Is the Hyundai IX20 reliable?

On MOT evidence the Hyundai IX20 is well below average. It passes 65.6% of tests once age and mileage are accounted for, against a national average of 72.3%. That figure covers 66% of the national age and mileage range, which is enough to quote but not to rank. This measures how often the car meets the MOT standard, not how often it breaks down or what a repair costs.

What is the most common MOT failure on a Hyundai IX20?

The item recorded most often is "A steering ball joint with excessive wear or free play", which appears in 24.5% of failed Hyundai IX20 tests. Because one failed test can list several items, these shares do not add up to 100%.

What do testers most often warn about on a Hyundai IX20?

The most common advisory is "Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements", noted on 20.4% of all Hyundai IX20 tests. An advisory is not a failure: it flags something that will likely need attention before the next test.

What mileage does a Hyundai IX20 usually have at its MOT?

The average odometer reading recorded at test is 56,430 miles. This is the mileage across all tested examples of every age, not an annual figure, so treat it as a description of the fleet rather than a target for one car.

Does a Hyundai IX20 get harder to pass as it ages?

Yes. At 3 to 5 years old, 93.0% of Hyundai IX20 tests pass. By fifteen years or more, that falls to 52.7%. Nearly every model follows this pattern, which is why comparing raw pass rates between models is misleading unless age is accounted for.

Are most Hyundai IX20 models petrol or diesel?

Of the Hyundai IX20 cars tested, 88% are petrol, 12% are diesel. Fuel type affects which items tend to fail, particularly emissions and exhaust components.

Model reliability file

Hyundai IX20 MOT pass rate & common failures

From 28,751 recorded MOT tests of the Hyundai IX20, published by DVSA.

Data updated 29 July 2026

Quick answer

The Hyundai IX20 passes 65.6% of MOT tests once results are adjusted for the age and mileage of the cars tested, against a national average of 72.3%. That is well below average. Based on 28,751 tests. Its most commonly recorded failure is steering ball joint with excessive wear or free play, which appears in 24.5% of failed tests. Cars of this model average 56,430 miles on the odometer when tested.

At a glance

Pass rate, adjusted for age and mileage

65.6%national average72.3%unadjusted69.2%range covered66%

The IX20 is 6.7 percentage points below the national pass rate once age and mileage are accounted for, which is well below average. The unadjusted figure is 69.2%; the difference is what the age and mileage of this model’s fleet was hiding.

DVSA recorded wording

Most common failure items

Share of failed Hyundai IX20 tests in which each item was recorded. One failed test often lists several items, so these do not sum to 100%.

1.A steering ball joint with excessive wear or free play24.5%
1,692 occurrencesBall joint worn explained
2.Parking brake efficiency below minimum requirement20.4%
1,407 occurrencesParking brake efficiency too low explained
3.Stop lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning14.8%
1,023 occurrencesStop lamp not working explained
4.A brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm13.4%
925 occurrencesBrake drum or shoe worn or contaminated explained
5.A lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning11.8%
818 occurrencesLamp not working explained
6.Parking brake inoperative on one side11.5%
795 occurrencesParking brake efficiency too low explained
7.A suspension joint dust cover missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt etc9.4%
648 occurrencesSuspension joint dust cover missing or split explained
8.Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements8.0%
551 occurrencesTyre worn close to the legal limit explained
9.Significant brake effort recorded with no brake applied indicating a binding brake5.5%
378 occurrencesBrake binding or imbalanced across an axle explained
10.The aim of a headlamp is not within limits laid down in the requirements5.2%
362 occurrencesHeadlamp aim incorrect explained

Warnings without a failure

Most common advisories

Share of all Hyundai IX20 tests carrying each advisory. The denominator differs from the failure list above because an advisory can be issued on a car that passed.

1.Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements20.4%
5,851 testsTyre worn close to the legal limit explained
2.A tyre seriously damaged17.9%
5,153 testsTyre damaged or deteriorated explained
3.A brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm12.9%
3,723 testsBrake drum or shoe worn or contaminated explained
4.Brake disc or drum excessively weakened, insecure or fractured12.9%
3,697 testsBrake disc worn, pitted or scored explained
5.Brake pipe damaged or excessively corroded4.6%
1,312 testsBrake pipe corroded explained
6.Brake disc or drum significantly and obviously worn4.5%
1,298 testsBrake disc worn, pitted or scored explained
7.A spring or spring component fractured or seriously weakened4.5%
1,295 testsRoad spring broken or fractured explained
8.A steering ball joint with excessive wear or free play4.2%
1,205 testsBall joint worn explained

How wear changes the picture

Pass rate by vehicle age

3–5 yrs93%

6–8 yrs86%

9–11 yrs71%

12–14 yrs55%

15+ yrs53%

Bands holding too few tests to be meaningful are omitted rather than shown as a rate.

What gets tested

The IX20 fleet

Average mileage recorded at test: 56,430
Fuel mix of tested cars: Petrol87.6%
Diesel12.4%

Trim names grouped into this model (2)

Recorded exactly as DVSA holds them. Trim-level names are rolled up so one model is not split across a dozen thin pages.

IX20 ACTIVE
IX20 SE

Check a specific Hyundai IX20

A model average tells you the pattern. Its own MOT record tells you the car.

Compare within the range

Other Hyundai models

Hyundai I10 — 67.7% adjusted
Hyundai Tucson — 74.8% adjusted
Hyundai I20 — 70.0% adjusted
Hyundai I30 — 68.7% adjusted
Hyundai Kona — 86.3% unadjusted
Hyundai IX35 — 63.8% unadjusted
All Hyundai models

Similar test volumes

Compare against other makes

Mitsubishi Asx — 75.0% adjusted, ranked 112
Jeep Renegade — 74.8% adjusted, ranked 114
Mini Clubman — 76.8% adjusted, ranked 87
Mitsubishi Shogun — 75.4% adjusted, ranked 103

Common questions

Is the Hyundai IX20 reliable?: On MOT evidence the Hyundai IX20 is well below average. It passes 65.6% of tests once age and mileage are accounted for, against a national average of 72.3%. That figure covers 66% of the national age and mileage range, which is enough to quote but not to rank. This measures how often the car meets the MOT standard, not how often it breaks down or what a repair costs.
What is the most common MOT failure on a Hyundai IX20?: The item recorded most often is "A steering ball joint with excessive wear or free play", which appears in 24.5% of failed Hyundai IX20 tests. Because one failed test can list several items, these shares do not add up to 100%.
What do testers most often warn about on a Hyundai IX20?: The most common advisory is "Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements", noted on 20.4% of all Hyundai IX20 tests. An advisory is not a failure: it flags something that will likely need attention before the next test.
What mileage does a Hyundai IX20 usually have at its MOT?: The average odometer reading recorded at test is 56,430 miles. This is the mileage across all tested examples of every age, not an annual figure, so treat it as a description of the fleet rather than a target for one car.
Does a Hyundai IX20 get harder to pass as it ages?: Yes. At 3 to 5 years old, 93.0% of Hyundai IX20 tests pass. By fifteen years or more, that falls to 52.7%. Nearly every model follows this pattern, which is why comparing raw pass rates between models is misleading unless age is accounted for.
Are most Hyundai IX20 models petrol or diesel?: Of the Hyundai IX20 cars tested, 88% are petrol, 12% are diesel. Fuel type affects which items tend to fail, particularly emissions and exhaust components.

How this was worked out

Method and limits

Figures come from the DVSA anonymised MOT testing dataset, published under the Open Government Licence. Only class 4 initial tests are counted: retests are excluded so a car appears once, and abandoned tests are excluded entirely. The adjusted rate is directly standardised across twenty-five age and mileage bands and reweighted onto the national distribution, so this model is compared against cars that have lived a similar life rather than against a younger or lighter-used fleet.

An MOT measures whether a car met a legal standard on the day. It is not a breakdown record, a service history or a running-cost estimate, and a pass rate is a property of a fleet rather than a prediction about one car.