MOT cost .
Kia Picanto
MOT 2023
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Kia

Picanto

215,314 MOT tests analysed. lands in the middle of the pack — here's where Picantos pass, fail, and end up on the retest sheet.

That's in line with the UK fleet average across our 1,988 tracked models.

Pass

75.8%

Pass-after-fix

4.8%

Fail

18.9%

Avg miles

47,883

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

The picture

Picanto at 75.8% — Brake Pipes and Parking Brake Flag

From 215,314 MOT tests, the Kia Picanto passes first time 75.8% of the time at an average of 47,883 miles — low by most standards, reflecting the car's city-only life cycle. Rear plate lamps and parking brake efficiency below the minimum threshold lead the failure list, with corroded brake pipes also appearing. One reported case saw both front suspension springs replaced under warranty, suggesting the issue surfaced early in some cars' lives.

A dashboard rattle traced to a loose wiring block behind the fascia is a known minor fault, easily fixed by repositioning the connector. Electrical gremlins with radio, clock memory, and automatic lights have been reported on 2017 1.0T-GDI cars. On balance, the Picanto's short mileage profile keeps MOT failure risk relatively contained.

Top ten reasons for rejection.

  1. 01

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

    6,708 occurrences · 3.1% of tests

  2. 02

    Parking brake efficiency below minimum requirement

    6,554 occurrences · 3.0% of tests

  3. 03

    Brake pipe damaged or excessively corroded

    5,041 occurrences · 2.3% of tests

  4. 04

    A lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning

    4,846 occurrences · 2.3% of tests

  5. 05

    Wiper blade missing or obviously not clearing the windscreen

    4,623 occurrences · 2.1% of tests

  6. 06

    Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements

    4,526 occurrences · 2.1% of tests

  7. 07

    A suspension joint dust cover severely deteriorated

    4,106 occurrences · 1.9% of tests

  8. 08

    Parking brake inoperative on one side

    4,075 occurrences · 1.9% of tests

  9. 09

    Wiper blade defective

    3,701 occurrences · 1.7% of tests

  10. 10

    A spring or spring component fractured or seriously weakened

    3,225 occurrences · 1.5% 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 3 failures

£68–£170

If every one of this Picanto'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 →

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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

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 02 · Amazon UK

Bosch Aerotwin wiper blades

Cheap wipers fail the test on smear streaks. Bosch Aerotwins last a winter and clear a screen properly.

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

The Kia Picanto continues to offer a fun and affordable option in the city car sector, backed up by the firm’s excellent long warranty.

Where it falls short

The Kia Picanto continues to offer a fun and affordable option in the city car sector, backed up by the firm’s excellent long warranty.

Recent owner-reported faults

  1. 8 Feb 2021

    Kia Picanto reported to have had both front suspension springs replaced under warranty. Compare new Kia Picanto deals Buy new from £15,167(list price from £17,095) View offers

  2. 6 Jan 2020

    Another rattle reported behind the dash of a 2019 Hyundai i10, probably for the same reason as the KIA Picanto (above).

  3. 1 Jan 2020

    Rattle in front passenger area of new KIA Picanto 1 found to come from loose unused wiring connection block banging against a body part. Easily fixed by straightening and moving the wiring and block.

  4. 8 Nov 2019

    Complaint of clutch judder first thing in the morning in 2018 KIA Picanto X-Line 1.25. Goes away after 5 minutes driving.

  5. 6 Oct 2019

    Various complaints about 2017/67 KIA Picanto. Throttle control potentiometer replaced at first service. C lutch judder, worse in wet, cold weather, reversing uphill into a parking slot. Dealer has tested and does not acknowledge. Screen washers blocked. Dealer’s stance was that was owner's way of using the washers and/or wrong additive that was causing blockage. They cleared it, refilled with their “Car Plan Orange”, sold owner a bottle and fitted more generous nozzles.

  6. 29 Jul 2018

    Report of poor response to accelerator pedal in new Kia Picanto S Line 1.25 at between 3,000-4,000rpm. No problem with cruise control bringing car up to speed, but very sluggish using the pedal. There is probably something wrong with the 'potentiometer' accelerator switch. The car has a 'drive by wire system' that makes an electrical connection between the accelerator pedal and the throttle body.

Source: honestjohn.co.uk · 6 reports indexed

Buying or keeping a Picanto?

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 Picanto 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.