Hyundai I30: MOT pass rate and reliability data

The Hyundai I30 fails its first MOT more often than the average UK car, by 6.2 percentage points. These figures come from the DVSA's full year of anonymised MOT results, covering 104,105 individual Hyundai I30 tests. Nothing here is an estimate or a survey.

The numbers

What this means if you are buying one

A 70.5% first-time pass rate means roughly 30 in every 100 Hyundai I30s presented for MOT fail on the first attempt. That is worse than average, so budget for remedial work and treat a fresh 12-month MOT as a genuine selling point rather than a given. The average Hyundai I30 tested had covered 78,251 miles and was built around 2014.

What this means at salvage auction

Pass rate is a proxy for what a car costs to keep on the road. On a Hyundai I30 bought as a repairable salvage, assume the mechanical side needs more than the visible accident damage, and pad your repair estimate accordingly.

Before you bid: run the lot through the analyzer, check the car's own record, check the mileage, decode the VIN, and if it carries a marker use the write-off value calculator. Or compare it against another model.

Looking at a specific Hyundai I30 rather than the model in general? The free check covers its MOT and mileage history, and the full HPI report confirms the insurance write-off category, outstanding finance and whether it is recorded stolen, from licensed data for 5 credits. Already own one that has been damaged? Work out whether fixing it beats selling it with the repair or scrap calculator, and see what damaged Hyundai I30s actually sold for at UK salvage auction, from 3 real settled sales.

Most common MOT failures on a Hyundai I30

1. Parking brake inoperative on one side, 2.3% of tests (5.17x the national rate for this defect)
2. Lamp emitted colour, position or intensity not in accordance with the requirements, 1.8% of tests (4.09x the national rate for this defect)
3. Parking brake efficiency below minimum requirement, 4% of tests (4.05x the national rate for this defect)
4. A steering ball joint with excessive wear or free play, 3.8% of tests (4.05x the national rate for this defect)
5. Stop lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning, 2.8% of tests (2.85x the national rate for this defect)
6. Significant brake effort recorded with no brake applied indicating a binding brake, 1.9% of tests (2.45x the national rate for this defect)
7. A headlamp or light source missing, inoperative or more than ½ not functioning in the case of LED, 2.1% of tests (2.35x the national rate for this defect)
8. A suspension joint dust cover missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt etc, 2.2% of tests (1.64x the national rate for this defect)
9. A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn, 5.8% of tests (1.57x the national rate for this defect)
10. a brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm, 2.4% of tests (1.55x the national rate for this defect)

From 145,143 DVSA-tracked Hyundai I30 tests, 2024. DVSA testers marked 5.89% of these flagged Hyundai I30 defects as "dangerous", meaning the tester judged the car unsafe to drive away, against 4.97% nationally.

Hyundai I30 pass rate by model year

Pass rates fall steadily as cars age, so the model year matters as much as the model. First-time pass rate for each Hyundai I30 year:

• 2007 Hyundai I30 - 60.6% first-time pass, 835 tests
• 2008 Hyundai I30 - 58.7% first-time pass, 2,438 tests
• 2009 Hyundai I30 - 63.3% first-time pass, 8,602 tests
• 2010 Hyundai I30 - 61.4% first-time pass, 10,278 tests
• 2011 Hyundai I30 - 64% first-time pass, 8,914 tests
• 2012 Hyundai I30 - 62.4% first-time pass, 8,763 tests
• 2013 Hyundai I30 - 63.7% first-time pass, 10,497 tests
• 2014 Hyundai I30 - 68.1% first-time pass, 9,869 tests
• 2015 Hyundai I30 - 75.8% first-time pass, 13,692 tests
• 2016 Hyundai I30 - 77.8% first-time pass, 9,564 tests
• 2017 Hyundai I30 - 83.7% first-time pass, 6,819 tests
• 2018 Hyundai I30 - 87.1% first-time pass, 7,431 tests
• 2019 Hyundai I30 - 89.8% first-time pass, 4,157 tests
• 2020 Hyundai I30 - 88.4% first-time pass, 1,398 tests
• 2021 Hyundai I30 - 87.7% first-time pass, 227 tests

Hyundai I30 by fuel type

Diesel and petrol versions of the same car fail on different things, so the fuel type moves the number:

• Petrol Hyundai I30 - 74% first-time pass, 55,172 tests
• Diesel Hyundai I30 - 67.5% first-time pass, 48,313 tests

Other Hyundai models

• Hyundai I10 - 78.3%
• Hyundai I20 - 78.3%
• Hyundai Tucson - 84%
• Hyundai Ix35 - 69.8%
• Hyundai Ioniq - 89.9%
• Hyundai Santa Fe - 71.3%
• Hyundai Ix20 - 76.5%
• Hyundai Kona - 90.6%

Models with a similar pass rate

• Volkswagen Motor Caravan - 70.7%
• Rover 216 - 70.7%
• Land Rover Freelander - 70.6%
• Citroen C3 - 70.4%
• Fiat 500c - 70.4%
• Toyota Mr2 - 70.4%

If this car is a salvage or write-off

• What does Cat N mean? Category N explained
• What does Cat S mean? Category S explained
• Cat S vs Cat N: the real differences

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All 2,005 models ranked by MOT pass rate