MOT Risk Index.co.uk

Hyundai Santa Fe — MOT statistics 2024

The Hyundai Santa Fe failed 32.74% of 33,318 first MOT attempts in 2024 ("first-time", excluding retests). Adjusted for the age of the fleet, its initial-failure ratio is 107.8 (100 = expected for its age profile). This car fails its MOT about 8% more often than expected for its age.

MOT risk index 107.8, 95% CI 106.1–109.5 (100 = national average) 100 107.8 0 200
Index
107.8
100 = age-normal
Raw fail rate
32.74%
n = 33,318
Dangerous /100
14
national ≈11
Rank
538 of 761
lower index = better

Age-adjusted peer: Ford S-MAX (index 107.6) — the two published results are 0.2 index points apart.

Hyundai Santa Fe common problems: what actually fails the MOT

Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment stand out at 25.1 per 100 tests, against 17.9 per 100 tests across UK vehicles of the same ages.

higher bar = fails more oftenrate per 100 tests

Hyundai Santa Fe common problems: what actually fails the MOT — 2024 UK MOT data

family vs national — matched to UK vehicles of the same ages — top component groups, per 100 tests. Legend: This family · National avg. Combined labels: family / national average. A gap here reflects how these vehicles are driven, used and maintained as well as how they were built — an MOT defect is a test outcome, not a breakdown.

Component-group comparison table

Each ratio carries a 95% interval. With 6 groups compared here, roughly one apparent difference in twenty is chance alone.

GroupThis familyCases behind itUK, same agesFamily / national
Lamps & electrical25.154,11417.91.41×1.39–1.42
Suspension17.136,92715.71.09×1.08–1.10
Brakes16.134,64511.71.37×1.36–1.38
Body & structure12.126,1535.42.22×2.20–2.26
Tyres8.618,5499.10.95×0.93–0.96
Visibility8.518,3668.01.07×1.06–1.09
Named defects — items per 100 initial tests, this family vs UK national average; this model measured on 215,524 tests, 2019-2024, national column 2024
What failedper 100 tests (this family)per 100 tests (UK average)ratio family / UKWhat to check
Suspension pin, bush or joint excessively wornA suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn9.134.871.88×Listen for knocks over bumps — worn joints show up on the test
Transmission shaft constant velocity joint boot…A transmission shaft constant velocity joint boot missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt etc5.221.563.35×Ask the seller about: A transmission shaft constant velocity joint boot missing or
Transmission shaft constant velocity joint boot…A transmission shaft constant velocity joint boot severely deteriorated4.721.483.19×Ask the seller about: A transmission shaft constant velocity joint boot severely d
Lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a…A lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning4.782.092.29×Try every light and switch — lamps are a top failure
Brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mma brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm4.142.151.92×Feel for brake judder and pulling on the test drive
Rear registration plate lamp or light source…A rear registration plate lamp or light source missing or inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources4.512.831.59×Try every light and switch — lamps are a top failure
Steering ball joint with excessive wear or free playA steering ball joint with excessive wear or free play2.791.222.28×Ask the seller about: A steering ball joint with excessive wear or free play
Wiper blade missing or obviously not clearing the…Wiper blade missing or obviously not clearing the windscreen2.682.221.21×Check wipers, washers and windscreen chips in the driver's view
Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the…Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements3.873.591.08×Check tyre tread depth across the full width
Windscreen or window damaged or seriously…Windscreen or window damaged or seriously discoloured but not adversely affecting driver's view2.442.361.03×Check wipers, washers and windscreen chips in the driver's view

Named defects ranked by how much more often they appear than the national average — not by raw rate.

Hyundai Santa Fe MOT advisories: what gets flagged

Brakes are highest at 44.7 per 100 tests; Identification is lowest at 3.6 per 100 tests — the gap is 41.1 per 100 tests.

higher bar = flagged more oftenadvisory items per 100 initial tests

Hyundai Santa Fe MOT advisories: what gets flagged — 2024 UK MOT data
Advisory rates table
GroupAdvisories per 100
Brakes44.7
Tyres41
Suspension33.7
Non-component advisories10
Emissions & leaks6.3
Identification3.6

Advisories are wear the tester noted but didn't fail — what will need money soon.

Tyres, brakes and suspension: Hyundai Santa Fe against cars of the same age

AgePartHyundai Santa FeSame age, petrol and dieselDifference
3 yearsTyres3.314.17-0.86
3 yearsBrakes3.231.771.46
3 yearsSuspension0.890.630.26
4 yearsTyres3.894.54-0.65
4 yearsBrakes3.712.431.28
4 yearsSuspension0.871.21-0.34
5 yearsTyres4.645.06-0.42
5 yearsBrakes3.93.090.81
5 yearsSuspension1.262.19-0.93
6 yearsTyres5.065.54-0.48
6 yearsBrakes4.583.810.77
6 yearsSuspension2.213.72-1.51
7 yearsTyres5.955.950.00
7 yearsBrakes6.414.551.86
7 yearsSuspension3.995.68-1.69
8 yearsTyres6.346.310.03
8 yearsBrakes8.085.382.70
8 yearsSuspension7.47.78-0.38

Failing items per 100 initial tests, 2019-2024. The comparison group is every petrol or diesel car tested at the same age, so weight and drivetrain show up rather than fleet age.

If a car like this fails, does it fail again?

A failure rate does not say whether a failure is a one-off or the start of something. This follows the same vehicles into their next ordinary MOT a year later — retests after a repair are excluded, because they follow a failure by definition. 2019-2024.

After this year's testFails next yearVehicles followed
It failed38.4%13,049
It passed27.5%108,818

A failed test raises next year's chance of failing again by 10.9 percentage points. The failure most likely to come back is visibility — 37.4% of those vehicles fail again next year. Some of this is the vehicle and some is the owner: a car that was let go once tends to be let go again. One caveat: a car that fails may be sold or scrapped rather than tested again, so these figures describe the vehicles that came back.

Adjusted for how much these are actually driven

The headline index adjusts for the fleet's age. Wear, though, follows mileage: a three-year-old taxi and a three-year-old garage queen sit in the same age band. These two rows compare every car with vehicles of the same age, and then with vehicles of the same age and the same annual mileage, 2019-2024, on 214,449 tests. Both stand on the six-year corpus so they are measured on identical data — compare them with each other, not with the headline index above, which is measured on 2024 alone.

Standardised forIndexReading
Age only111.6fails more often than expected
Age and annual mileage106.1fails more often than vehicles driven as much
Share doing under 3,000 miles a year1.5%a normal spread of use

Mileage matters here: matching on how much these are driven moves the figure by 5.5 points — this fleet works harder than the vehicles it is measured against, so the age-only view penalises it — but it does not change which side of normal the car sits on. One limit to keep in mind: mileage is partly a result of how often a car breaks down — one that spends weeks in the workshop covers fewer miles — so the mileage-matched figure can understate a real weakness. Tests with no usable odometer reading are left out of it.

How the Hyundai Santa Fe compares with cars of its own age and size

Not against the whole fleet — against cars of the same size class tested at the same age, 2019-2024.

AgeHyundai Santa FeSame class, same ageDifferenceTests
3 years12.82%10.75%+2.06 pp12,710
4 years14.09%12.32%+1.76 pp13,763
5 years16.23%14.14%+2.09 pp15,697
6 years18.05%16.06%+2 pp15,946
7 years24.91%18.15%+6.76 pp17,283
8 years31.03%20.37%+10.66 pp18,356
9 years37.21%22.85%+14.36 pp17,673
10 years41.09%25.35%+15.74 pp15,442
11 years43.98%27.98%+16 pp14,102
12 years45.66%30.31%+15.35 pp14,648
13 years47.34%32.4%+14.94 pp13,860
14 years47.05%34.42%+12.63 pp11,592
15 years47.61%35.91%+11.7 pp9,344
16 years48.18%36.98%+11.21 pp8,439
17 years48.21%37.37%+10.85 pp6,803
18 years49.12%37.76%+11.36 pp4,520
19 years48.32%37.39%+10.93 pp2,500
20 years45.45%36.93%+8.52 pp1,320

Raw first-time failure rates within each age, so fleet age cannot flatter either side. A positive difference means this model fails more often than its own class at that age.

How does the Hyundai Santa Fe perform as it gets older?

The Santa Fe at age 13 stands out at 47.1%, against 38.2% for all vehicles of the same age.

higher = larger sharecompare shares in percentage points

How does the Hyundai Santa Fe perform as it gets older? — 2024 UK MOT data

Chart axes: car age, years · failure-rate scale 0–54%.

Takeaway: a 10-year-old Santa Fe has roughly a 32% chance of failing its MOT; from about age 10 it stays above the national age curve.

Data table
AgeHyundai Santa FeAll vehiclesGap
310.3%12.4%-2.1 pp
411.1%13.1%-2.0 pp
516.0%15.1%+0.9 pp
616.1%17.5%-1.4 pp
718.4%20.2%-1.8 pp
820.1%23.3%-3.2 pp
923.5%26.5%-3.0 pp
1032.1%30.1%+2.0 pp
1137.5%33.2%+4.3 pp
1244.5%35.7%+8.8 pp
1347.1%38.2%+8.9 pp
1447.0%40.4%+6.6 pp
1544.1%41.6%+2.6 pp
1646.9%43.1%+3.8 pp
1747.5%43.1%+4.4 pp
1849.0%43.9%+5.1 pp
1949.8%43.5%+6.3 pp
2045.9%41.0%+4.8 pp

Is a Hyundai Santa Fe ULEZ compliant?

The share of classifiable 2024 Hyundai Santa Fe MOT tests likely ULEZ compliant by first-registration date is 39.2%.

Based on 33,250 classifiable initial MOT tests. This describes the tested fleet, not a specific car. MOT data do not record Euro class, so likely compliance is inferred from fuel and first-registration date. For the only authoritative answer, check the registration with TfL's official ULEZ checker.

higher = larger share likely compliantinferred from fuel and first-registration date; not a recorded Euro class

Age-band estimate from classifiable initial MOT tests
Vehicle age at testLikely ULEZ-compliant shareTests
Under 3 yearsSuppressed — sample below publication threshold
Check a registration with TfL
n = 259
3–5 years100.0%
Check a registration with TfL
n = 2,597
6–7 years100.0%
Check a registration with TfL
n = 4,588
8 years100.0%
Check a registration with TfL
n = 4,294
9 years32.8%
Check a registration with TfL
n = 2,946
10–14 years0.3%
Check a registration with TfL
n = 13,193
15–17 years2.2%
Check a registration with TfL
n = 2,498
18 years20.1%
Check a registration with TfL
n = 1,136
19 years0.0%
Check a registration with TfL
n = 697
20+ years0.0%
Check a registration with TfL
n = 1,042

How dangerous are Hyundai Santa Fe MOT failures?

Major defects stand out at 63.8 per 100 tests, against 52.8 per 100 tests nationally.

higher bar = fails more oftenrate per 100 tests

How dangerous are Hyundai Santa Fe MOT failures? — 2024 UK MOT data
Severity table
SeverityThis family /100National /100Family / national
Minor19.9514.221.40×
Major63.7652.751.21×
Dangerous14.0211.151.26×

Chart values: Minor 19.9 · Major 63.8 · Dangerous 14.0.

Per 100 tests on this family. National average: Minor 14.2 · Major 52.8 · Dangerous 11.2 per 100.

Does the month of a Hyundai Santa Fe MOT matter?

Jan is highest at 36.3%; Mar is lowest at 31.9% — the gap is 4.4 percentage points.

higher = larger sharecompare shares in percentage points

Does the month of a Hyundai Santa Fe MOT matter? — 2024 UK MOT data

Chart scale: 27%–38%.

bars: Hyundai Santa Fe · dashed: all class-4 cars

Month-by-month table
MonthHyundai Santa FeAll vehiclesGap
Jan36.28%31.12%+5.2 pp
Feb34.31%29.99%+4.3 pp
Mar31.92%28.26%+3.7 pp
Apr34.45%29.78%+4.7 pp
May32.63%28.79%+3.8 pp
Jun32.85%28.15%+4.7 pp
Jul34.01%29.33%+4.7 pp
Aug33.08%29.2%+3.9 pp
Sep32.79%28.19%+4.6 pp
Oct35.01%30.34%+4.7 pp
Nov35.5%30.58%+4.9 pp
Dec34.4%29.33%+5.1 pp

Takeaway: the spread between best and worst month is 4.4 percentage points — noticeable seasonality. Seasonality partly reflects registration-date clustering, not weather.

Before reading the shape: most of it is not about cars. Britain changes its registration plates twice a year, and 18.9% of these cars were first registered in March with another17.1% in September — 36% in two months against the 17% an even spread would give. An MOT falls due three years after first registration, so the buying calendar becomes the testing calendar. That shapes how many cars are tested each month — not how often they fail: the busiest months here are not the worst ones, so read the failure line on its own and the volume behind it separately.

Hyundai Santa Fe average mileage by age

At age 8, the middle half of Santa Fes runs from 51,246 miles to 79,876 miles, against 64,532 miles as the median.

further right = more milesmedian is the typical car; band is p25–p75

Bars: Hyundai Santa Fe · dashed: all class-4 cars — 2024 UK MOT data

Chart axes: car age, years · odometer scale 0–153k mi.

Does high mileage mean more Hyundai Santa Fe MOT failures at the same age?

Within the same age group, split by odometer (2024 MOTs), so this separates wear from age: at ages 10–14, 14.8% of those with under 40,000 miles failed first time versus 50.3% of those with over 140,000 miles.Inside this age group, higher mileage goes with more failures.

Does high mileage mean more Hyundai Santa Fe MOT failures at the same age? — 2024 UK MOT data
Hyundai Santa Fe: first-time failure by mileage within each age group (2024)
AgeOdometer% failing95% intervalTests
3–5<40k miles10.6%9.2–12.2%1,665
3–540-70k miles17.7%15.2–20.5%807
3–570-100k miles15.2%9.7–23%112 (rough estimate)
6–9<40k miles10.6%9.2–12.3%1,606
6–940-70k miles17.9%16.9–18.9%5,752
6–970-100k miles24.2%22.8–25.7%3,455
6–9100-140k miles30.7%27.7–33.8%893
6–9140k+ miles37.2%29.1–46.1%121 (rough estimate)
10–14<40k miles14.8%10.7–20.3%209 (rough estimate)
10–1440-70k miles31.3%29.1–33.5%1,679
10–1470-100k miles39.7%38.3–41.2%4,277
10–14100-140k miles47.2%45.8–48.5%5,137
10–14140k+ miles50.3%48–52.5%1,888
15+40-70k miles38.3%33.3–43.6%342 (rough estimate)
15+70-100k miles44.3%41.6–47.2%1,211
15+100-140k miles48.3%46.3–50.3%2,429
15+140k+ miles51.1%48.4–53.7%1,351

line: median · band: middle half of the fleet (p25–p75)

Mileage by age (p25 / median / p75)
Agep25Medianp75Tests
320,51727,51935,845929
426,38333,75042,928532
531,20440,82853,7721,136
638,40649,42762,7341,934
746,71559,17173,2192,654
851,24664,53279,8764,294
957,93073,29891,4562,946
1067,73484,602103,2802,482
1175,74593,756113,7501,363
1281,161101,174121,9283,002
1390,445111,038133,0983,266
1495,015115,956138,1963,081
1592,269110,441130,555632
16102,364119,758139,170731
17101,300121,770145,8661,135
1892,497114,766136,7971,137
1996,402120,853144,750699
20+88,741113,319140,0161,046

A typical 8-year-old Santa Fe has ~64,532 miles on the clock. Much more — ask why; much less — check for gaps in the MOT history.

Where in Britain the Hyundai Santa Fe fails its MOT most

Llandrindod Wells area is highest at 49.5%; Warrington area is lowest at 24.9% — the gap is 24.5 percentage points.

higher = larger sharecompare shares in percentage points

Where in Britain the Hyundai Santa Fe fails its MOT most — 2024 UK MOT data
Toughest areas% failingvs model overall
Llandrindod Wells (LD)49.45%+15.5 pp
Dundee (DD)47.56%+13.6 pp
Kirkcaldy (KY)46.37%+12.4 pp
Dorchester (DT)45.41%+11.5 pp
Harrogate (HG)42.23%+8.3 pp
Easiest areas% failingvs model overall
Warrington (WA)24.92%-9.0 pp
St Albans (AL)25.84%-8.1 pp
Huddersfield (HD)26.47%-7.5 pp
Twickenham (TW)26.63%-7.3 pp
Enfield (EN)26.66%-7.3 pp

Why do areas differ?

For each external factor we correlate the area fail rate with the factor across postcode areas that have ≥800 tests of this family, then compare the bottom vs top fifth (quintile) of the factor. Correlation, not causation — factors travel together (the north is colder and often poorer; urban areas are denser and less salted). Road surface condition is joined now, for the 91 English areas the DfT publishes, and it explains nothing: the correlation with suspension failures is −0.01 and with body and structure failures 0.07. Potholes wreck wheels and tyres between tests, but by the time a car reaches the bay the road it drives on leaves no measurable trace.

In areas with the highest mot centre density this model fails 7.1 pp more often than in the lowest fifth (r=0.51, n=97 areas with ≥800 tests).

In areas with the highest urban share this model fails 5.0 pp less often than in the lowest fifth (r=-0.42, n=97 areas with ≥800 tests).

In the most coastal fifth of areas this model fails 4.5 pp more often than in the most inland fifth (r=-0.34, n=97 areas with ≥800 tests).

Hyundai Santa Fe Why do areas differ? — 2024 UK MOT data
Values shown in the quintile chart
FactorLow QHigh QGapCorrelation
MOT centre density30.8%37.9%+7.1 ppr=0.51
Urban share36.2%31.2%-5.0 ppr=-0.42
Distance to coast37.1%32.6%-4.5 ppr=-0.34

Factors that only mean something combined

Some conditions are useless on their own and informative multiplied together. Frost days alone say little — Britain barely freezes. Salt tonnage alone says little — it tracks frost. Distance to the sea alone says little. Multiply the first two and divide by the third and you get an index of how hard an area attacks a car's underside, and it lines up with the corrosion defects we actually record. We built five such combinations and tested each against our own data. Three survived; two did not, and the failures are listed here on purpose — a proxy that was never checked is decoration. One survivor only survived on the second attempt: built from a crude stand-in for street parking it failed outright, and rebuilt from the census — terraced streets carrying more cars than they have driveways — it works, and carries information the salt index does not.

Composite area indicators, each tested against a defect rate we measure
CompositeBuilt fromTested againstrVerdict
Underbody corrosionfrost days × salt load ÷ (distance to coast + 1)share of tests with a corrosion defect+0.42holds (116 areas)
Tyre wearrain days × annual miles ÷ age at first tyre advisoryshare of tests failing on tyres+0.45holds (116 areas)
Overnight corrosionterraced housing × cars per household × frost daysshare with a corrosion defect+0.41holds (102 areas) — and adds signal beyond the first index
Deferred maintenancedeprivation × advisory-to-failure conversion ÷ labour ratecars repeating the same advisory−0.26fails (118 areas)
Powertrain stressengine capacity ÷ kerb weightsuspension, brake and emissions failures−0.16fails (22 models)

The deprivation result is the one worth dwelling on. The intuition that poorer areas defer repairs is strong enough that most people treat it as established. We tested it twice — once on raw failure rates (r = 0.04) and again, more fairly, on whether an advisory turns into a failure — and it did not hold any of the three times we tried it — on raw failure rates, on advisory-to-failure conversion, and again with deprivation measured properly inside each nation rather than England alone. We are closing it. What does predict local failure rates is the density of test centres, which is a statement about testing, not about cars.

All external-factor correlations (machine-readable)
Factorrn areasLow-Q fail %High-Q fail %Gap ppLow-Q factorHigh-Q factor
MOT centre density (per 10k vehicles)0.5089730.837.9+7.15.28.4
Urban share (0–1)-0.4239736.231.2-5.00.41
Distance to coast (km)-0.3429737.132.6-4.55.681.2
Frost days (days/year)0.2079734.835.9+1.111.636.6
Road-salt proxy (g/m²-yr)0.1979733.836.0+2.2222.1646.3
Terrain gradient (% grade)0.1566033.335.0+1.70.53.5
Income deprivation (score)-0.1258333.732.7-1.00.10.2

Deprivation uses England IMD 2019 income score only (Scotland SIMD is a different scale). Salt proxy is a simplified NWSRG-style dry-salt sum from air Tmin; coastalness is distance from the area centroid to the nearest coastline.

Every dot is a postcode area — size = how many were tested there, colour = share failing. These figures are not age-adjusted: coastal and rural areas often run older fleets and salted roads, so higher raw fail rates do not automatically mean a worse local stock of this model.

Map labels: Scotland · N. England · Wales · London · S. West. Colour scale: 27%–42% failing.

Hyundai Santa Fe survival: which cars are still on the road

By age 19 is well below the reference at 16.5%, against 100.0% at the ages 4–6 reference level.

higher = larger sharecompare shares in percentage points

Hyundai Santa Fe survival: which cars are still on the road — 2024 UK MOT data

Chart axes: car age, years · survival vs ages 4–6 · scale 0–105%.

Survival vs fail rate by age
AgeTestsSurvival vs ages 4–6Fail %
312,71084%12.82%
413,76390.9%14.09%
515,697100%16.23%
615,946100%18.05%
717,283100%24.91%
818,356100%31.03%
917,673100%37.21%
1015,442100%41.09%
1114,10293.2%43.98%
1214,64896.8%45.66%
1313,86091.6%47.34%
1411,59276.6%47.05%
159,34461.7%47.61%
168,43955.8%48.18%
176,80344.9%48.21%
184,52029.9%49.12%
192,50016.5%48.32%

By age 19, only about 16% as many cars of this family present for MOT as at ages 4–6 (reference n≈15,135); survivors still fail at 48.3% vs 14.1% at age 4. Older cars that still appear are a selected subset — weaker ones have already left.

How many miles does a Hyundai Santa Fe last?

100,000+ miles is highest at 32.1%; 200,000+ miles is lowest at 0.5% — the gap is 31.6 percentage points.

higher = larger sharecompare shares in percentage points

OdometerTests ≥ thresholdShare of sample
100,000+ miles68,93132.13%
150,000+ miles12,2985.73%
200,000+ miles1,1630.54%

Of 214,561 tests of this family with a usable odometer in 2024, 32.1% had reached 100k miles, 5.7% had reached 150k miles, 0.5% had reached 200k miles. This is a cross-section of cars still presenting for MOT, not a full birth cohort.

How many years is a Hyundai Santa Fe likely to last?

Bought at age 5 is highest at 11.2 years; Bought at age 15 is lowest at 2.9 years — the gap is 8.3 years.

bigger number = longer remaining lifeyears on the observed survival curve

Age nowTypical mileage (p50)Expected years left
5—11.2
8—8.2
10—6.2
12—4.4
15—at least 2.9

estimateEstimate only — not a warranty: a typical 10-year-old example of this family has about 6.2 expected years of further MOT-present life on the 2024 survival curve. Derived from how many cars of each age still appear for test, not from a longitudinal panel.

Hyundai Santa Fe faults that come together

Emissions & leaks + Seatbelts & SRS stand out at 6.25×, against 1.00× if the faults were independent.

above 1.0× = more than expectedbelow 1.0× = less

Group AGroup BTogetherLift
Noise, emissions and leaksSeat belts and supplementary restraint systems2056.25× (rough estimate)
Seat belts and supplementary restraint systemsSteering4584.4× (rough estimate)
Noise, emissions and leaksRoad Wheels334.06× (rough estimate)
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipmentSeat belts and supplementary restraint systems1,1993.82×
Identification of the vehicleNoise, emissions and leaks683.8× (rough estimate)
Seat belts and supplementary restraint systemsSuspension8983.65×
BrakesIdentification of the vehicle3953.61× (rough estimate)
Identification of the vehicleLamps, reflectors and electrical equipment6113.57×
BrakesNoise, emissions and leaks1,1593.53×
BrakesSeat belts and supplementary restraint systems7033.5×
Body, chassis, structureNoise, emissions and leaks1,1513.49×
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipmentNoise, emissions and leaks1,7743.45×
Identification of the vehicleSeat belts and supplementary restraint systems373.39× (rough estimate)
Noise, emissions and leaksSteering5743.37×
Identification of the vehicleVisibility2653.33× (rough estimate)
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipmentRoad Wheels2483.19× (rough estimate)
Noise, emissions and leaksSuspension1,2783.18×
Identification of the vehicleSuspension4203.14× (rough estimate)
Road WheelsTyres973.12× (rough estimate)
Identification of the vehicleTyres2133.11× (rough estimate)
BrakesRoad Wheels1553.11× (rough estimate)
Noise, emissions and leaksVisibility7333.06×
Road WheelsSuspension1853.04× (rough estimate)
BrakesSuspension7,2812.96×
Seat belts and supplementary restraint systemsVisibility4272.92× (rough estimate)
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipmentSuspension11,1232.89×
Noise, emissions and leaksTyres5822.83×
SteeringSuspension3,5952.82×
Seat belts and supplementary restraint systemsTyres3542.82× (rough estimate)
BrakesLamps, reflectors and electrical equipment8,7762.79×
Body, chassis, structureLamps, reflectors and electrical equipment8,7652.78×
Body, chassis, structureIdentification of the vehicle3002.73× (rough estimate)
BrakesTyres3,4102.71×
Road WheelsVisibility952.62× (rough estimate)
Body, chassis, structureSuspension6,4502.61×
Road WheelsSteering662.56× (rough estimate)
Body, chassis, structureSeat belts and supplementary restraint systems5112.54×
Body, chassis, structureRoad Wheels1272.54× (rough estimate)
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipmentVisibility5,6952.49×
Identification of the vehicleSteering1402.47× (rough estimate)
Body, chassis, structureBrakes4,9602.46×
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipmentTyres4,8212.45×
BrakesSteering2,5522.44×
SuspensionTyres3,7422.43×
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipmentSteering3,9072.4×
TyresVisibility2,1372.33×
BrakesVisibility3,3972.32×
SuspensionVisibility3,9072.18×
SteeringTyres1,4062.15×
Body, chassis, structureVisibility3,0552.08×
SteeringVisibility1,5182×
Body, chassis, structureSteering2,0201.93×
Body, chassis, structureTyres2,3321.85×
Road WheelsSeat belts and supplementary restraint systems19too few (rough estimate)
Identification of the vehicleRoad Wheels12too few (rough estimate)
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipmentSpeedometer and speed limiter10too few (rough estimate)
BrakesSpeedometer and speed limiter7too few (rough estimate)
Body, chassis, structureSpeedometer and speed limiter7too few (rough estimate)
Speedometer and speed limiterSuspension6too few (rough estimate)
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipmentSeat belt installation check6too few (rough estimate)
Seat belt installation checkSuspension5too few (rough estimate)

Defects in «Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment» and «Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems» appear together 3.82× more often than chance (1,199 co-occurrences in the same test; lift≥1.3, n≥500).

Lift = how many times more often both groups appear on the same test than if independent. A pair is listed from 5 tests with both faults; the lift is shown from 20, and called above chance only when its 95% interval excludes 1 (see rough estimates).

Is low mileage better for a Hyundai Santa Fe?

Cars driven under 5,000 miles a year is well below the reference at 19.2%, against 35.1% for cars driven 8,000–12,000 miles a year.

higher = larger sharecompare shares in percentage points

BandFail %Tests
<5k miles/year19.22%12,246
8–12k miles/year35.05%68,915
Gap (low − normal)-15.83 pp—
By fuel and age

Diesel

AgeLow-use fail %nNormal fail %nGap pp
58.611,78917.856,134-9.24 pp
610.591,61519.796,484-9.2 pp
712.381,50227.357,331-14.97 pp
814.781,42133.897,893-19.11 pp
919.771,19940.57,914-20.73 pp
1024.4196744.97,152-20.49 pp
1127.8384846.526,744-18.69 pp
1230.0591548.787,155-18.72 pp
1333.2284950.216,457-16.99 pp
1430.1879250.445,016-20.26 pp

Petrol

AgeLow-use fail %nNormal fail %nGap pp
1336.8411453.65192-16.8 pp
1440.6116553.37208-12.76 pp

At matched ages 5–14, cars averaging under 5k miles/year fail at 19.2% vs 35.0% for 8–12k miles/year — 15.8 pp lower (n_low=12,246, n_normal=68,915). In this family low annual use is associated with fewer MOT fails, not more — the ‘garage queen’ penalty is not visible in overall fail rates. Diesel alone: 18.7% low-use vs 34.6% normal (-15.9 pp).

Best year for a Hyundai Santa Fe, and the years to avoid

Build year 2012 is highest at 114.9; Build year 2015 is lowest at 78.8 — the gap is 36.1 points.

below 100 is betterabove 100 is worse100 = normal for this model at that age

build year vs the same model at the same age · 100 = as expected

Hyundai Santa Fe build year vs the same model at the same age · 100 = as expected — 2024 UK MOT data
Hyundai Santa Fe by build year, tests 2019–2024. Below 100 is better than the model's own age norm.
Every build year with its confidence interval
Build yearvs own age norm95% CIRaw fail %TestsVerdict
202099.382.9–115.812.94%1,082no different
201998.289.4–10713.65%3,503no different
20189993.3–104.714.73%7,887no different
201791.187.2–94.915.11%14,263better
201685.382.7–87.816.46%25,937better
201578.876.1–81.418.29%18,031better
201492.489.5–95.325.58%15,241better
2013104.3100.5–108.133.57%8,464worse
2012114.9112.4–117.442.28%19,421worse
2011110.1107.9–112.344.76%21,615worse
2010103.7101.6–105.845.06%20,884worse
20099994.9–10344.81%5,168no different
200899.195.5–102.646.2%6,560no different
200798.996.2–101.647.02%10,718no different
200610299.4–104.549.22%12,603no different
200598.795.6–101.847.91%8,307no different
200499.996.5–103.248.84%7,039no different
200396.392.1–100.647.6%4,130no different
200294.988.5–101.347.27%1,792no different
200188.676–101.344.68%423no different

The best build year here is 2015 and the weakest is 2012. Comparing build years sounds simple and is not: within a single year of testing, a car's build year and its age are the same number, so a naive comparison of years is a comparison of ages wearing a disguise. Each year below is measured against the same model at the same age in other cohorts, across six years of testing — 8 of 20 years come out distinguishable from their own model's age norm.

Two limits worth knowing before you act on this. Age, test year and build year are locked together by arithmetic, so the test-year effect is taken from the observed national failure level of each year rather than estimated — it is an adjustment, not a solution.

Hyundai Santa Fe MOT repair costs

The MOT-failure repair budget per test runs from £97.81 to £185.84, against £54.85 for the test itself.

bigger number = costs morepounds per test, MOT-failing faults only

MOT repairs, budget
£98–186
per test, repairs only
The test itself
£54.85
statutory cap, unchanged since 2010
How the figure is built: chance of failing × typical price of that repair
ComponentFails per 100 testsTypical repairIts priceContribution
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment25.1 (nat. 18.09)Battery replacement (standard 12V lead-acid)£140£35.14
Suspension17.1 (nat. 15.36)Suspension coil spring (single corner)£180£30.78
Brakes16.1 (nat. 11.25)Front brake pads (parts + labour, typical hatchback)£150£24.15
Tyres8.6 (nat. 8.7)Tyre (single mid-range 16" fitted)£90£7.74

Multiply how often each component fails on this model by what that repair usually costs, and you get the amount an owner should expect to budget per test for MOT-failing faults only — roughly £98 to £186, on top of the test fee itself. It is a budgeting figure, not a quote: the spread between a set of pads and a set of discs is most of the range.

Prices are modal quotes from a hand-kept catalogue of published UK garage guides — we do not scrape the booking sites, their terms forbid it, so this list is short and updated by hand with a source and date against each line. Each line prices one typical repair in that group, not a full remedy, and only groups our catalogue actually covers are counted. The contrast worth noticing is the second card: the legal maximum for the test has been £54.85 since 2010, while the repairs it uncovers have followed inflation the whole time.

For scale from a different direction: Warrantywise, which sees used-car warranty claims rather than test failures, puts the average claim at £2,052 across the ten highest-claim models it ranks and £539 for Honda, the lowest-claim make in its index (Warrantywise index 2026, 1.6 million claims, cars aged 3–15). Those sit an order of magnitude above the figures in this table, and the gap is the point: a warranty claim is a gearbox or an engine, which almost never fails an MOT, while the faults that do fail one are corrosion, lamps and tyres, which no warranty pays for. The two numbers answer different questions and neither replaces the other.

Hyundai Santa Fe running costs for a fleet

Vehicles failing at age 10 stand out at 32.0%, against 16.0% at age 5, tested in the same year.

higher = larger sharecompare shares in percentage points

Fails per 100 at age 5
16
vehicles needing work (rough estimate: 1,136 tests)
At age 10
32
other cars of this model tested at age 10 in 2024
Repairs per 100
£9,781
plus £5,485 in test fees
Off the road
1d
median; 31.8% cleared same day
Failure rate and typical odometer by age
AgeFailsMedian odometerTestsGap vs age 5
310.33%27,519929-5.7 pp
411.09%33,750532-4.9 pp
516.02%40,8281,136+0.0 pp
616.08%49,4271,934+0.1 pp
718.35%59,1712,654+2.3 pp
820.14%64,5324,294+4.1 pp
923.49%73,2982,946+7.5 pp
1032.11%84,6022,482+16.1 pp
1137.49%93,7561,363+21.5 pp
1244.47%101,1743,002+28.4 pp
1347.09%111,0383,266+31.1 pp
1447.03%115,9563,081+31.0 pp
1544.15%110,441632+28.1 pp
1646.92%119,758731+30.9 pp
1747.49%121,7701,135+31.5 pp
1848.99%114,7661,137+33.0 pp
1949.79%120,853699+33.8 pp

The number a fleet manager needs is not the failure rate, it is the year the car starts costing more. Between cars aged 9 and cars aged 10, both tested in 2024, the failure rate of this model is 8.62 percentage points higher — the steepest one-year step in this cross-section of different cars, and a natural planning point for replacement.

Repair spend uses the same modal prices as the section above, so it inherits the same limits: one typical repair per component group, not a full remedy. Downtime is the gap between the failed test and the passed re-test, which is the window a vehicle is legally off the road.

Hyundai Santa Fe rust problems: where they corrode

Age-standardised corrosion susceptibility stands out at 1.96×, against 1.00× for the national age-standardised rate.

above 1.0× = rusts more than averagebelow 1.0× = rusts less

How it rusts
1.96×
1.5% of tests record a corrosion defect vs 0.77% typical — age-standardised
Salt Belt exposure
69th
percentile among the models published here, from its tests across 97 postcode areas

This Hyundai Santa Fe fails on corrosion far more often than average once age is held constant, and its owners live in areas that are saltier than most for the models we publish.

Corrosion is the one failure mode that is as much about geography as about the car. We keep the two apart on purpose: a model can look rusty simply because it is popular in Scotland, and a model can look clean simply because it is bought in Surrey. Blending them into a single score would hide which of the two is doing the work.

Exposure is this model's tests weighted by an area corrosion index built from frost days, salt load and distance to the coast — the composite validated at r = 0.42 against corrosion defects we actually record. It is published as a rank, not a raw score, because every mainstream model skews towards low-corrosion areas for the simple reason that most of Britain's cars are in the south. Susceptibility is standardised to the national age profile, so an old fleet does not get labelled a rusty model.

Does a Hyundai Santa Fe advisory become a failure?

Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment are highest at 36.3%; Non-component advisories are lowest at 0.0% — the gap is 36.3 percentage points.

higher = more likelypercentage is the observed transition probability

chance the same component fails at the next MOT, given an advisory now

Hyundai Santa Fe chance the same component fails at the next MOT, given an advisory now — 2024 UK MOT data
Hyundai Santa Fe, advisory → failure conversion by component group, chained tests 2019–2024. Chart labels and rates: Lamps & electrical 36.3% · Body & chassis 24.7% · Suspension 23.6% · Steering 18.9% · Brakes 15% · Tyres 9.4% · Noise, emissions, leaks 5.8% · Seat belts & restraints 4.4%.
Advisory today → failure at the next test, with how long you have
ComponentFails next timeTypical lead timeMiles of warningAdvisories tracked
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment36.3%12 months5,8243,064
Body, chassis, structure24.6%12 months4,8343,895
Suspension23.6%12 months6,07228,114
Steering18.9%12 months5,9844,972
Brakes15.0%12 months6,18340,736
Tyres9.4%12 months6,96640,354
Noise, emissions and leaks5.8%12.1 months5,0548,699
Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems4.4%12 months6,8521,141
Identification of the vehicle3.8%12.1 months6,9305,338
Non-component advisories0.0%——14,109

This is the question an advisory note actually raises, and it needs six years of test history to answer. We followed the same vehicles from one MOT to the next across 2019–2024 and measured how often a component that was merely advised came back as a genuine failure at the next test.

Read it as a budgeting horizon, not a prophecy: the most likely component above turns into a failure for about 36 in 100 cars, and the median gap is 12 months and roughly 5,824 miles. The rest were repaired, sold, scrapped, or simply held. Rows with fewer than 500 tracked advisories are not shown.

What will fail next on a Hyundai Santa Fe?

Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment after a failure at age 20+ are highest at 34.0%; Tyres after a passed at age <3 are lowest at 2.5% — the gap is 31.5 percentage points.

higher = more likelypercentage is the observed transition probability

Probability of each component failing at the next test, by age and last result
AgeLast testMost likely next failuresCars tracked
<3passedVisibility 4.6% · Brakes 2.9% · Tyres 2.5%5,978
<3advisoryVisibility 6.3% · Brakes 4.5% · Tyres 4.0%2,078
<3failureTyres 5.5% · Brakes 5.1% · Visibility 4.5%1,076
3-5passedVisibility 4.2% · Tyres 3.8% · Brakes 3.4%21,548
3-5advisoryVisibility 5.7% · Tyres 5.6% · Brakes 5.4%11,150
3-5failureTyres 6.8% · Visibility 6.7% · Brakes 5.8%6,059
6-8passedLamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 7.4% · Brakes 5.9% · Suspension 5.5%17,770
6-8advisoryLamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 10.2% · Brakes 8.5% · Suspension 8.2%11,890
6-8failureLamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 17.4% · Suspension 12.6% · Brakes 11.8%12,914
9-11passedLamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 15.8% · Suspension 13.1% · Body, chassis, structure 12.6%10,464
9-11advisoryLamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 21.5% · Suspension 17.5% · Body, chassis, structure 16.1%10,617
9-11failureLamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 27.9% · Suspension 21.6% · Body, chassis, structure 17.5%16,046
12-14passedLamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 18.3% · Suspension 15.5% · Body, chassis, structure 11.6%5,841
12-14advisoryLamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 23.8% · Suspension 21.4% · Body, chassis, structure 13.9%7,861
12-14failureLamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 30.1% · Suspension 23.7% · Brakes 17.1%12,000
15-19passedLamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 18.5% · Suspension 15.6% · Body, chassis, structure 13.7%3,705
15-19advisoryLamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 27.1% · Suspension 21.7% · Body, chassis, structure 20.1%6,021
15-19failureLamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 33.3% · Suspension 25.1% · Body, chassis, structure 23.4%8,487
20+passedLamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 20.6% · Suspension 16.5% · Body, chassis, structure 12.4%97 (rough estimate)
20+advisoryLamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 29.6% · Suspension 25.0% · Body, chassis, structure 20.4%196 (rough estimate)
20+failureLamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 34.0% · Suspension 22.1% · Body, chassis, structure 19.7%244 (rough estimate)

The same chains, cut differently: given a car's age and how its last test went, which component most often causes trouble at the following one.

The pattern that repeats across every family: a failure at one test roughly doubles the chance of a failure on the same component at the next one, and an advisory sits about half-way between a clean pass and a failure. Age bands in years; probabilities are per car, not per defect item.

Hyundai Santa Fe ownership: what six years of MOTs show

The ten-day re-test pass rate is highest at 64.1%; The later re-test pass rate is lowest at 4.2% — the gap is 59.9 percentage points.

higher = larger sharecompare shares in percentage points

Fixed same day
31.8%
of failures re-tested
Fails /10k miles
0.489
miles actually driven
Clean streaks
31.22%
3+ tests, nothing noted
Odometer anomaly
0.674%
reading went backwards

Failing is usually a same-week event, not a disaster. Of 55,462 failures followed through to their re-test, 31.8% were repaired and passed the same day and 64.06% within ten days; the median gap is 1 day. 148,847 defect items were cleared in the process.

Per mile driven, not per year. Dividing failures by the miles that actually went onto the odometers between consecutive tests gives 0.489 failures per 10,000 miles, on a median of 6,228 miles a year across 40,751 chains. This is the number to compare between models — an annual rate quietly rewards cars that barely leave the drive.

Two populations hide inside one model. 31.22% of these cars strung together three or more tests with nothing recorded at all, while 37.19% carried the same advisory three times or more — the same fault, noted, ignored, noted again. When you buy used you are buying one of those two histories, and the MOT record shows which.

Odometer anomalies: 0.674% of 40,782 chains show a reading lower than the previous test, with a median drop of 25,134 miles. We call this an anomaly and not fraud on purpose — instrument swaps, imports, unit mix-ups and keying errors all land in the same bucket. Obvious typos (drops under 100 miles or over 90% of the reading) are already excluded.

Hyundai Santa Fe safety recalls and how to check yours

DVSA recall campaigns stand out at 24.

bigger number = more recorded casescompare like-for-like scope, not sample size alone

recall campaigns launched per year

Hyundai Santa Fe recall campaigns launched per year — 2024 UK MOT data
Campaigns launched per year for the Hyundai Santa Fe. Source: DVSA vehicle safety recalls. Chart values: 2012: 1 · 2013: 1 · 2014: 0 · 2015: 0 · 2016: 0 · 2017: 1 · 2018: 3 · 2019: 0 · 2020: 1 · 2021: 1 · 2022: 2 · 2023: 5 · 2024: 3 · 2025: 0 · 2026: 1.
Most recent safety recall campaigns for the Hyundai Santa Fe
ReferenceLaunchedVehiclesConcern
R/2026/14602/04/20261,143Some vehicles may have an instrument cluster operational concern whilst driving the vehicl
R/2024/34116/09/2024173The main floor wiring harness could become damaged due to contact with the second-row benc
R/2024/34116/09/2024557The main floor wiring harness could become damaged due to contact with the second-row benc
R/2024/30909/09/20245,306A potential safety defect has been identified which could occur within the ABS control uni
R/2023/12622/05/202320The vehicle fuel tank may be manufactured incorrectly which may result in a fuel leak
All 24 campaigns
ReferenceLaunchedBuild datesVehiclesConcern
R/2026/14602/04/202601/07/2025 – 24/10/20251,143Some vehicles may have an instrument cluster operational concern whilst driving the vehicl
R/2024/34116/09/202415/03/2024 – 04/07/2024173The main floor wiring harness could become damaged due to contact with the second-row benc
R/2024/34116/09/202415/03/2024 – 04/07/2024557The main floor wiring harness could become damaged due to contact with the second-row benc
R/2024/30909/09/202428/11/2011 – 31/10/20145,306A potential safety defect has been identified which could occur within the ABS control uni
R/2023/12622/05/202311/04/2022 – 21/06/202220The vehicle fuel tank may be manufactured incorrectly which may result in a fuel leak
R/2023/06924/04/202325/06/2020 – 13/08/20221,894: Some vehicles may experience an abnormal front seat belt pretensioner deployment during
R/2023/06924/04/202318/01/2021 – 16/08/20221,894: Some vehicles may experience an abnormal front seat belt pretensioner deployment during
R/2023/06924/04/202312/09/2020 – 14/07/20221,894: Some vehicles may experience an abnormal front seat belt pretensioner deployment during
R/2023/06810/04/202329/01/2020 – 03/06/2022376Certain vehicles may experience a transmission malfunction resulting in a loss of drive.
R/2022/12801/06/202202/06/2015 – 18/01/201880,559THE ABS CONTROL UNIT WITHIN THE AFFECTED VIN RANGE COULD EXPERIENCE AN ELECTRICAL SHORT
R/2022/15123/05/202218/10/2021 – 06/12/202136THE INSTRUMENT PANEL CLUSTER LIQUID-CRYSTAL DISPLAY PANEL IN THE SUBJECT VEHICLES MAY HAVE
R/2021/01422/02/202101/09/2020 – 14/12/20201,879IN THE EVENT OF eCALL TRIGGER THE VIN NUMBER INFORMATION MAY NOT BE SENT
R/2020/22304/09/202016/03/2005 – 22/09/20099,654THE ANTI-LOCK BRAKE SYSTEM MODULE REMAINS ENERGIZED WHEN VEHICLE IS TURNED OFF
R/2018/29919/11/201801/09/2017 – 14/08/2018239CURTAIN AIR BAG MAY NOT INFLATE CORRECTLY IF DEPLOYED
R/2018/10401/05/201815/06/2017 – 25/01/2018304STEERING WHEEL MAY DETACH
R/2018/00729/01/201801/09/2011 – 02/11/2011132FUEL MAY LEAK
R/2017/25016/10/201701/01/2012 – 01/07/201612,380BONNET MAY OPEN UNEXPECTEDLY
R/2013/05605/06/201301/04/2001 – 31/07/201187,795BRAKE LIGHTS MAY MALFUNCTION
R/2012/01816/04/201201/09/2009 – 13/12/20119,989FUEL MAY LEAK
R/2010/09120/09/201027/01/2003 – 03/06/200316,927SUSPENSION MAY FAIL
R/2010/09120/09/201001/01/2000 – 26/01/200316,927SUSPENSION MAY FAIL
R/2003/16605/01/200424/03/2003 – 17/06/2003711POSSIBLE FUEL LEAK
R/2003/10922/08/2003419POSSIBLE FUEL LEAK AND ENGINE SHUTDOWN.
R/2003/06224/06/2003352POSSIBLE FUEL LEAK

DVSA lists 24 safety recall campaigns for the Hyundai Santa Fe, covering roughly 251,560 vehicles in total. A recall is the manufacturer fixing a fault for free, so an open recall on your car costs nothing to clear.

Counter-intuitive, and measured on our own data: across the 25 families published here, more recalls go with a lower MOT Risk Index (r = −0.52). Heavily recalled models are not worse cars in the test bay — an active manufacturer removes the fault before it becomes an MOT failure.

Check whether a specific car has an outstanding recall — free, by registration — at DVSA's recall service. Source: DVSA vehicle safety recalls (check-vehicle-recalls.service.gov.uk), OGL.

Hyundai Santa Fe technical service bulletins: what dealers are told

US market, Hyundai SANTA FE and its variants, model years 2015–2022 only. A count of bulletins, not a UK failure rate.

NHTSA manufacturer communications are 424.

bigger number = more recorded dealer communicationsnot affected vehicles or confirmed faults

These are the issues the manufacturer fixes quietly: service communications sent to dealers without a public recall campaign. They show what the service network has been told even when the issue never became news.

United States · NHTSA manufacturer communications

US technical service bulletins by communication year; leading subjects cover the full file
Communication yearBulletinsLeading subjects across all years
20143
  • Electrical system (125)
  • Powertrain (90)
  • Equipment (79)
  • Engine and cooling (74)
  • Engine (57)
  • Adaptive and mobility equipment (27)
  • Structure (20)
  • Steering (19)
20152
201634
201732
201826
201958
202062
202129
202239
202356
202418
202529
202636

Caveat worth stating plainly: this is NHTSA data about US-specification cars. British cars sold under the same name often use different gearboxes, engines and equipment, so a bulletin may describe a component that was never fitted here. The file counts dealer communications, not affected vehicles or confirmed failures, and it cannot tell you whether an individual UK car has the issue. A communication can carry more than one subject tag, so topic counts do not have to add up to the total. Source: NHTSA Manufacturer Communications API (US-market vehicles; queried model years 2015-2022). Licence: U.S. Government work / public domain · retrieved 2026-09-25.

Hyundai Santa Fe owner complaints: what goes wrong

US market, Hyundai SANTA FE and its variants, model years 2015–2022 only. A count of owner complaints, not a UK failure rate; NHTSA has no UK denominator.

Engine (not MOT-tested) is highest at 1,846; Steering is lowest at 87 — the gap is 1,759.

bigger number = more recorded casescompare like-for-like scope, not sample size alone

Owner complaints (US) against actual MOT failures (UK) for the same component groups
ComponentComplaintsShareMOT fail items per 100MOT rankAgreement
Engine (not MOT-tested)1,84656.5%not in top 6—complained about, rarely an MOT failure
Transmission (not MOT-tested)47714.6%not in top 6—complained about, rarely an MOT failure
Lamps & electrical3259.9%25.1#1complained about and fails often
Brakes3069.4%16.1#3complained about and fails often
Restraints1324.0%not in top 6—complained about, rarely an MOT failure
Steering872.7%not in top 6—complained about, rarely an MOT failure

Two different populations answering two different questions: the MOT records what an inspector can measure once a year, the complaint file records what annoyed or frightened an owner on the road. A component high in one column and absent from the other is the interesting case — driver-assistance and electronics dominate complaints while almost never appearing as an MOT failure item.

What the reports actually say
Vehicle engine started knocking heavily while driving down the road. Had vehicle inspected for issue and was told vehicle had burned all the oil down to one quart and the engine was destroyed. Vehicle recently serviced with oil change within roughly 3,000 miles.
NHTSA complaint, filed 04/22/2026 · ENGINE
At 110K miles my Sante Fe Sport began burning increasing amounts of oil. My mechanic says he does not know why it is burning oil. Today it has 134171K miles on it. It has been burning a quart or more of oil weekly. I drive about 200 miles per week.
NHTSA complaint, filed 10/31/2024 · ENGINE

US owners have filed 3,270 complaints about the equivalent Hyundai Santa Fe to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, including 98 that mention a crash, 97 a fire and 89 an injury. These are owner reports, not verified findings — but they are the only large public record of what drivers themselves notice, and they cover the years between MOT tests.

Caveat worth stating plainly: US-specification cars, self-selected reporters, no denominator — complaint counts scale with how many cars were sold there and how motivated owners are to file. The mechanical gap matters as much as the statistical one: American cars of the same name often carry different gearboxes, engines and equipment — automatics where Britain buys manuals — so a drivetrain complaint filed in Ohio may describe a part that was never fitted here. Read the ranking inside a model, not between models, and treat drivetrain entries with particular caution. Source: NHTSA ODI consumer complaints (US market, public domain) — US-spec vehicles, indicative only.

Hyundai Santa Fe inspection results in other countries

Finland Katsastus stands out at 43.7%, against 26.3% nationally.

higher = larger sharecompare shares in percentage points

Same model, different national inspection regimes
CountryTestThis model failsNational averagePositionSample
United KingdomMOT (class 4)32.74%26.01%+6.7 pp33,318
NetherlandsAPK66.7%50.8%+15.9 pp3,006
NorwayPKK44.8%33.7%+11.1 pp2,504
FinlandKatsastus43.7%26.3%+17.4 pp1,114

The verdict is consistent across every regime where the difference is clear, which is the strongest form this comparison takes: independent inspectorates, different rulebooks, same direction of travel.

What Finland fails it for — share of recorded faults
Fault areaShare
Axles, wheels and suspension40.4%
Brake systems31.6%
Steering equipment10.1%
Environmental hazards6%
Chassis and body5.1%

Useful as a cross-check on the UK defect table above: the categories are named differently, but a component that dominates in both regimes is a genuine weak point of the model rather than an artefact of one country's testing style.

The exact faults Netherlands records — APK defect codes, 2024
CodeFaultRecordedType
210Tyre pressure not at the correct value485failure
205Tyre with insufficient tread442failure
584Sidelight not working properly422failure
497Number-plate light not working or missing331failure
178Driveshaft gaiter split, no longer sealing297failure
RA2Excessive leak of other fluids273advisory
186Ball joint with excessive play236failure
AC1Tyre down to 1.6–2.5 mm of tread230advisory

Worth dwelling on how mundane the top of that list is: tyre pressure, tread depth, headlight aim. The Dutch APK records 1.941 defects per inspection against a much higher national failure rate than Britain's, and the reason is not that Dutch cars are worse — it is that the two regimes draw the line between "note it" and "fail it" in different places. Codes are the RDW's own; the English wording here is our translation of the Dutch original.

Britain is not the only country that inspects every car every year, and the Hyundai Santa Fe is on the road in all of them. Each national regime writes its own rules, so the pass rates below are not comparable to each other — what does travel across a border is whether a model sits above or below its own country's average.

Rows with fewer than 500 inspections are not published. Sources: RDW open data — Meldingen Keuringsinstantie + Geconstateerde Gebreken + Gekentekende voertuigen (2024), CC0. Not an RDW endorsement.; Statens vegvesen — Periodisk kjøretøykontroll (PKK) 2024, CC BY 4.0; Traficom — Periodic inspections of cars by model / by model and fault object 2024, CC BY 4.0. Adapted; licences and full notice.

Hyundai Santa Fe MOT: quick answers

Hyundai Santa Fe MOT Risk Index stands out at 107.8, against 100 for a car with the same age profile.

below 100 is betterabove 100 is worse100 = normal for this model at that age

What is the Hyundai Santa Fe first-time MOT pass rate?
67.26% of first attempts passed in 2024 (33,318 tests). This is the first-time figure: retests after repair are excluded. Basis: first-time, excluding retests.
Why does this number differ from other sites?
Other sites often report a pass rate that includes retests or counts all attempts. Our 32.74% figure is the first-time initial failure rate, using 33,318 primary tests as the denominator (first-time, excluding retests). The age-adjusted MOT initial-failure ratio 107.8 is shown separately because raw rates compare fleet age as well as cars.

Compare the Hyundai Santa Fe with other cars

Vauxhall Insignia is highest at 108.3; Ford S-MAX is lowest at 107.6 — the gap is 0.7 points.

below 100 is betterabove 100 is worse100 = normal for this model at that age

Same brand

All Hyundai MOT statisticsHyundai ix35 MOT statsHyundai i20 MOT stats

Similar risk

Ford S-MAX (index 107.6)Volvo V40 (index 108.1)Vauxhall Insignia (index 108.3)

Same size class

how Land Rover Range Rover Velar compareshow Isuzu D-Max compareshow Honda HR-V compares

By build year

Hyundai Santa Fe 2001Hyundai Santa Fe 2002Hyundai Santa Fe 2003Hyundai Santa Fe 2004Hyundai Santa Fe 2005Hyundai Santa Fe 2006Hyundai Santa Fe 2007Hyundai Santa Fe 2008Hyundai Santa Fe 2009Hyundai Santa Fe 2010Hyundai Santa Fe 2011Hyundai Santa Fe 2012Hyundai Santa Fe 2013Hyundai Santa Fe 2014Hyundai Santa Fe 2015Hyundai Santa Fe 2016Hyundai Santa Fe 2017Hyundai Santa Fe 2018Hyundai Santa Fe 2019Hyundai Santa Fe 2020

By area

Hyundai Santa Fe MOT failure rate by postcode area

By failure group

Hyundai Santa Fe body, chassis and structure failuresHyundai Santa Fe brakes failuresHyundai Santa Fe vehicle identification failuresHyundai Santa Fe lamps, reflectors and electrics failuresHyundai Santa Fe noise, emissions and leaks failuresHyundai Santa Fe road wheels failuresHyundai Santa Fe seat belts and airbags failuresHyundai Santa Fe steering failuresHyundai Santa Fe suspension failuresHyundai Santa Fe tyres failuresHyundai Santa Fe visibility failures

Inspections abroad

Hyundai Santa Fe in NorwayHyundai Santa Fe in FinlandHyundai Santa Fe in the Netherlands


Data details & how to cite

Scope: class-4 vehicles (cars), initial tests only, outcomes pass / fail / fixed-on-the-spot at the station (PRS counts towards the failure rate — the defect was present at arrival). Index = observed initial failures ÷ failures expected for this fleet's exact age profile, ×100; margin of error is a 95% confidence interval. Covers ALL generations together — a 3-year-old and a 15-year-old are very different cars; a generation split is on the roadmap. Dataset release dataset_release_id=dvsa-2024-v2, frozen baseline; headline claim_id=family-stats:hyundai-santa-fe:dvsa-2024-v2. Full method: methodology.

Cite: MOT Risk Index (2026). Hyundai Santa Fe MOT statistics 2024 (data release dvsa-2024-v2; downloadable dataset motriskindex-families-2024-v5, doi:10.5281/zenodo.22975051). https://motriskindex.co.uk/cars/hyundai-santa-fe/ · Published 2026-07-30.