78.6%
Kia Optima
Kia Optima MOT pass rate and common problems
The Kia Optima passed 78.6% of its initial MOT tests in 2025, 6.3 percentage points above the 72.3% UK average. The item testers recorded most often was brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick.
Checking a specific car? Its own results, advisories and recorded mileages are in a free MOT history check.
How the Optima compares
Initial MOT tests in 2025, retests excluded. A car that failed and was repaired at the test station counts as a fail.
75.2%
Kia average
72.3%
UK average, all cars
The Optima runs 3.3 points ahead of the Kia average. It is 7th of the 16 Kia models in the data. The average Optima arrived at its test 8.2 years old with 86,190 miles recorded.
A pass rate records whether cars met the roadworthiness standard on test day. It is not a reliability score, and part of any gap reflects how old the tested cars were.
Optima MOT pass rate by age
The same 2025 tests split by the car's age at test.
Kia Optima cars aged 3 to 5 years passed 82.1% of MOT tests. For cars aged 11 years and over that fell to 63.7%, a drop of 18.5 percentage points.
| Age at test | Tests | Pass rate | vs UK average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 to 5 years | 1,131 | 82.1% | 9.8 pts above |
| 6 to 10 years | 8,684 | 80% | 7.7 pts above |
| 11 years and over | 1,139 | 63.7% | 8.7 pts below |
That is a steep decline with age, so the headline rate flatters older examples. The UK average of 72.3% covers cars of every age, so compare like with like.
Where Optima failures cluster
Every failure item recorded on Kia Optima cars in 2025, grouped into the DVSA's test areas.
Brakes and tyres together account for 54.2% of recorded failure items. These are recorded failures across the model, not faults every car has.
The 10 most common Optima MOT failures
Specific items recorded on Kia Optima cars that failed their 2025 MOT, as a share of all recorded failure items.
Together these 10 items make up 43.3% of everything testers recorded against failed Kia Optima cars. The rest is spread across many smaller items, and one failed test often records several at once.
What to look at on a Optima
The recorded failures above, grouped by area, biggest first.
1
Tyres
Recorded most often: tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm, condition has ply or cords exposed and condition has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords. 16.4% of failure items.
2
Brakes
Recorded most often: brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick, rbt (sp) efficiency below requirements and service brake performance excessively binding. 14.6% of failure items.
3
Steering
Recorded most often: track rod end ball joint has excessive play. 3.5% of failure items.
4
Noise, emissions and leaks
Recorded most often: malfunction indicator lamp inoperative or indicates a malfunction. 3.3% of failure items.
The car's own MOT history matters more than any model average. A free MOT history check shows whether a specific Optima has failed on these items before, or had them noted as advisories. Buying one? See the used Kia Optima buying guide.
Already found one?
Check its finance, write-off, theft, mileage and keeper history with a £15 vehicle history report.
Kia Optima MOT FAQs
What is the Kia Optima MOT pass rate?
78.6% of Kia Optima cars passed their initial MOT first time in 2025, from 10,954 tests. That is 6.3 percentage points above the 72.3% average for all cars, and ranks 220th of 575 models.
What does a Kia Optima most commonly fail its MOT on?
The item testers recorded most often on Kia Optima cars failing their 2025 MOT was brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick, on 10% of failure items. Next were tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm (7.4%) and condition has ply or cords exposed (5%).
Which area causes the most Kia Optima MOT failures?
Across every recorded failure item, the largest area was brakes at 31.9%, followed by tyres at 22.3%.
Do older Kia Optima cars fail their MOT more often?
Kia Optima cars aged 3 to 5 years passed 82.1% of MOT tests in 2025, against 63.7% for cars aged 11 years and over.
Does this mean every Kia Optima has these problems?
No. These are the items testers recorded across every Kia Optima that failed in 2025. They show where the model most often needs attention, not the condition of any individual car.
How do I see a specific Kia Optima's MOT history?
Enter its registration on the free Carpeep MOT history check to see that car's own test results, failures, advisories and recorded mileages.
MOT figures are aggregated from the DVSA MOT Anonymised data set for 2025: class 4 initial tests, retests excluded, with failure items from failed tests (advisories and minor defects excluded), licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. MOT results describe roadworthiness at test, not mechanical reliability.