MOT cost .
Hyundai I40
MOT 2023
Wikimedia

Hyundai

I40

27,149 MOT tests analysed. lands in the middle of the pack — here's where I40s pass, fail, and end up on the retest sheet.

That's 1.3 points above the UK fleet average across our 1,988 tracked models — a confident result.

Pass

77.1%

Pass-after-fix

3.8%

Fail

18.6%

Avg miles

91,210

Pass + Pass-after-fix + Fail = 100%

The picture

I40: middle-of-the-pack on first-time pass

Across 27,149 MOT tests, the I40 returns 77.1% first-time pass — roughly in line with the UK fleet average. The single most-logged Major fail is brake pads worn below 1.5 mm. A number-plate lamp out and a worn steering ball joint round out the top three. Average tested mileage sits at 91,210, which is the lens to read those failure rankings through. If you own one and the next test is close, the ranked list below is a sensible pre-test checklist.

Top ten reasons for rejection.

  1. 01

    a brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm

    1,094 occurrences · 4.0% of tests

  2. 02

    A rear registration plate lamp or light source missing or inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources

    1,000 occurrences · 3.7% of tests

  3. 03

    A steering ball joint with excessive wear or free play

    877 occurrences · 3.2% of tests

  4. 04

    Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements

    757 occurrences · 2.8% of tests

  5. 05

    Windscreen or window damaged or seriously discoloured but not adversely affecting driver's view

    581 occurrences · 2.1% of tests

  6. 06

    Brake pipe damaged or excessively corroded

    392 occurrences · 1.4% of tests

  7. 07

    A headlamp or light source missing, inoperative or more than ½ not functioning in the case of LED

    370 occurrences · 1.4% of tests

  8. 08

    A tyre cords visible or damaged

    367 occurrences · 1.4% of tests

  9. 09

    A tyre seriously damaged

    351 occurrences · 1.3% of tests

  10. 10

    Significant brake effort recorded with no brake applied indicating a binding brake

    348 occurrences · 1.3% of tests

Counts cover Major and Dangerous defects logged at test. Advisory items excluded so this shows why a car was rejected, not just what the tester flagged in passing.

Worst-case fix budget · top 4 failures

£228–£530

If every one of this I40's most-logged Major fails hit at the same MOT, that's the real-world UK garage range. Reality is usually one or two items, not all of them. Open the estimator →

Try the calculator

Build your own retest budget.

Tools that pre-empt a retest.

Picked against this car's top failure patterns. Affiliate links to Amazon UK — we earn a small cut at no cost to you. Disclosed up-front, doesn't shape the data.

Item 01 · Amazon UK

Brake pad measurement gauge

Testers fail pads under 1.5mm. A wear gauge tells you if you've got two months left or two weeks.

Search Amazon UK

Item 02 · Amazon UK

H7 / W21W bulb pack

A spare-bulb kit lives in the boot. Test morning is not the time to find your stop-lamp's gone.

Search Amazon UK

Item 03 · Amazon UK

Digital tyre-tread depth gauge

Five quid for a gauge beats £150 for a retest. UK MOT minimum is 1.6mm — most testers fail anything below 2mm to be safe.

Search Amazon UK

Owner reports · Honest John

What owners actually report.

Verbatim faults logged by owners on honestjohn.co.uk over recent years. We didn't summarise — these are the words people typed in.

What's good

Good quality. Fairly stylish for an estate. Economical diesel engines

Buying or keeping a I40?

Use the failure ranking as a pre-test checklist or a haggling lever. Treat the headline pass rate as a fleet-wide trend, not a guarantee on any individual car.

If you own a I40 and your last MOT looked nothing like the ranked failures above, that's normal — individual cars vary widely. The ranking shows the patterns testers flag most often across the country.