Used buying checklist

Ssangyong Tivoli reliability, common problems and used buying checks

A used Ssangyong Tivoli looks about average for reliability in UK MOT data: 17.1% of 7,705 tests failed, compared with 18.7% across all indexed models. A good example should have a clean MOT history for lights and electrical, corrosion and structure, and windscreen, wipers, and mirrors.

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.

• 17.1% MOT failure rate
• Median tested mileage 40,590 miles
• 1,316 failed MOT tests analysed

Most useful finding

Lights and electrical is the clearest area to check

Lights and electrical is the clearest named problem area in this model's MOT history (16.7 MOT notes per 100 tests). Example MOT phrases from this area include lens defective such that the emitted light is adversely affected, inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources, and inoperative in the case of a single lamp or all lamps.

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

• lens defective such that the emitted light is adversely affected
• inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources
• inoperative in the case of a single lamp or all lamps
• does not illuminate simultaneously with the position lamps
• excessively corroded
• prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength
• corroded and seriously weakened
• ferrule excessively corroded
• does not clear the windscreen effectively
• damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view

Before you view one

Focus on lights and electrical, corrosion and structure, and windscreen, wipers, and mirrors

The model's recorded failure rate is 17.1%, -1.6 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 analysed7,705 tests
• Median tested mileage40,590 miles
• Failed MOT tests1,316

Used buyer verdict

Should you buy a used Ssangyong Tivoli?

82.9% of the MOT tests we analysed for this model passed. The model's recorded failure rate is 17.1%, -1.6 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.

About average in our MOT data

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

Renegotiate if The latest MOT mentions lights and electrical, corrosion and structure, and windscreen, wipers, and mirrors, 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 lights and electrical, corrosion and structure, and windscreen, wipers, and mirrors
• lights and electrical 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 "lens defective such that the emitted light is adversely affected"

What should I check first?

Start with lights and electrical, corrosion and structure, windscreen, wipers, and mirrors, and suspension and steering. 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.

• Lights and electrical Seen in MOT results

  Lights and electrical is one of the most common MOT problem areas for this model (16.7 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: lens defective such that the emitted light is adversely affected; inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources; inoperative in the case of a single lamp or all lamps
  • Where it shows up: seen across most mileage ranges
• Corrosion and structure Seen in MOT results

  Corrosion and structure is one of the most common MOT problem areas for this model (11.2 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; prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength; corroded and seriously weakened
  • 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 (7.7 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: does not clear the windscreen effectively; damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view; provides insufficient washer liquid
  • Where it shows up: most visible around 0-50k, 50-100k, 100-150k, and 150-200k miles
• Suspension and steering Seen in MOT results

  Suspension and steering is one of the most common MOT problem areas for this model (4.4 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 dust cover severely deteriorated; ball joint excessively worn; ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt
  • Where it shows up: most visible around 0-50k, 50-100k, 100-150k, and 150-200k 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 (2.2 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: emits excessive dense blue smoke during acceleration; leaking excessively from engine; Fuel Pipe/s corroded
  • Where it shows up: most visible around 200k+ miles
• Tyres and wheels Seen in MOT results

  Tyres and wheels is one of the most common MOT problem areas for this model (1.8 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; effort inadequate at a wheel; on a single line braking system has inadequate effort at a wheel

What changes with mileage?

Past 100k miles on the Ssangyong Tivoli, MOT records most often point to lights and electrical, suspension and steering, and windscreen, wipers, and mirrors.

Common MOT problem areas

7,705 MOT tests analysed for this model

6,090 Distinct vehicles represented

17.1% Recorded MOT test failure rate — -1.6 percentage points vs all models

Common faults: what usually fails on this model?

Lights and electrical is the clearest named problem area in the MOT history (16.7 MOT notes per 100 tests). These counts are issue notes, not failure rates, because a single MOT can list several faults.

Lights and electrical

• lens defective such that the emitted light is adversely affected
• inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources

16.7 MOT notes per 100 tests

Corrosion and structure

• excessively corroded
• prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength

11.2 MOT notes per 100 tests

Windscreen, wipers, and mirrors

• does not clear the windscreen effectively
• damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view

7.7 MOT notes per 100 tests

Suspension and steering

• ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated
• ball joint excessively worn

4.4 MOT notes per 100 tests

Emissions, engine, and exhaust

• emits excessive dense blue smoke during acceleration
• leaking excessively from engine

2.2 MOT notes per 100 tests

Tyres and wheels

• Nail in tyre
• effort inadequate at a wheel

1.8 MOT notes per 100 tests

Recall-related areas to verify

Official recall areas

Manufacturer recall notices for the Ssangyong Tivoli mainly involve one area: emissions, engine, and exhaust. 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
• Insufficient connection of fuel supply pipe connector of the fuel tank

4 recalls · 8,669 vehicles

Mileage and age checks

Mileage changes: what starts showing up after high mileage?

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

Mileage range	Tests	Vehicles	Failure rate (vs all models)	Median mileage
0-50k	5,107	4,184	14.6%+3.8 percentage points vs all models	31,834 miles
50-100k	2,384	1,808	21.7%+1.0 percentage points vs all models	62,301 miles
100-150k	176	127	26.1%-0.1 percentage points vs all models	111,536 miles
150-200k	16	13	18.8%-8.5 percentage points vs all models	173,642 miles
200k+	6	4	33.3%+6.8 percentage points vs all models	225,945 miles

Problem areas by mileage

Past 100k miles on the Ssangyong Tivoli, MOT records most often point to lights and electrical, suspension and steering, and windscreen, wipers, and mirrors.

Mileage range	Car areas most often recorded	Specific MOT defect examples
0-50k	Lights and electrical (13.4 MOT notes per 100 tests) Corrosion and structure (8.0 MOT notes per 100 tests) Windscreen, wipers, and mirrors (6.7 MOT notes per 100 tests)	No exact MOT wording is available for this mileage range.
50-100k	Lights and electrical (23.7 MOT notes per 100 tests) Corrosion and structure (17.5 MOT notes per 100 tests) Windscreen, wipers, and mirrors (9.4 MOT notes per 100 tests)	No exact MOT wording is available for this mileage range.
100-150k	Lights and electrical (19.9 MOT notes per 100 tests) Suspension and steering (18.8 MOT notes per 100 tests) Windscreen, wipers, and mirrors (13.6 MOT notes per 100 tests)	No exact MOT wording is available for this mileage range.
150-200k	Corrosion and structure (50.0 MOT notes per 100 tests) Lights and electrical (18.8 MOT notes per 100 tests) Windscreen, wipers, and mirrors (12.5 MOT notes per 100 tests)	No exact MOT wording is available for this mileage range.
200k+	Corrosion and structure (133.3 MOT notes per 100 tests) Emissions, engine, and exhaust (50.0 MOT notes per 100 tests) Lights and electrical (33.3 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 10.2% at 0-3 years to 19.3% at 6-10 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 19.3% for 6-10 years cars, based on 4,401 tests.

Age range	Tests	Vehicles	Failure rate (vs all models)	Median age
0-3 years 2023–2026 reg.	254	230	10.2%+1.8 percentage points vs all models	3.0 years
3-6 years 2020–2023 reg.	3,050	2,519	14.5%+3.9 percentage points vs all models	5.0 years
6-10 years 2016–2020 reg.	4,401	3,443	19.3%+2.7 percentage points vs all models	7.0 years

Recall records and data freshness

Recall context: are there safety notices to know about?

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

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
2019-05-28	INSUFFICIENT CONNECTION OF FUEL SUPPLY PIPE CONNECTOR OF THE FUEL TANK Fuel leakage could occur due to insufficient connection of fuel supply pipe connector of fuel tank. Check and ensure correct fitment of fuel pipe connections.
2018-11-26	FUEL PIPE MAY LEAK FUEL INTO THE ENGINE BAY FUEL PIPE MAY LEAK FUEL INTO THE ENGINE BAY. FIT EXTRA FUEL PIPE SHIELDING AND MODIFIED PIPE CLIP.
2016-10-10	FUEL MAY LEAK The fuel supply tank from the fuel tank may leak into the engine bay area. The driver is likely to notice a lack of power and a smell of fuel. On affected vehicles replace fuel hose.

Related searches

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

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