails least
110.2
dangerous defects per 1,000
same age average: 109.1
What fails on a Kia Soul MOT
Failure items recorded per 1,000 tests, by part of the car, set against an average car with exactly the same spread of ages. A figure well above average is a weak spot worth checking before you buy.
The most common Kia Soul MOT failures
The individual failure items testers recorded most often, per 1,000 tests.
| Failure item | Area | Per 1,000 tests |
|---|---|---|
| Track rod end: ball joint has excessive play | Steering | 63.8 |
| Position lamp: not working | Lights and electrics | 39.8 |
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm | Tyres | 30.3 |
| Wipers: does not clear the windscreen effectively | Windscreen, wipers and mirrors | 29.0 |
| Ball joint excessively worn | Suspension | 24.6 |
| Parking brake efficiency: efficiency below requirements | Brakes | 24.6 |
| Brake pads: less than 1.5 mm thick | Brakes | 22.9 |
| Tyres: has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords | Tyres | 21.5 |
| Rigid brake pipes: excessively corroded | Brakes | 18.3 |
| Washers: provides insufficient washer liquid | Windscreen, wipers and mirrors | 16.3 |
Kia Soul MOT failure rate by year
Every car fails more often as it ages, so each registration year is compared with the average for all cars of the same age. Years with fewer than 500 tests are left out.
| First registered | Tests | Failed | Same age average | Average mileage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 878 | 8.4% | 11.4% | 24,300 |
| 2021 | 1,128 | 10.9% | 12.8% | 32,800 |
| 2020 | 873 | 14.7% | 14.1% | 38,700 |
| 2018 | 1,962 | 15.4% | 19.1% | 42,700 |
| 2017 | 1,685 | 14.9% | 21.8% | 50,000 |
| 2016 | 2,114 | 21.8% | 25.1% | 58,400 |
| 2015 | 2,554 | 23.9% | 28.1% | 66,000 |
| 2014 | 2,595 | 27.6% | 31.4% | 72,500 |
| 2013 | 1,281 | 38.1% | 34.3% | 75,700 |
| 2012 | 1,562 | 41.1% | 36.6% | 82,700 |
| 2011 | 3,170 | 43.0% | 38.8% | 92,200 |
| 2010 | 2,712 | 43.5% | 40.7% | 98,000 |
| 2009 | 1,902 | 48.5% | 41.8% | 101,500 |
Advisories to look for in a Kia Soul's MOT history
An advisory is a tester's warning that something is wearing but has not failed yet. These are the ones written most often on the Kia Soul, per 1,000 tests. If the car you are looking at has one of these, ask whether it has been fixed since.
- Tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge271.1
- Tyres: slightly damaged/cracking or perishing167.2
- Brake discs: worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened152.7
- Rigid brake pipes: corroded, covered in grease or other material117.1
- Brake pads: wearing thin98.6
- Coil spring: corroded50.7
Checking a used Kia Soul before you buy
Against cars of the same age, the Kia Soul fails more often than average on brakes and steering. Start there.
Brakes
Look through the wheel spokes at the discs for a deep lip or scoring, check the handbrake holds the car on a slope, and feel for a pull to one side when braking hard.
Steering
With the engine running, rock the wheel gently: there should be almost no free play. Listen for knocks on full lock and look for power steering fluid leaks.
Averages only take you so far. The specific car's MOT history shows whether it has already failed on any of these, how often advisories were ignored, and whether the mileage climbs steadily from test to test. Read our guide to reading a car's MOT history before you go to view it.
Fuel mix of the Kia Soul cars tested: Diesel 56%, Petrol 28%, Electric 15%. Average age at test 10.7 years, average recorded mileage 69,900.
Kia Soul MOT questions
What is the Kia Soul MOT failure rate?
29.5% of Kia Soul cars failed their first MOT test of 2025, from 24,755 tests on vehicles aged 3 to 20. An average car with the same age mix failed 29.8% of the time, so the Kia Soul was about as likely to fail.
What fails most often on a Kia Soul MOT?
Brakes caused the most failure items, at 161 per 1,000 tests. The single most common failure item was "Track rod end: ball joint has excessive play", recorded 63.8 times per 1,000 tests.
Which Kia Soul year has the best MOT record?
Measured against cars of the same age, 2017 registrations did best: 14.9% failed against an average of 21.8% for cars that age. Older cars always fail more often, so compare a year with its age group rather than with newer cars.
Does this tell me whether a particular Kia Soul will pass?
No. These are averages across every Kia Soul tested in 2025. The car in front of you has its own record: its full MOT history shows every pass, failure and advisory it has had, and it is free to view by registration.
Other Kia models
- Kia Sportage23.0% failed
- Kia Picanto28.5% failed
- Kia Ceed31.9% failed
- Kia Niro12.6% failed
- Kia Rio29.7% failed
- Kia Venga29.0% failed
Ranked close to the Kia Soul
- Citroen C3 Aircrossrank 123
- Hyundai Konarank 124
- Ford Fusionrank 127
- Peugeot 107rank 128
How these figures are calculated
Source: DVSA Anonymised MOT tests and results, 2025 release. We count first tests of cars and small vans (class 4) aged 3 to 20, so a car that fails and is retested is counted once. A failure includes faults fixed and passed within the same visit. The same age average weights the national failure rate for each age by how many Kia Soul cars of that age were tested, so a model is never penalised for having an older fleet. Make and model are as recorded at the test; trim levels are combined. Full method and rankings.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.