Used buying checklist

Ssangyong Korando reliability, common problems and used buying checks

A used Ssangyong Korando looks worse than average for reliability in UK MOT data: 21.2% of 8,990 tests failed, compared with 18.7% across all indexed models. A good example should have a clean MOT history for corrosion and structure, lights and electrical, and suspension and steering.

Sources used: DVSA MOT tests (Apr 2026); vehicle recalls (Apr 2026); MOT fault wording (May 2025). MOT data does not capture every reliability issue, especially intermittent engine, gearbox or infotainment faults that do not appear during the test.

• 21.2% MOT failure rate
• Median tested mileage 55,217 miles
• 1,906 failed MOT tests analysed

Most useful finding

Corrosion and structure is the clearest area to check

Corrosion and structure is the clearest named problem area in this model's MOT history (30.9 MOT notes per 100 tests). Example MOT phrases from this area include excessively corroded, corroded and seriously weakened, and corroded to the extent that the rigidity of the assembly is significantly reduced.

Example MOT phrases to search in the car's history:

• excessively corroded
• corroded and seriously weakened
• corroded to the extent that the rigidity of the assembly is significantly reduced
• ferrule excessively corroded
• inoperative in the case of a single lamp or all lamps
• inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources
• with a multiple light source up to 1/2 not functioning
• lens defective which has no effect on emitted light
• ball joint has excessive play
• ball joint excessively worn

Before you view one

Focus on corrosion and structure, lights and electrical, and suspension and steering

The model's recorded failure rate is 21.2%, +2.5 percentage points compared with the average across all models. Use the seller questions below to check whether repeat MOT notes have actually been repaired.

• MOT tests analysed8,990 tests
• Median tested mileage55,217 miles
• Failed MOT tests1,906

Used buyer verdict

Should you buy a used Ssangyong Korando?

78.8% of the MOT tests we analysed for this model passed. The model's recorded failure rate is 21.2%, +2.5 percentage points compared with the average across all models. This is a buying brief for the exact car in front of you: clean repeat history matters more than badge reputation.

Worse than average in our MOT data

Green light if The car has a tidy MOT pattern, recent repairs for corrosion and structure, lights and electrical, and suspension and steering, matching tyres, and paperwork for service or recall work.

Renegotiate if The latest MOT mentions corrosion and structure, lights and electrical, and suspension and steering, consumables are due together, or the seller cannot show what was fixed after advisories.

Walk away if Dangerous defects, corrosion near structural areas, warning lights, or the same component family keep returning without clear repair evidence.

• Repeat unresolved MOT notes for corrosion and structure, lights and electrical, and suspension and steering
• corrosion and structure appearing across more than one MOT
• Any dangerous MOT failure on the exact car, especially if the same area appears again later
• No paperwork showing applicable recall work has been completed
• A seller who cannot explain MOT wording such as "excessively corroded"

What should I check first?

Start with corrosion and structure, lights and electrical, suspension and steering, and windscreen, wipers, and mirrors. The checklist on this page explains why each area is being recommended, what to inspect, and what to ask the seller. Each item shows whether it comes from MOT results, recall notices, or a standard used-car check.

• Corrosion and structure Seen in MOT results

  Corrosion and structure is one of the most common MOT problem areas for this model (30.9 MOT notes per 100 tests).

  What to check: Inspect sills, subframes, mounting points, arches, and underside corrosion advisories.

  • Ask the seller: Has any sill, subframe, mounting-point, chassis, or structural corrosion advisory been repaired properly?
  • Example MOT wording: excessively corroded; corroded and seriously weakened; corroded to the extent that the rigidity of the assembly is significantly reduced
  • Where it shows up: seen across most mileage ranges
• Lights and electrical Seen in MOT results

  Lights and electrical is one of the most common MOT problem areas for this model (17.8 MOT notes per 100 tests).

  What to check: Check every lamp, warning light, horn, battery condition, and dashboard messages.

  • Ask the seller: Have any lighting, warning-light, horn, battery, or electrical MOT notes come back more than once?
  • Example MOT wording: inoperative in the case of a single lamp or all lamps; inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources; with a multiple light source up to 1/2 not functioning
  • Where it shows up: seen across most mileage ranges
• Suspension and steering Seen in MOT results

  Suspension and steering is one of the most common MOT problem areas for this model (17.7 MOT notes per 100 tests).

  What to check: Listen for knocks, check uneven tyre wear, and inspect steering play.

  • Ask the seller: Has any suspension, steering, ball-joint, spring, or wheel-bearing advisory been repaired?
  • Example MOT wording: ball joint has excessive play; ball joint excessively worn; across an axle
  • Where it shows up: seen across most mileage ranges
• Windscreen, wipers, and mirrors Seen in MOT results

  Windscreen, wipers, and mirrors is one of the most common MOT problem areas for this model (8.1 MOT notes per 100 tests).

  What to check: Check windscreen damage, wiper operation, washers, mirrors, and demisting.

  • Ask the seller: Have windscreen, wiper, washer, mirror, or demisting faults appeared in recent MOT history?
  • Example MOT wording: jets misaligned and not providing sufficient fluid to the windscreen; damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view; does not clear the windscreen effectively
  • Where it shows up: most visible around 0-50k, 50-100k, and 100-150k miles
• Emissions, engine, and exhaust Seen in MOT results

  Emissions, engine, and exhaust is one of the most common MOT problem areas for this model (2.3 MOT notes per 100 tests).

  What to check: Check warning lights, smoke, exhaust leaks, recent emissions failures, and service history.

  • Ask the seller: Has the car had repeat emissions, smoke, exhaust, lambda, or engine-warning MOT failures?
  • Example MOT wording: has a major leak of exhaust gases; leaking excessively from engine; emissions exceed manufacturer's specified limit
  • Where it shows up: most visible around 150-200k miles
• Tyres and wheels Seen in MOT results

  Tyres and wheels is one of the most common MOT problem areas for this model (2.0 MOT notes per 100 tests).

  What to check: Check tyre age, tread depth, sidewall damage, wheel condition, and alignment wear.

  • Ask the seller: Have uneven tyre wear, damaged tyres, wheel damage, or alignment issues been corrected?
  • Example MOT wording: Nail in tyre; on a single line braking system has no recorded effort at a wheel; has no recorded effort at a wheel

What changes with mileage?

Past 100k miles on the Ssangyong Korando, MOT records most often point to corrosion and structure, suspension and steering, and lights and electrical.

Common MOT problem areas

8,990 MOT tests analysed for this model

6,919 Distinct vehicles represented

21.2% Recorded MOT test failure rate — +2.5 percentage points vs all models

Common faults: what usually fails on this model?

Corrosion and structure is the clearest named problem area in the MOT history (30.9 MOT notes per 100 tests). These counts are issue notes, not failure rates, because a single MOT can list several faults.

Corrosion and structure

• excessively corroded
• corroded and seriously weakened

30.9 MOT notes per 100 tests

Lights and electrical

• inoperative in the case of a single lamp or all lamps
• inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources

17.8 MOT notes per 100 tests

Suspension and steering

• ball joint has excessive play
• ball joint excessively worn

17.7 MOT notes per 100 tests

Windscreen, wipers, and mirrors

• jets misaligned and not providing sufficient fluid to the windscreen
• damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view

8.1 MOT notes per 100 tests

Emissions, engine, and exhaust

• has a major leak of exhaust gases
• leaking excessively from engine

2.3 MOT notes per 100 tests

Tyres and wheels

• Nail in tyre
• on a single line braking system has no recorded effort at a wheel

2.0 MOT notes per 100 tests

Seatbelts and safety systems

• Standard fitment seat belt missing

0.0 MOT notes per 100 tests

Recall-related areas to verify

Official recall areas

Manufacturer recall notices for the Ssangyong Korando mainly involve 2 areas: emissions, engine, and exhaust and suspension and steering. Treat each as something to verify on the specific car you are viewing; the recall table below shows the official notice text.

Emissions, engine, and exhaust

• The fuel pipe may crack over time

1 recall · 3,828 vehicles

Suspension and steering

• On affected vehicles the Steering column mounting bracket may suffer structural failure.

1 recall · 383 vehicles

Mileage and age checks

Mileage changes: what starts showing up after high mileage?

Past 100k miles on the Ssangyong Korando, MOT records most often point to corrosion and structure, suspension and steering, and lights and electrical. On lower-mileage cars, the most common named areas are corrosion and structure, lights and electrical, and windscreen, wipers, and mirrors.

Mileage range	Tests	Vehicles	Failure rate (vs all models)	Median mileage
0-50k	3,763	3,132	14.9%+4.1 percentage points vs all models	33,860 miles
50-100k	4,427	3,263	25.0%+4.3 percentage points vs all models	68,741 miles
100-150k	679	473	30.8%+4.6 percentage points vs all models	112,653 miles
150-200k	66	46	33.3%+6.0 percentage points vs all models	161,513 miles
200k+	4	4	0.0%-26.6 percentage points vs all models	208,582 miles

Problem areas by mileage

Past 100k miles on the Ssangyong Korando, MOT records most often point to corrosion and structure, suspension and steering, and lights and electrical.

Mileage range	Car areas most often recorded	Specific MOT defect examples
0-50k	Corrosion and structure (19.2 MOT notes per 100 tests) Lights and electrical (11.4 MOT notes per 100 tests) Windscreen, wipers, and mirrors (7.4 MOT notes per 100 tests)	No exact MOT wording is available for this mileage range.
50-100k	Corrosion and structure (38.6 MOT notes per 100 tests) Suspension and steering (24.5 MOT notes per 100 tests) Lights and electrical (22.4 MOT notes per 100 tests)	No exact MOT wording is available for this mileage range.
100-150k	Corrosion and structure (43.5 MOT notes per 100 tests) Suspension and steering (42.6 MOT notes per 100 tests) Lights and electrical (23.0 MOT notes per 100 tests)	No exact MOT wording is available for this mileage range.
150-200k	Corrosion and structure (48.5 MOT notes per 100 tests) Suspension and steering (43.9 MOT notes per 100 tests) Lights and electrical (22.7 MOT notes per 100 tests)	No exact MOT wording is available for this mileage range.
200k+	Corrosion and structure (100.0 MOT notes per 100 tests) Suspension and steering (75.0 MOT notes per 100 tests) Lights and electrical (25.0 MOT notes per 100 tests)	No exact MOT wording is available for this mileage range.

Fair comparisons: is this problem normal for its age?

The MOT failure rate rises from 9.4% at 0-3 years to 20.0% at 15+ years. Compare the car with the nearest age range before treating a fault as normal wear or a warning sign. The average MOT failure rate across all models in the same dataset is 18.7%. The highest failure rate by age is 28.3% for 10-15 years cars, based on 1,019 tests.

Age range	Tests	Vehicles	Failure rate (vs all models)	Median age
0-3 years 2023–2026 reg.	287	261	9.4%+1.0 percentage points vs all models	3.0 years
3-6 years 2020–2023 reg.	2,227	1,842	14.6%+4.0 percentage points vs all models	5.0 years
6-10 years 2016–2020 reg.	5,437	4,064	23.2%+6.6 percentage points vs all models	8.0 years
10-15 years 2011–2016 reg.	1,019	725	28.3%+4.7 percentage points vs all models	10.8 years
15+ years pre-2011 reg.	20	17	20.0%-5.9 percentage points vs all models	24.5 years

Recall records and data freshness

Recall context: are there safety notices to know about?

2 relevant recall notices appear for this model. Treat them as safety checks to verify for the exact car, not as normal MOT wear.

2024-01-02	On affected vehicles the Steering column mounting bracket may suffer structural failure. On affected vehicles the Steering column mounting bracket may suffer structural failure. Inspect steering column mounting bracket for structural integrity and replace dashboard crossmember if required.
2020-07-01	THE FUEL PIPE MAY CRACK OVER TIME Possibility that the fuel pipe may crack over time and causing it to leak fuel into the engine bay. Replace the affected fuel pipe

Related searches

Common ways people look up the Ssangyong Korando. Each link runs the search and lands on the relevant section of this report.

• Ssangyong Korando common problems
• Ssangyong Korando reliability
• Ssangyong Korando after 100k miles
• Ssangyong Korando after 200k miles
• Ssangyong Korando high mileage common problems
• Ssangyong Korando age related problems
• Ssangyong Korando MOT failures
• Ssangyong Korando recalls

Related reliability guides

Sources used: DVSA MOT tests (Apr 2026); vehicle recalls (Apr 2026); MOT fault wording (May 2025). These are patterns from many MOT tests and recall notices. They help you decide what to inspect and what to ask; they do not certify the condition of one specific car.