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Chevrolet Kalos, Buying guide, MOT record, UK numbers and recalls

1,284 Chevrolet Kaloses are licensed in the UK. In 2025 they passed 47.4% of initial MOT tests, 24.9 points below the 72.3% UK average.

Looking at a specific Kalos? Check its finance, write-off, stolen, mileage and keeper history. £15, no account needed.

Chevrolet Kalos at the MOT

47.4% of 1,851 initial tests passed in 2025, ranking the Kalos 575th of 575 models.

First-time pass rate, 2025

Share of initial tests passed, retests excluded.

  • Chevrolet Kalos47.4%
  • All Chevrolet modelsThe Kalos is 7.5 pts behind54.9%
  • All cars72.3%

Where Kaloses fail

Share of all failure items recorded on Chevrolet Kalos tests in 2025.

  • Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment24.9%
  • Suspension21.2%
  • Brakes17.2%
  • Body, chassis, structure7.8%
  • Visibility6.7%

The items testers recorded most often were pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn (6.1%), component mounting prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength (5.2%) and headlamp aim projected beam image is obviously incorrect (5.1%).

The MOT page lists every common Kalos MOT failure. For one car's own results and advisories, run a free MOT history check.

Full Chevrolet Kalos MOT record

What to look at on a viewing

The Kalos's most common failure areas, and what a tester checks in each.

  1. Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment

    Walk round with every light on: headlights, brake lights, indicators, fog lights and the number plate lamp. Check no warning lights stay on after starting.24.9% of Kalos failure items

  2. Suspension

    Listen for knocks over bumps, check the car sits level, and look for leaking shock absorbers and split rubber gaiters.21.2% of Kalos failure items

  3. Brakes

    Make sure the pedal feels firm, the car stops in a straight line, the handbrake holds on a slope and no brake warning light is showing.17.2% of Kalos failure items

Chevrolet Kaloses in the UK

1,284 were licensed at the end of June 2026. The number licensed has fallen 91% since the end of 2014.

Change since 2014
−91%from 13,673 licensed
Typical year of first use
2007half of those licensed at the end of 2025 were first used in 2007 or earlier
Declared off the road
89241% of those registered, under SORN

Licensed Chevrolet Kaloses since 2014

Licensed at each year end and in the latest quarter.

Show the figures
DateLicensed
End of 201413,673
End of 201512,734
End of 201611,745
End of 201710,383
End of 20188,669
End of 20197,046
End of 20205,646
End of 20214,304
End of 20223,405
End of 20232,715
End of 20242,012
End of 20251,535
End of June 20261,284

How old they are

Licensed Chevrolet Kaloses by year of first use.

Show the figures
First usedLicensed, end 2025
2008392
2007533
2006345
2005262

Kalos engine sizes

1.4 litre engines made up 58% of Chevrolet Kalos MOT tests in 2025, followed by 1.2 litre at 42%. Petrol accounts for 100% of licensed Kaloses.

Engine size at MOT, 2025

Share of 1,851 initial MOT tests in 2025.

  • 1.4 litre57.9%
  • 1.2 litre42.1%

Chevrolet Kalos recalls

1 DVSA safety recall launched from 2010 to July 2026 names the Chevrolet Kalos. Each covers vehicles built in a set period, so a recall does not mean every Kalos is affected.

  1. Aug 2012 R/2012/090

    Braking efficiency may be affected

    Kaloses built Jan 2009 to Dec 2011 · 38,876 vehicles across the whole recall

    Defect and remedy
    Defect
    Incorrect type of brake fluid installed at production could cause internal corrosion of the ABS module. This corrosion can lead to a gel build up inside the module which may affect the closing motion of one of the valves. There will be no external loss of fluid or reduction in fluid level but it is possible the driver could feel excessive brake pedal travel. In some circumstances there may be reduced braking performance.
    Remedy
    Inspection of the brake fluid using a scan tool. Drain and replace the fluid and replace the brake fluid reservoir cap (All models except Captiva & Epica/Tosca). Erase ''DOT 3'' text from the customers Owner's Manual (All models except Captiva & Epica/Tosca). Add information regarding the use of DOT 4 brake fluid.
How to check a specific Kalos for recalls

Other Chevrolet models

The most-tested Chevrolet models in 2025, against the Kalos's 47.4% MOT pass rate.

All 8 Chevrolet models

Chevrolet Kalos FAQs

How many Chevrolet Kaloses are there in the UK?

1,284 Chevrolet Kaloses were licensed in the UK at the end of June 2026, with a further 892 declared off the road (SORN), according to DfT vehicle licensing statistics.

Is the Chevrolet Kalos reliable?

MOT data does not measure reliability. It records whether a car met the roadworthiness standard on the day of its test. What it does show is a 47.4% first-time pass rate for the Chevrolet Kalos across 1,851 tests in 2025, below the 72.3% average for all cars.

Has the Chevrolet Kalos had any recalls?

1 DVSA safety recall launched from 2010 to July 2026 names the Chevrolet Kalos. The most recent was published in August 2012. A recall applies to vehicles built in a set period, so check a specific car on the GOV.UK vehicle recall checker.

What should I check before buying a used Chevrolet Kalos?

On the car itself, start with the areas it most often fails on: lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment, suspension and brakes. Then check the individual car's own records. Outstanding finance, insurance write-offs and police stolen markers are not part of the MOT record, so they take a history check.

How do I check a Chevrolet Kalos's history?

Enter the registration of the specific car. A Carpeep car history check reports outstanding finance, write-off category, stolen markers, mileage history, previous keepers, MOT and tax status, import and export markers and scrapped status in one £15 report.

Already found a Kalos?

Check its finance, write-off, theft, mileage and keeper history with a £15 vehicle history report.

Across the 1,389 vehicles of every make Carpeep has checked since November 2025, 19% had outstanding finance recorded and 13% an insurance write-off. More on the Chevrolet history check.

  • Outstanding finance
  • Write-off records
  • Stolen markers
  • Mileage history
  • Previous keepers

MOT figures are aggregated from the DVSA MOT Anonymised data set for 2025 (class 4 initial tests, retests excluded), which also gives the engine sizes. Licensed, SORN, fuel and registration figures are from the Department for Transport vehicle licensing statistics (VEH0120, VEH0124, VEH0160). Recalls are from the DVSA vehicle recalls data, with recalls launched up to July 2026. Government data is used under the Open Government Licence v3.0. MOT results describe roadworthiness at test, not mechanical reliability. History-check findings are anonymous counts from reports bought on Carpeep, each vehicle counted once, and are published only where at least 100 vehicles returned an answer.