Performance by cohort

3 year bands · 205,280 tests

Pass rate climbs 15.4 points across the cohorts — newer Ceed examples clear the test more reliably than the early cars.

Pre-2018 cohort 177,076

Pass

71.6%

Fail

22.9%

PRS

4.9%

Avg mileage at test

87,235 mi

2018–2020 cohort 24,143

Pass

85.2%

Fail

11.4%

PRS

3.1%

Avg mileage at test

45,631 mi

2021+ cohort 4,061

Pass

87.1%

Fail

9.3%

PRS

3.2%

Avg mileage at test

28,675 mi

Cohort = vehicle's first-registration year band. Same model, different generations of build.

Generations on file · 3

Kia Ceed · UK market

Photos: Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA / CC BY / public domain.

The picture

Kia Ceed Passes 72% — Steering Joints Flag Early

The Kia Ceed records a 72.98% first-time pass rate across 146,115 tests, with rear number plate lamp faults, steering ball joint wear, and tyre tread depth forming the top three failures at an average of 77,523 miles. Steering ball joint issues appearing in the failure list at this mileage is worth noting for anyone buying a higher-mileage example. One 2018 1.4 T-GDI reported stuttering under hard acceleration — diagnosed as requiring a forced diesel particulate regeneration by the dealer. Inspect steering joints carefully on cars above 70,000 miles and confirm the DPF health on turbocharged variants before purchase.

ABI Insurance Group

Group 9–22

Below the fleet average — generally reasonable to insure. Lower groups cost less to insure; UK fleet average is around Group 22.

Source: ABI Group Rating Panel · administered by Thatcham Research · groups cover standard variants; performance trims may sit higher. Browse all insurance groups →

9–22

out of 50

Compare quotes →

Top ten reasons for rejection.

Filter failures:

Hide wear items to see the model's real defects.

01

A rear registration plate lamp or light source missing or inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources

8,502 occurrences · 4.1% of tests
02

A steering ball joint with excessive wear or free play

5,197 occurrences · 2.5% of tests
03

Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements

5,024 occurrences · 2.4% of tests
04

A transmission shaft constant velocity joint boot severely deteriorated

4,537 occurrences · 2.2% of tests
05

A lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning

4,207 occurrences · 2.0% of tests
06

a brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm

3,920 occurrences · 1.9% of tests
07

Windscreen or window damaged or seriously discoloured but not adversely affecting driver's view

3,878 occurrences · 1.9% of tests
08

A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn

3,730 occurrences · 1.8% of tests
09

Parking brake efficiency below minimum requirement

3,618 occurrences · 1.8% of tests
10

Stop lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning

3,047 occurrences · 1.5% of tests

Counts cover Major and Dangerous defects logged at test. Advisory items excluded so this shows why a car was rejected, not just what the tester flagged in passing.

Worst-case fix budget · top 3 failures

£148–£370

If every one of this Ceed's most-logged Major fails hit at the same MOT, that's the real-world UK garage range. Reality is usually one or two items, not all of them. Open the estimator →

Try the calculator

Build your own retest budget.

Year-band analysis

Best year to buy. Worst to avoid.

First-time MOT pass rate split by registration band. A 15.4-point gap between bands means the year you buy Kia Ceed has a real effect on what turns up at the garage.

Best band to buy

87.1%

2021+ registration

the 2021-on band climbs to 87.1% — a 15.4-point improvement. Tests in this band average 28,675 miles — roughly 59K miles fewer on the clock than the older band. Failures here are mostly wear items: has ply or cords exposed, does not clear the windscreen effectively — the structural issues that drag down older examples don't appear in the top-10 for this band. Post-2020 examples are early in their MOT life and generally show the cleanest records.

Band to be cautious about

71.6%

Pre-2018 registration

On the older band (pre-2018), the data shows a 71.6% pass rate against a fleet average of 87.1% on the newer band. The main culprits logged at test: inoperative in the case of multiple lamps…, ball joint has excessive play, and tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm. Average mileage on test for this band is 87,235 miles — high-mileage wear items are a recurring theme.

Best band to buy: 2021+ (87.1% first-time pass). Worst band to avoid: pre-2018 (71.6% pass). That's a 15.4-point spread across 177,076 older tests and 4,061 newer ones — year of build makes a material difference on this model.

Year-spread leaderboard →

Tools that pre-empt a retest.

Picked against this car's top failure patterns. Affiliate links to Amazon UK — we earn a small cut at no cost to you. Disclosed up-front, doesn't shape the data.

Item 01 · Amazon UK

H7 / W21W bulb pack

A spare-bulb kit lives in the boot. Test morning is not the time to find your stop-lamp's gone.

Search Amazon UK

Item 02 · Amazon UK

Digital tyre-tread depth gauge

Five quid for a gauge beats £150 for a retest. UK MOT minimum is 1.6mm — most testers fail anything below 2mm to be safe.

Search Amazon UK

My Motor World · affiliate

Parts & supplies for this fix

Affiliate links — small commission, no extra cost to you.

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Click Mechanic · affiliate

Book a mobile mechanic

Affiliate links — small commission, no extra cost to you.

Mobile mechanic · UK-wide

Book a mechanic at your door.

Fixed-price quotes upfront. No garage needed. Click Mechanic sends a vetted local mechanic to you — home, work, or roadside.

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Owner reports · Honest John

What owners actually report.

Verbatim faults logged by owners on honestjohn.co.uk over recent years. We didn't summarise — these are the words people typed in.

Where it falls short

Owner reports include: Report of 2018 Kia Ceed 1.4 T First Edition starting to stutter under hard acceleration (eg joining a motorway from a se.

Recent owner-reported faults

25 Jun 2019
Report of 2018 Kia Ceed 1.4 T First Edition starting to stutter under hard acceleration (eg joining a motorway from a service area). Felt like a fuel blockage (car run solely on BP Ultimate). Kia Preston took it in and performed a forced regeneration while owner waited. Car now working fine. * Terms and Conditions * Privacy * Cookies * Advertise on this site * Contact * Mobile) Website of the Year 2016, 2017 & 2018

Source: honestjohn.co.uk · 1 reports indexed

Recall history

1 UK recall on record.

The Ceed has 1 official UK vehicle recall covering defect details, remedies, and affected build dates.

See all recalls

Buying or keeping a Ceed?

Use the failure ranking as a pre-test checklist or a haggling lever. Treat the headline pass rate as a fleet-wide trend, not a guarantee on any individual car.

If you own a Ceed and your last MOT looked nothing like the ranked failures above, that's normal — individual cars vary widely. The ranking shows the patterns testers flag most often across the country.