Kia Soul
From 36,418 MOT tests. Average for its class.
Common MOT failure categories
Pass rate by registration year
Newer Souls fare better: 2019 models pass at 89.8% vs 67.4% for 2009.
Pass rate by fuel type
What goes wrong?
The most common MOT failure reasons are a steering ball joint with excessive wear or free play, a suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn and tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements. The top issue, a steering ball joint with excessive wear or free play, caused 1,831 failures in 2024. Checking tread depth (1.6mm legal minimum, 3mm recommended) before your test can save an unnecessary fail. You can check prices at Black Circles if you need replacements. If you need repairs before retesting, sites like BookMyGarage let you compare local prices.
| a steering ball joint with excessive wear or free play | 1,831 |
| a suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn | 1,206 |
| tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements | 784 |
| a brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm | 726 |
| a lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning | 661 |
| a tyre seriously damaged | 642 |
| parking brake efficiency below minimum requirement | 621 |
| a suspension joint dust cover missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt etc | 615 |
| brake pipe damaged or excessively corroded | 565 |
| windscreen washers not working or not providing sufficient fluid to clear the windscreen | 544 |
How serious are these failures?
Not all MOT failures are equal. 68.2% of Soul failures are safety items (worn brakes, tyre damage, steering play). The car still drives, but you shouldn't. Only 0% are the kind that would actually strand you. When it does fail, the average repair bill is around £134.
Fuel type matters
Electric versions pass at 85.5% while Diesel versions pass at 75.7%, a 10 percentage point gap.
Kia Soul on UK roads
The fleet is shrinking: 613 scrapped or exported in the past year with only 2 newly registered, a net loss of 611. At this rate, roughly 40.1 years until none remain.
Quarterly breakdown
| Quarter | On road | SORN | New | Gone | Net |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 Q3 | 23,848 | 710 | +0 | -209 | -209 |
| 2025 Q2 | 24,078 | 689 | +0 | -168 | -168 |
| 2025 Q1 | 24,250 | 685 | +1 | -140 | -139 |
| 2024 Q4 | 24,453 | 621 | +1 | -96 | -95 |
| 2024 Q3 | 24,615 | 554 | +69 | -151 | -82 |
| 2024 Q2 | 24,726 | 525 | +21 | -116 | -95 |
| 2024 Q1 | 24,836 | 510 | +158 | -217 | -59 |
| 2023 Q4 | 24,945 | 460 | +46 | -71 | -25 |
20 variants on the road
| Variant | Fuel | Licensed | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Soul 2 Crdi Auto | Diesel | 2,179 | 12% |
| Soul 2 | Petrol | 2,143 | 12% |
| Soul First Edition Ev | Battery Electric | 1,846 | 10% |
| Soul 2 Crdi | Diesel | 1,823 | 10% |
| Soul 1 | Petrol | 1,111 | 6% |
| Soul Connect + Crdi | Diesel | 896 | 5% |
| Soul Maxx Ev | Battery Electric | 865 | 5% |
| Soul Mixx Crdi | Diesel | 848 | 5% |
| Soul Ev Auto | Battery Electric | 829 | 5% |
| Soul Tempest Crdi Auto | Diesel | 822 | 4% |
| Soul Connect | Petrol | 769 | 4% |
| Soul Connect + | Petrol | 636 | 3% |
| Soul Shaker Crdi | Diesel | 583 | 3% |
| Soul Connect Crdi | Diesel | 515 | 3% |
| Soul 2 Crdi S-A | Diesel | 447 | 2% |
| Soul Explore Ev | Battery Electric | 439 | 2% |
| Soul Tempest Crdi | Diesel | 437 | 2% |
| Soul Connect + Crdi Auto | Diesel | 413 | 2% |
| Soul Echo Crdi | Diesel | 389 | 2% |
| Soul Shaker | Petrol | 385 | 2% |
Source: DfT vehicle licensing statistics, 2025 Q3. Crown copyright, OGL v3.0.
By registration year
| Year | Pass rate | Top failures |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 89.8% | a brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm, a tyre seriously damaged |
| 2018 | 88.2% | a brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm, wiper blade missing or obviously not clearing the windscreen |
| 2017 | 87% | tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements, a tyre seriously damaged |
| 2016 | 85.9% | tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements, a brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm |
7 earlier years
| 2015 | 83.5% | a brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm, parking brake efficiency below minimum requirement |
| 2014 | 79.1% | tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements, a brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm |
| 2013 | 72.6% | a steering ball joint with excessive wear or free play, a suspension joint dust cover missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt etc |
| 2012 | 70.4% | a steering ball joint with excessive wear or free play, a suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn |
| 2011 | 70% | a steering ball joint with excessive wear or free play, a suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn |
| 2010 | 67.4% | a steering ball joint with excessive wear or free play, a suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn |
| 2009 | 67.4% | a steering ball joint with excessive wear or free play, a suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn |
Typical mileage
Half of all Souls tested had between 57,753 and 104,029 miles on the clock. A significant number are high-mileage vehicles.
At 81,893 median miles, the Soul has 0.029 failures per 10,000 miles driven.
Other Kia models
| Kia Sportage | 81% |
| Kia Picanto | 76.9% |
| Kia Ceed | 73.9% |
| Kia Rio | 74.7% |
| Kia Venga | 77.2% |
Common questions
What is the Kia Soul MOT pass rate?
The Kia Soul has a 76.3% MOT pass rate based on 36,418 real MOT tests. This is around the national average.
What are common MOT failures on a Kia Soul?
The most common MOT failure on the Kia Soul is a steering ball joint with excessive wear or free play, which caused 1,831 failures. Other common issues include a suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn.
How many Kia Souls are on UK roads?
There are 23,848 Kia Souls currently licensed on UK roads, with 710 on SORN.
What is the typical mileage of a Kia Soul at MOT?
The median mileage at MOT for a Kia Soul is 81,893 miles. The middle 50% of vehicles tested have between 57,753 and 104,029 miles.
Buying a used Soul?
Start with the free tools. Look up the specific vehicle's MOT history on GOV.UK The mileage at each test will show if it's been wound back, and the advisory history tells you what's wearing. Cross-reference that against the typical failures above to see if anything looks unusual for this model.
The free data won't tell you about outstanding finance, theft markers, or write-off history. For that, you need a vehicle history check This is especially important on a private sale where you have fewer legal protections.
With a 76.3% pass rate and an average repair bill of £134 when things go wrong, budget accordingly.
Some links are to services we may earn from. Disclosure.
MOT data from DVSA anonymised test results, 2024 test year. Fleet data from DfT vehicle licensing statistics. Crown copyright, OGL v3.0. MOT pass rates are statistical summaries of test outcomes, not assessments of individual vehicle safety or condition. Always inspect a vehicle and check its full MOT history before purchasing. See terms of use.