All generations and engines together · 2,312 MOT tests in the 2025 data
Computed from DVSA MOT results, all of Great Britain, 2025. Nothing here is opinion.
Share of tests where each item was recorded. The dark tick is the class average across all tracked models; bars are scaled within each group.
The rows that judge the model rather than its keeper. 2,312 tests in this band.
Tyres, pads and stone chips say more about how the car was driven and maintained than about how it was built.
Owner folklore from forums and the motoring press. Most of it never shows up in an MOT, which is why this section exists at all.
A real safety recall affects Bayons fitted with the 7-speed dual-clutch automatic and built between 28 March 2023 and 15 January 2024. A transmission control unit software error could wrongly engage the clutches and cause the car to slow unexpectedly, which is obviously a problem in traffic. The fix is a free TCU software update at a dealer, so check it's been done on any DCT car from that build window.
Separate from the recall above, the dry-clutch design used in this gearbox is known across the wider Hyundai-Kia range to hesitate and judder from a standstill, particularly after sitting in slow traffic where the clutch pack heats up. It's a wear trait rather than a single failure, so it tends to get worse with age rather than appear suddenly. Manual-gearbox Bayons don't have this problem at all, which is why most used-buying advice steers towards the manual for cars out of warranty.
The three-cylinder 1.0 T-GDI turbo shares its block with the i20 and Kona, and that wider engine family has a known pattern of chain tensioner wear letting the timing chain rattle for a second or two on a cold start, typically from around 25,000 miles onwards. Left unchecked it can wear the tensioner and guides further, though most cars are fine with the tensioner or chain kit replaced, roughly £300-600. Hyundai isn't known to have raised a specific Bayon TSB for it, but the same engine and the same complaint turn up on the closely related i20.
Some owners report the touchscreen freezing, or the centre display failing to come on at all while the radio still plays, plus CarPlay or Android Auto disconnecting mid-journey. It can happen on cars that are otherwise new rather than being an age-related wear issue, and a soft reset usually clears it, though a small number of cars have needed the head unit replaced under warranty. Hyundai hasn't acknowledged this as a pattern and there's no recall or TSB for it.
A scatter of owners report creaks or knocks from the front end over bumps and blame top mounts or drop links, the usual suspects on any car riding on a supermini-based platform. It's not consistent enough to call a pattern: mainstream road tests from Autocar and What Car generally rate the ride as comfortable for the class, and there's no Bayon-specific forum thread with real traction behind it. Worth listening for on a test drive but don't treat it as an expected fault.
Built from the two sections above.
Same segment (Small SUVs), best MOT record first. Compare before you shortlist.