Hyundai I40: MOT pass rate and reliability data

The Hyundai I40 fails its first MOT more often than the average UK car, by 1 percentage points. These figures come from the DVSA's full year of anonymised MOT results, covering 21,288 individual Hyundai I40 tests. Nothing here is an estimate or a survey.

The numbers

What this means if you are buying one

A 75.7% first-time pass rate means roughly 24 in every 100 Hyundai I40s 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 I40 tested had covered 96,952 miles and was built around 2015.

What this means at salvage auction

Pass rate is a proxy for what a car costs to keep on the road. On a Hyundai I40 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 I40 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 I40s actually sold for at UK salvage auction, from 3 real settled sales.

Most common MOT failures on a Hyundai I40

1. A tyre pressure monitoring system malfunctioning or obviously inoperative, 0.8% of tests (4.05x the national rate for this defect)
2. A steering ball joint with excessive wear or free play, 3.3% of tests (3.47x the national rate for this defect)
3. a brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm, 3.7% of tests (2.4x the national rate for this defect)
4. Significant brake effort recorded with no brake applied indicating a binding brake, 1.5% of tests (1.99x the national rate for this defect)
5. Brake pipe damaged or excessively corroded, 1.5% of tests (1.76x the national rate for this defect)
6. A headlamp or light source missing, inoperative or more than ½ not functioning in the case of LED, 1.5% of tests (1.71x the national rate for this defect)
7. A tyre cords visible or damaged, 1.5% of tests (1.21x the national rate for this defect)
8. Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements, 2.7% of tests (1.18x the national rate for this defect)
9. A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn, 2.8% of tests
10. A tyre seriously damaged, 2.1% of tests

From 30,667 DVSA-tracked Hyundai I40 tests, 2024. DVSA testers marked 7.11% of these flagged Hyundai I40 defects as "dangerous", meaning the tester judged the car unsafe to drive away, against 4.97% nationally.

Hyundai I40 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 I40 year:

• 2011 Hyundai I40 - 63.9% first-time pass, 563 tests
• 2012 Hyundai I40 - 68.3% first-time pass, 3,090 tests
• 2013 Hyundai I40 - 68.7% first-time pass, 2,705 tests
• 2014 Hyundai I40 - 72.8% first-time pass, 3,564 tests
• 2015 Hyundai I40 - 77.4% first-time pass, 3,545 tests
• 2016 Hyundai I40 - 82.1% first-time pass, 3,502 tests
• 2017 Hyundai I40 - 85.1% first-time pass, 2,522 tests
• 2018 Hyundai I40 - 85.3% first-time pass, 1,172 tests
• 2019 Hyundai I40 - 87.7% first-time pass, 486 tests

Hyundai I40 by fuel type

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

• Diesel Hyundai I40 - 76.3% first-time pass, 20,865 tests
• Petrol Hyundai I40 - 70.4% first-time pass, 284 tests

Other Hyundai models

• Hyundai I10 - 78.3%
• Hyundai I20 - 78.3%
• Hyundai Tucson - 84%
• Hyundai I30 - 70.5%
• Hyundai Ix35 - 69.8%
• Hyundai Ioniq - 89.9%
• Hyundai Santa Fe - 71.3%
• Hyundai Ix20 - 76.5%

Models with a similar pass rate

• MINI Cooper D - 75.8%
• Mercedes-Benz 200 - 75.8%
• Kia Picanto - 75.7%
• Mitsubishi Unclassified - 75.7%
• Mercedes Motorhome - 75.7%
• Vauxhall Mokka - 75.6%

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