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Kia Rio, Buying guide, MOT record, UK numbers and recalls

96,283 Kia Rios are licensed in the UK. In 2025 they passed 70.3% of initial MOT tests, 2 points below the 72.3% UK average.

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

Kia Rio at the MOT

70.3% of 99,483 initial tests passed in 2025, ranking the Rio 347th of 575 models. Kia Rios aged 3 to 5 years passed 85.7% of MOT tests in 2025; for examples aged 11 years and over that fell to 57.9%.

First-time pass rate, 2025

Share of initial tests passed, retests excluded.

  • Kia Rio70.3%
  • All Kia modelsThe Rio is 4.9 pts behind75.2%
  • All cars72.3%

Pass rate by age at test

Kia Rio tests in 2025.

  • 3 to 5 years11,460 tests85.7%
  • 6 to 10 years41,310 tests76.9%
  • 11 years and over42,880 tests57.9%

Where Rios fail

Share of all failure items recorded on Kia Rio tests in 2025.

  • Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment23.6%
  • Brakes19.1%
  • Suspension16.6%
  • Tyres12.9%
  • Visibility10.4%

The items testers recorded most often were position lamp not working (5.6%), wipers does not clear the windscreen effectively (5%) and tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm (4.9%).

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

Full Kia Rio MOT record

What to look at on a viewing

The Rio'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.23.6% of Rio 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.19.1% of Rio failure items

  3. Suspension

    Listen for knocks over bumps, check the car sits level, and look for leaking shock absorbers and split rubber gaiters.16.6% of Rio failure items

Kia Rios in the UK

96,283 were licensed at the end of June 2026. The number licensed has grown 17% since the end of 2014, although it peaked at 107,268 at the end of 2022.

Change since 2014
+17%from 82,427 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
4against 12,147 in 2015
Declared off the road
4,3774.3% of those registered, under SORN

Licensed Kia Rios since 2014

Licensed at each year end and in the latest quarter.

Show the figures
DateLicensed
End of 201482,427
End of 201590,397
End of 201696,931
End of 2017101,373
End of 2018103,693
End of 2019105,463
End of 2020105,197
End of 2021106,112
End of 2022107,268
End of 2023106,895
End of 2024103,013
End of 202598,736
End of June 202696,283

How old they are

Licensed Kia Rios by year of first use.

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

A further 624 were first used before 2006.

Show the figures
First usedLicensed, end 2025First registered that year
20232,6292,727
20224,4344,674
20213,6393,762
20203,3313,431
20194,8235,057
20185,6325,905
20177,9148,471
20168,6889,336
201511,08512,147
201410,606
20139,263
20128,117
20115,949
20105,130
20093,842
20081,471
2007796
2006595

11,085 Rios first used in 2015 were still licensed at the end of 2025, roughly 91% of the 12,147 first registered that year.

Rio engines and fuel

1.2 litre engines made up 39% of Kia Rio MOT tests in 2025, followed by 1.4 litre at 37%. Petrol accounts for 79% of licensed Rios and diesel for 17%.

Engine size at MOT, 2025

Share of 99,478 initial MOT tests in 2025.

  • 1.2 litre39%
  • 1.4 litre37.2%
  • 1.0 litre12%
  • 1.1 litre5.9%
  • 1.5 litre5.2%

Fuel type, licensed Rios

DfT licensing statistics, June 2026.

FuelLicensedShare
Petrol76,07579%
Diesel16,68817%
Hybrid electric3,5164%
Gas4<0.1%

Kia Rio recalls

2 DVSA safety recalls launched from 2010 to July 2026 name the Kia Rio. Each covers vehicles built in a set period, so a recall does not mean every Rio is affected.

  1. Dec 2024 R/2024/465

    Kia HECU Fuse Replacement

    Rios built Oct 2009 to Mar 2017 · 160,314 vehicles across the whole recall

    Defect and remedy
    Defect
    The HECU hydraulic electronic control unit of affected vehicles equipped with Anti-lock Brake Systems ABS and Electronic Stability Control ESC could leak internally and cause an electrical short over time. In extreme cases the HECU could overheat with a possible risk of an under bonnet fire.
    Remedy
    The recall will replace the fuses in the junction box with a lower rated version.

  2. May 2018 R/2018/120

    Child locks on the rear doors may not operate

    Rios built Apr 2017 to Jun 2017 · 2,300 vehicles across the whole recall

    Defect and remedy
    Defect
    On some Rio models the child locks on the rear doors may not operate; this is caused by the incorrect length release lever cable being installed.
    Remedy
    Replacement cable of correct length will be fitted to affected vehicles.
How to check a specific Rio for recalls

Rio vs similar cars

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

Other Kia models

The most-tested Kia models in 2025, against the Rio's 70.3% MOT pass rate.

All 16 Kia models

Kia Rio FAQs

How many Kia Rios are there in the UK?

96,283 Kia Rios were licensed in the UK at the end of June 2026, with a further 4,377 declared off the road (SORN), according to DfT vehicle licensing statistics.

Is the Kia Rio 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 70.3% first-time pass rate for the Kia Rio across 99,483 tests in 2025, below the 72.3% average for all cars.

Has the Kia Rio had any recalls?

2 DVSA safety recalls launched from 2010 to July 2026 name the Kia Rio. The most recent was published in December 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 Kia Rio?

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 Kia Rio'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 Rio?

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