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Hyundai i30, Buying guide, MOT record, UK numbers and recalls

102,014 Hyundai i30s are licensed in the UK. In 2025 they passed 64.7% of initial MOT tests, 7.6 points below the 72.3% UK average.

Looking at a specific i30? Check its finance, write-off, stolen, mileage and keeper history. £15, no account needed.

Hyundai i30 at the MOT

64.7% of 102,091 initial tests passed in 2025, ranking the i30 438th of 575 models. Hyundai i30s aged 3 to 5 years passed 87% of MOT tests in 2025; for examples aged 11 years and over that fell to 54.6%.

First-time pass rate, 2025

Share of initial tests passed, retests excluded.

  • Hyundai i3064.7%
  • All Hyundai modelsThe i30 is 9.2 pts behind73.9%
  • All cars72.3%

Pass rate by age at test

Hyundai i30 tests in 2025.

  • 3 to 5 years6,721 tests87%
  • 6 to 10 years43,469 tests72.2%
  • 11 years and over50,675 tests54.6%

Where i30s fail

Share of all failure items recorded on Hyundai i30 tests in 2025.

  • Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment28.6%
  • Brakes23.3%
  • Suspension15.8%
  • Tyres11.1%
  • Steering7.7%

The items testers recorded most often were stop lamp not working (6.7%), track rod end ball joint has excessive play (5.3%) and rbt (sp) efficiency below requirements (5.3%).

The MOT page lists every common i30 MOT failure. For one car's own results and advisories, run a free MOT history check.

Full Hyundai i30 MOT record

What to look at on a viewing

The i30'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.28.6% of i30 failure items

  2. 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.23.3% of i30 failure items

  3. Suspension

    Listen for knocks over bumps, check the car sits level, and look for leaking shock absorbers and split rubber gaiters.15.8% of i30 failure items

Hyundai i30s in the UK

102,014 were licensed at the end of June 2026. The number licensed has grown 26% since the end of 2014, although it peaked at 116,154 at the end of 2019.

Change since 2014
+26%from 80,670 licensed
Typical year of first use
2014half of those licensed at the end of 2025 were first used in 2014 or earlier
First registered in 2025
311against 17,451 in 2015
Declared off the road
4,0903.9% of those registered, under SORN

Licensed Hyundai i30s since 2014

Licensed at each year end and in the latest quarter.

Show the figures
DateLicensed
End of 201480,670
End of 201595,687
End of 2016104,782
End of 2017110,766
End of 2018115,184
End of 2019116,154
End of 2020115,411
End of 2021115,878
End of 2022114,913
End of 2023113,161
End of 2024109,768
End of 2025104,959
End of June 2026102,014

How old they are

Licensed Hyundai i30s by year of first use.

  • Licensed at the end of 2025
  • First registered that year

A further 675 were first used before 2008.

Show the figures
First usedLicensed, end 2025First registered that year
2024620689
20231,7471,838
20221,4861,629
20211,8752,036
20201,5731,716
20194,1774,533
20187,3348,177
20176,8977,830
20169,89312,505
201513,93017,451
20149,883
201310,103
20128,193
20117,965
20108,658
20097,031
20081,931

13,930 i30s first used in 2015 were still licensed at the end of 2025, roughly 80% of the 17,451 first registered that year.

i30 engines and fuel

1.6 litre engines made up 53% of Hyundai i30 MOT tests in 2025, followed by 1.4 litre at 34%. Petrol accounts for 52% of licensed i30s and diesel for 45%.

Engine size at MOT, 2025

Share of 102,079 initial MOT tests in 2025.

  • 1.6 litre53.3%
  • 1.4 litre34.4%
  • 1.0 litre7.2%
  • 2.0 litre4.2%

Fuel type, licensed i30s

DfT licensing statistics, June 2026.

FuelLicensedShare
Petrol52,58552%
Diesel45,91545%
Hybrid electric3,5093%
Gas5<0.1%

Hyundai i30 recalls

11 DVSA safety recalls launched from 2010 to July 2026 name the Hyundai i30. The 8 most recent are below. Each covers vehicles built in a set period, so a recall does not mean every i30 is affected.

  1. Nov 2025 R/2025/456

    Driver-side Airbag (DAB) Inflator may not deploy as intended

    i30s built Oct 2008 to Jun 2009 · 13 vehicles across the whole recall

    Defect and remedy
    Defect
    Driver-side Airbag (DAB) Inflator may not deploy as intended. This may result in a component entering into the vehicle occupant compartment.
    Remedy
    The DAB Inflator will be replaced.

  2. Jul 2023 R/2023/157

    Subject vehicles may experience a loss of brake assistance and brake performance may be reduced

    i30s built Oct 2018 to Jul 2020 · 6,518 vehicles across the whole recall

    Defect and remedy
    Remedy
    Inspect and remove the vacuum pump oil passage mesh if installed.

  3. Feb 2023 R/2023/038

    Vehicles may experience a transmission malfunction resulting in a loss of drive

    i30s built Feb 2021 to Apr 2022 · 447 vehicles across the whole recall

    Defect and remedy
    Remedy
    Apply a software update to the transmission control unit.

  4. Jun 2022 R/2022/164

    The subject vehicles may experience abnormal performance of the front right hand seatbelt pretensioner during deployment

    i30s built May 2020 to Oct 2020 · 210 vehicles across the whole recall

    Defect and remedy
    Remedy
    Replace the front right hand seatbelt assembly with a countermeasure part.

  5. Aug 2021 R/2021/261

    Indirect tyre pressure monitoring systems may not comply with european regulations

    i30s built Jun 2020 to Sep 2021 · 171 vehicles across the whole recall

    Defect and remedy
    Remedy
    Software update applied to the electronic stability program.

  6. Jun 2020 R/2020/059

    If moisture enters the ABS module it could cause an electrical short

    i30s built Nov 2006 to Dec 2010 · 9,191 vehicles across the whole recall

    Defect and remedy
    Defect
    When the vehicle is turned off if moisture enters the ABS module it could cause an electrical short.
    Remedy
    Affected vehicles will have a relay installed in the main fuse box to prevent power going to the ABS module when the ignition key is in the off position.

  7. Mar 2020 R/2020/016

    The air bag may deploy prematurely

    i30s built May 2007 to May 2012 · 9,200 vehicles across the whole recall

    Defect and remedy
    Defect
    In the event of an impact on the lower part of the vehicle body the airbag may prematurely deploy
    Remedy
    The airbag Control Unit will be reprogrammed

  8. Feb 2019 R/2019/055

    The sunroof motor has an incorrect software version installed

    i30s built Sep 2018 to Nov 2018 · 11 vehicles across the whole recall

    Defect and remedy
    Defect
    The sunroof anti-pinch function may not work properly.
    Remedy
    The sunroof and roller blind motors will be checked and if necessary replaced with an improved part.
How to check a specific i30 for recalls

i30 vs similar cars

Head-to-head comparisons on the same 2025 DVSA data.

Other Hyundai models

The most-tested Hyundai models in 2025, against the i30's 64.7% MOT pass rate.

All 17 Hyundai models

Hyundai i30 FAQs

How many Hyundai i30s are there in the UK?

102,014 Hyundai i30s were licensed in the UK at the end of June 2026, with a further 4,090 declared off the road (SORN), according to DfT vehicle licensing statistics.

Is the Hyundai i30 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 64.7% first-time pass rate for the Hyundai i30 across 102,091 tests in 2025, below the 72.3% average for all cars.

Has the Hyundai i30 had any recalls?

11 DVSA safety recalls launched from 2010 to July 2026 name the Hyundai i30. The most recent was published in November 2025. 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 Hyundai i30?

On the car itself, start with the areas it most often fails on: lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment, brakes and suspension. 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 Hyundai i30'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 an i30?

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 Hyundai history check. To confirm a car's identity, see the Hyundai VIN 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.