All generations and engines together · 1,809 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. 1,804 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.
On the 2006-2012 Sedona (built roughly October 2005 to August 2012), the front lower suspension arms had thin anti-corrosion coating on their inner surfaces and could rust through, weakening the arm and, in bad cases, letting it break. It was serious enough for a UK DVSA recall, with dealers either replacing the arms or applying extra coating after inspection. This lines up with the measured MOT data for this model, where suspension is the standout failure category; the recall fix is free if a car somehow missed it, but a corroded, uninspected arm on an older example is exactly the kind of thing that turns into a fail rather than an advisory.
Owners of the CRDi diesel report the high-pressure fuel pump breaking up internally and shedding metal swarf into the fuel filter and tank, which then damages the injectors too. Symptoms are a sudden loss of power, rough running, or a car that won't start, and it isn't limited to very high mileage; some owners have had it happen twice within a couple of years. Because swarf contaminates the whole fuel system, a proper fix means cleaning or replacing the tank as well as the pump and injectors, and UK owners have reported bills from around £600 for a pump alone up to £3,000-4,000+ when the injectors and tank are also involved. No manufacturer recall or TSB has been found for this.
Owners of automatic Sedonas describe slipping, hunting between gears, a jolt or shake in Drive at a standstill, or getting stuck in one gear on the motorway, sometimes from around 70k miles. Forum regulars treat it as a wear item made worse by missed fluid changes rather than a single design fault. Repairs range from a service and fluid change if caught early to a full rebuild or replacement box, with owners quoted anywhere from around £2,000 to £3,000. Manual Sedonas aren't affected by this.
The 2.9 CRDi is an interference engine, so a snapped or badly worn timing belt bends the valves and can write the engine off. Specialist advice puts the change interval at roughly 60,000-90,000 miles or 8 years, and the job itself is awkward and therefore not cheap, with the tensioners and pulleys needing to go at the same time. The risk isn't a design flaw so much as a car with patchy service history and an overdue belt; always confirm from paperwork or by inspection, not the seller's word.
On the later (2015 onwards) Sedona, owners report the electric sliding doors failing to latch properly, grinding as they close, or the switch getting stuck so the door won't open or shut on command. UK owners have raised the same complaints on the Kia Owners Club forum, and in the US Kia issued a separate recall for the doors not auto-reversing when something was in the way, which shows the door electronics on this generation had genuine teething problems even if that particular recall wasn't run in the UK. At a viewing, cycle both doors open and shut several times rather than once.
There are reports of hesitation and a sudden loss of power around 3,000rpm with the engine management light on, with suspicion falling on the variable-vane turbo or a partially blocked oil feed/return pipe to the turbo bearing. It only shows up in isolated reports rather than a clear pattern across sources, and owners disagree on whether it's a turbo fault, an EGR/DPF issue, or just a sensor problem, so treat any EML on a test drive as worth investigating rather than a known common fault.
Built from the two sections above.
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