Hyundai i40, Buying guide, MOT record, UK numbers and recalls
19,165 Hyundai i40s are licensed in the UK. In 2025 they passed 71.1% of initial MOT tests, 1.2 points below the 72.3% UK average.
Looking at a specific i40? Check its finance, write-off, stolen, mileage and keeper history. £15, no account needed.
Hyundai i40 at the MOT
71.1% of 19,840 initial tests passed in 2025, ranking the i40 334th of 575 models. Hyundai i40s aged 3 to 5 years passed 83.9% of MOT tests in 2025; for examples aged 11 years and over that fell to 62.7%.
First-time pass rate, 2025
Share of initial tests passed, retests excluded.
Pass rate by age at test
Hyundai i40 tests in 2025.
Where i40s fail
Share of all failure items recorded on Hyundai i40 tests in 2025.
The items testers recorded most often were brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick (6.9%), track rod end ball joint has excessive play (6.4%) and headlamp not working on dipped beam (5.6%).
The MOT page lists every common i40 MOT failure. For one car's own results and advisories, run a free MOT history check.
What to look at on a viewing
The i40's most common failure areas, and what a tester checks in each.
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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.24.4% of i40 failure items
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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.19.2% of i40 failure items
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Suspension
Listen for knocks over bumps, check the car sits level, and look for leaking shock absorbers and split rubber gaiters.16% of i40 failure items
Hyundai i40s in the UK
19,165 were licensed at the end of June 2026. The number licensed has grown 23% since the end of 2014, although it peaked at 27,050 at the end of 2017.
- Change since 2014
- +23%from 15,584 licensed
- Typical year of first use
- 2015half of those licensed at the end of 2025 were first used in 2015 or earlier
- First registered in 2025
- 3against 5,231 in 2015
- Declared off the road
- 1,7078.2% of those registered, under SORN
Licensed Hyundai i40s since 2014
Licensed at each year end and in the latest quarter.
Show the figures
| Date | Licensed |
|---|---|
| End of 2014 | 15,584 |
| End of 2015 | 20,441 |
| End of 2016 | 24,577 |
| End of 2017 | 27,050 |
| End of 2018 | 26,972 |
| End of 2019 | 26,118 |
| End of 2020 | 25,196 |
| End of 2021 | 24,748 |
| End of 2022 | 23,941 |
| End of 2023 | 22,881 |
| End of 2024 | 21,622 |
| End of 2025 | 20,085 |
| End of June 2026 | 19,165 |
How old they are
Licensed Hyundai i40s by year of first use.
- Licensed at the end of 2025
- First registered that year
Show the figures
| First used | Licensed, end 2025 | First registered that year |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 455 | 576 |
| 2018 | 1,122 | 1,594 |
| 2017 | 2,490 | 3,586 |
| 2016 | 3,409 | 5,166 |
| 2015 | 3,412 | 5,231 |
| 2014 | 3,516 | |
| 2013 | 2,429 | |
| 2012 | 2,661 | |
| 2011 | 469 |
3,412 i40s first used in 2015 were still licensed at the end of 2025, roughly 65% of the 5,231 first registered that year.
i40 engines and fuel
1.7 litre engines made up 96% of Hyundai i40 MOT tests in 2025, followed by 1.6 litre at 3.8%. Diesel accounts for 99% of licensed i40s and petrol for 1.2%.
Engine size at MOT, 2025
Share of 19,840 initial MOT tests in 2025.
Fuel type, licensed i40s
DfT licensing statistics, June 2026.
| Fuel | Licensed | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Petrol | 237 | 1% |
| Diesel | 18,928 | 99% |
Hyundai i40 recalls
3 DVSA safety recalls launched from 1992 to October 2026 name the Hyundai i40. Each covers vehicles built in a set period, so a recall does not mean every i40 is affected.
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Sep 2024 R/2024/309
A potential safety defect has been identified which could occur within the ABS control unit. The ABS control unit within the affected VIN range could experience an electrical short circuit
Defect and remedy
- Defect
- On affected vehicles the HECU (Hydraulic Electronic Control Unit) for the ABS could experience an electrical short circuit with a potential that the malfunction indicator light may become illuminated (MIL and /or ABS light) and a burning smell may emanate from the engine compartment and the HECU components.
- Remedy
- The affected vehicles will have a low-capacity fuse installed within the engine compartment junction box
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Apr 2023 R/2023/067
Certain vehicles may experience a loss of braking assistance and brake performance may be reduced
Defect and remedy
- Remedy
- Visually inspect the tandem pump drive belt and mesh filter within the pump assembly and modify where appropriate. If the tandem pump drive belt is defective replace the pump and the drive belt.
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Jan 2018 R/2018/018
It may be possible to start the vehicle without depresssing the clutch pedal
Defect and remedy
- Defect
- The clutch pedal inhibitor may fail and it will then be possible to start the vehicle in gear without pressing the clutch pedal down.
- Remedy
- On affected vehicles fit a modified clutch inhibitor switch to prevent this.
Other Hyundai models
The most-tested Hyundai models in 2025, against the i40's 71.1% MOT pass rate.
Hyundai i40 FAQs
How many Hyundai i40s are there in the UK?
19,165 Hyundai i40s were licensed in the UK at the end of June 2026, with a further 1,707 declared off the road (SORN), according to DfT vehicle licensing statistics.
Is the Hyundai i40 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 71.1% first-time pass rate for the Hyundai i40 across 19,840 tests in 2025, below the 72.3% average for all cars.
Has the Hyundai i40 had any recalls?
3 DVSA safety recalls launched from 1992 to October 2026 name the Hyundai i40. The most recent was published in September 2024. 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 i40?
On the car itself, start with the areas it most often fails on: brakes, lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 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 i40'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 i40?
Check its finance, write-off, theft, mileage and keeper history with a £15 vehicle history report.
Across the 1,548 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 October 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.