Is the Kia Sorento reliable?

On MOT evidence the Kia Sorento is about average. It passes 72.2% of tests once age and mileage are accounted for, against a national average of 72.3%, which ranks it 146 of 262 models with enough data for a fair comparison. 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 Kia Sorento?

The item recorded most often is "A steering ball joint with excessive wear or free play", which appears in 13.9% of failed Kia Sorento 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 Kia Sorento?

The most common advisory is "Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements", noted on 28.8% of all Kia Sorento tests. An advisory is not a failure: it flags something that will likely need attention before the next test.

What mileage does a Kia Sorento usually have at its MOT?

The average odometer reading recorded at test is 80,749 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 Kia Sorento get harder to pass as it ages?

Yes. At 3 to 5 years old, 86.4% of Kia Sorento tests pass. By fifteen years or more, that falls to 54.9%. Nearly every model follows this pattern, which is why comparing raw pass rates between models is misleading unless age is accounted for.

Are most Kia Sorento models petrol or diesel?

Of the Kia Sorento cars tested, 87% are diesel, 13% are hybrid. Fuel type affects which items tend to fail, particularly emissions and exhaust components.

Model reliability file

Kia Sorento MOT pass rate & common failures

From 36,320 recorded MOT tests of the Kia Sorento, published by DVSA.

Data updated 29 July 2026

Quick answer

The Kia Sorento passes 72.2% 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 about average, ranking it 146 of 262 models with enough data to compare fairly. Based on 36,320 tests. Its most commonly recorded failure is steering ball joint with excessive wear or free play, which appears in 13.9% of failed tests. Cars of this model average 80,749 miles on the odometer when tested.

At a glance

Pass rate, adjusted for age and mileage

72.2%national average72.3%unadjusted71.5%range covered99%rank146 of 262

The Sorento is 0.1 percentage points below the national pass rate once age and mileage are accounted for, which is about average. The unadjusted figure is 71.5%; 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 Kia Sorento 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 play13.9%
1,230 occurrencesBall joint worn explained
2.A brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm13.7%
1,209 occurrencesBrake drum or shoe worn or contaminated explained
3.Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements12.5%
1,105 occurrencesTyre worn close to the legal limit explained
4.A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn10.2%
905 occurrencesSuspension arm bush worn explained
5.A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn10.1%
897 occurrencesSuspension arm bush worn explained
6.A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn9.0%
800 occurrencesSuspension arm bush worn explained
7.A lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning7.3%
644 occurrencesLamp not working explained
8.A tyre seriously damaged7.2%
638 occurrencesTyre damaged or deteriorated explained
9.A tyre cords visible or damaged7.0%
621 occurrencesTyre ply or cord exposed, or the casing separating explained
10.Wiper blade missing or obviously not clearing the windscreen6.8%
604 occurrencesWiper or washer not working properly explained

Warnings without a failure

Most common advisories

Share of all Kia Sorento 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 requirements28.8%
10,456 testsTyre worn close to the legal limit explained
2.A brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm14.8%
5,391 testsBrake drum or shoe worn or contaminated explained
3.Brake pipe damaged or excessively corroded11.0%
4,002 testsBrake pipe corroded explained
4.A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn10.2%
3,688 testsSuspension arm bush worn explained
5.Brake disc or drum excessively weakened, insecure or fractured9.9%
3,609 testsBrake disc worn, pitted or scored explained
6.A tyre seriously damaged7.7%
2,810 testsTyre damaged or deteriorated explained
7.Fluid leaking excessively and likely to harm the environment or to pose a safety risk to other road users5.3%
1,939 tests
8.A spring or spring component fractured or seriously weakened5.1%
1,854 testsRoad spring broken or fractured explained

How wear changes the picture

Pass rate by vehicle age

3–5 yrs86%

6–8 yrs81%

9–11 yrs71%

12–14 yrs59%

15+ yrs55%

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

What gets tested

The Sorento fleet

Average mileage recorded at test: 80,749
Fuel mix of tested cars: Diesel87.0%
Hybrid12.5%

Trim names grouped into this model (13)

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

SORENTO 2 HEV AWD AUTO
SORENTO 2 PHEV AWD AUTO
SORENTO 3 CRDI AWD S-A
SORENTO 3 HEV AWD AUTO
SORENTO 3 PHEV AWD AUTO
SORENTO 4 CRDI AWD S-A
SORENTO 4 HEV AWD AUTO
SORENTO 4 PHEV AWD AUTO
SORENTO CRDI AWD
SORENTO EDITION CRDI AWD S-A
SORENTO EDITION HEV AWD A
SORENTO EDITION PHEV AWD AUTO
SORENTO TITAN

Check a specific Kia Sorento

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

Compare within the range

Other Kia models

Kia Sportage — 71.7% adjusted
Kia Picanto — 65.5% adjusted
Kia Ceed — 68.9% adjusted
Kia Niro — 85.8% adjusted
Kia Rio — 69.0% adjusted
Kia Venga — 64.3% adjusted
All Kia models

Similar test volumes

Compare against other makes

Fiat 500X — 75.2% adjusted, ranked 108
Isuzu D-Max — 72.3% adjusted, ranked 142
Volkswagen Touareg — 79.4% adjusted, ranked 60
Peugeot 5008 — 64.0% adjusted, ranked 228

Common questions

Is the Kia Sorento reliable?: On MOT evidence the Kia Sorento is about average. It passes 72.2% of tests once age and mileage are accounted for, against a national average of 72.3%, which ranks it 146 of 262 models with enough data for a fair comparison. 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 Kia Sorento?: The item recorded most often is "A steering ball joint with excessive wear or free play", which appears in 13.9% of failed Kia Sorento 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 Kia Sorento?: The most common advisory is "Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements", noted on 28.8% of all Kia Sorento tests. An advisory is not a failure: it flags something that will likely need attention before the next test.
What mileage does a Kia Sorento usually have at its MOT?: The average odometer reading recorded at test is 80,749 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 Kia Sorento get harder to pass as it ages?: Yes. At 3 to 5 years old, 86.4% of Kia Sorento tests pass. By fifteen years or more, that falls to 54.9%. Nearly every model follows this pattern, which is why comparing raw pass rates between models is misleading unless age is accounted for.
Are most Kia Sorento models petrol or diesel?: Of the Kia Sorento cars tested, 87% are diesel, 13% are hybrid. 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.