Hyundai Santa Fe MOT failure rate and common faults
32,026 Hyundai Santa Fe cars aged 3 to 20 took their MOT in 2025, and 31.4% failed at the first attempt. An average car of the same age failed 29.5% of the time, which makes the Hyundai Santa Fe 7% more likely to fail than the typical car on the road. Here is what fails, and which years to look for.
31.4%
failed first time
32,026 MOT tests in 2025
+7%
vs same age average
average car of this age mix: 29.5%
150 of 208
age adjusted rank
among cars; 1 fails least
127.3
dangerous defects per 1,000
same age average: 108.0
What fails on a Hyundai Santa Fe MOT
Failure items recorded per 1,000 tests, by part of the car, set against an average car with exactly the same spread of ages. A figure well above average is a weak spot worth checking before you buy.
The most common Hyundai Santa Fe MOT failures
The individual failure items testers recorded most often, per 1,000 tests.
| Failure item | Area | Per 1,000 tests |
|---|---|---|
| Position lamp: not working | Lights and electrics | 50.1 |
| Ball joint excessively worn | Suspension | 47.7 |
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm | Tyres | 34.0 |
| Drive shafts: constant velocity boot split or insecure, no longer prevents the ingress of dirt | Body, chassis, exhaust and drive shafts | 32.7 |
| Track rod end: ball joint has excessive play | Steering | 32.5 |
| Brake pads: less than 1.5 mm thick | Brakes | 32.4 |
| Stop lamp: not working | Lights and electrics | 28.4 |
| Tyres: has ply or cords exposed | Tyres | 22.7 |
| Wipers: does not clear the windscreen effectively | Windscreen, wipers and mirrors | 21.3 |
| Linkage ball joints: ball joint excessively worn | Suspension | 20.1 |
Hyundai Santa Fe MOT failure rate by year
Every car fails more often as it ages, so each registration year is compared with the average for all cars of the same age. Years with fewer than 500 tests are left out.
| First registered | Tests | Failed | Same age average | Average mileage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 1,953 | 9.7% | 11.4% | 30,400 |
| 2021 | 929 | 11.0% | 12.8% | 39,500 |
| 2020 | 519 | 15.6% | 14.1% | 45,400 |
| 2019 | 1,091 | 16.5% | 16.5% | 52,500 |
| 2018 | 1,920 | 18.0% | 19.1% | 59,800 |
| 2017 | 2,606 | 19.5% | 21.8% | 69,900 |
| 2016 | 4,260 | 22.2% | 25.1% | 75,300 |
| 2015 | 2,924 | 24.5% | 28.1% | 83,500 |
| 2014 | 2,459 | 33.6% | 31.4% | 93,800 |
| 2013 | 1,323 | 39.4% | 34.3% | 102,500 |
| 2012 | 2,833 | 47.5% | 36.6% | 108,300 |
| 2011 | 3,042 | 46.5% | 38.8% | 118,100 |
| 2010 | 2,797 | 48.4% | 40.7% | 121,000 |
| 2009 | 525 | 39.0% | 41.8% | 112,600 |
| 2008 | 565 | 42.1% | 42.9% | 122,300 |
| 2007 | 890 | 45.4% | 42.7% | 123,700 |
| 2006 | 863 | 49.1% | 43.0% | 116,700 |
| 2005 | 527 | 48.4% | 42.4% | 122,200 |
Advisories to look for in a Hyundai Santa Fe's MOT history
An advisory is a tester's warning that something is wearing but has not failed yet. These are the ones written most often on the Hyundai Santa Fe, per 1,000 tests. If the car you are looking at has one of these, ask whether it has been fixed since.
- Tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge340.9
- Brake pads: wearing thin138.2
- Brake discs: worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened125.1
- Rigid brake pipes: corroded, covered in grease or other material100.7
- Suspension arms: pin or bush worn but not resulting in excessive movement99.2
- Coil spring: corroded87.6
Checking a used Hyundai Santa Fe before you buy
Against cars of the same age, the Hyundai Santa Fe fails more often than average on lights and electrics, brakes and body, chassis, exhaust and drive shafts. Start there.
Lights and electrics
Walk round the car with every light on: headlights on dip and main beam, indicators, brake lights, fog lights and the number plate lamp. A pattern of electrical faults costs more than a bulb.
Brakes
Look through the wheel spokes at the discs for a deep lip or scoring, check the handbrake holds the car on a slope, and feel for a pull to one side when braking hard.
Body, chassis, exhaust and drive shafts
Turn the steering to full lock and look behind each front wheel: the rubber boots on the drive shafts should be whole, with no grease sprayed around. Then get down with a torch and check the exhaust hangers, sills, floor and subframes for rust.
Averages only take you so far. The specific car's MOT history shows whether it has already failed on any of these, how often advisories were ignored, and whether the mileage climbs steadily from test to test. Read our guide to reading a car's MOT history before you go to view it.
Fuel mix of the Hyundai Santa Fe cars tested: Diesel 91%, Hybrid 8%. Average age at test 10.8 years, average recorded mileage 87,800.
Hyundai Santa Fe MOT questions
What is the Hyundai Santa Fe MOT failure rate?
31.4% of Hyundai Santa Fe cars failed their first MOT test of 2025, from 32,026 tests on vehicles aged 3 to 20. An average car with the same age mix failed 29.5% of the time, so the Hyundai Santa Fe was 7% more likely to fail.
What fails most often on a Hyundai Santa Fe MOT?
Lights and electrics caused the most failure items, at 209 per 1,000 tests. The single most common failure item was "Position lamp: not working", recorded 50.1 times per 1,000 tests.
Which Hyundai Santa Fe year has the best MOT record?
Measured against cars of the same age, 2022 registrations did best: 9.7% failed against an average of 11.4% for cars that age. Older cars always fail more often, so compare a year with its age group rather than with newer cars.
Does this tell me whether a particular Hyundai Santa Fe will pass?
No. These are averages across every Hyundai Santa Fe tested in 2025. The car in front of you has its own record: its full MOT history shows every pass, failure and advisory it has had, and it is free to view by registration.
Other Hyundai models
- Hyundai i1027.5% failed
- Hyundai Tucson17.0% failed
- Hyundai i2027.4% failed
- Hyundai i3035.4% failed
- Hyundai Kona13.8% failed
- Hyundai ix3536.2% failed
Ranked close to the Hyundai Santa Fe
- Vauxhall Grandlandrank 147
- Vauxhall Crosslandrank 149
- Volvo V40rank 151
- Nissan Leafrank 152
How these figures are calculated
Source: DVSA Anonymised MOT tests and results, 2025 release. We count first tests of cars and small vans (class 4) aged 3 to 20, so a car that fails and is retested is counted once. A failure includes faults fixed and passed within the same visit. The same age average weights the national failure rate for each age by how many Hyundai Santa Fe cars of that age were tested, so a model is never penalised for having an older fleet. Make and model are as recorded at the test; trim levels are combined. Full method and rankings.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.