In 2025, 30,281 Hyundai Santa FE cars had a regular MOT in Great Britain. 66% passed first time, compared with 69% for all cars of the same ages, which makes the Santa FE about average. Adjusted for age, it ranks 162 of the 217 most-tested car models.
That comparison matters: older cars fail more often, so a raw pass rate flatters models that are mostly young. We compare each model against every car on the road at the same age.
Pass rate by age
At 4 years old, 85% of Santa FEs passed first time (all cars that age: 87%). By 20 years, that figure is 52% (all cars: 58%). It starts out ahead of the average car but falls behind from around 12 years, which is worth knowing if you are buying an older one.
Hyundai Santa FE All cars of that age
| Age | Tests | Santa FE passed first time | All cars | Typical mileage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 years | 380 | 85% | 87% | 38,418 |
| 5 years | 519 | 84% | 86% | 45,390 |
| 6 years | 1,091 | 84% | 84% | 52,539 |
| 7 years | 1,920 | 82% | 81% | 59,834 |
| 8 years | 2,606 | 80% | 78% | 69,885 |
| 9 years | 4,257 | 78% | 75% | 75,257 |
| 10 years | 2,922 | 76% | 72% | 83,459 |
| 11 years | 2,458 | 66% | 69% | 93,834 |
| 12 years | 1,323 | 61% | 66% | 102,455 |
| 13 years | 2,832 | 52% | 63% | 108,304 |
| 14 years | 3,041 | 54% | 61% | 118,102 |
| 15 years | 2,795 | 52% | 59% | 120,977 |
| 16 years | 525 | 61% | 58% | 112,638 |
| 17 years | 565 | 58% | 57% | 122,326 |
| 18 years | 890 | 55% | 57% | 123,726 |
| 19 years | 863 | 51% | 57% | 116,721 |
| 20 years | 527 | 52% | 58% | 122,210 |
What fails most on a Hyundai Santa FE
The area that lets the Santa FE down most, relative to other cars, is steering: 5.1% of tests failed on it, 2.3 times the rate for the average car. It does comparatively well on emissions and leaks.
Share of Santa FE tests failing on this area Average car
The six most common failure items
| Failure item | Area | Share of tests |
|---|---|---|
| A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn | Suspension | 9.8% |
| A lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning | Lights and electrics | 5.4% |
| The aim of a headlamp is not within limits laid down in the requirements | Lights and electrics | 4.1% |
| A transmission shaft constant velocity joint boot missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt etc | Body and structure | 3.7% |
| Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements | Tyres | 3.7% |
| A steering ball joint with excessive wear or free play | Steering | 3.6% |
What to check when buying a used Santa FE
Based on where the Santa FE fails more often than other cars, these are the checks worth making before you buy:
- Steering: Feel for play or knocking through the wheel, and check power-steering fluid isn’t leaking. More
- Brakes: Look through the wheels for lipped or scored discs, check the handbrake holds on a slope, and feel for pulling or vibration under firm braking. Repair guide
- Body and structure: Get underneath with a torch: sills, jacking points, subframe mounts and floor pans. Structural rust is the failure that can make a car uneconomic to fix. Repair guide
Then check the individual car: its own MOT history will show whether it follows the pattern. A car with repeated advisories in the same weak area is more likely to fail its next test.
Check a specific Santa FE
Enter the registration to see its full MOT history, mileage record and reliability score, compared with these figures.
Check a Santa FEFrequently asked questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a Hyundai Santa FE?
In 2025, 66% of Hyundai Santa FE cars passed their MOT first time, across 30,281 tests. Cars of the same ages averaged 69%.
What do Hyundai Santa FE cars most often fail their MOT on?
The most common failure items were: a suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn (9.8% of tests); a lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning (5.4% of tests); the aim of a headlamp is not within limits laid down in the requirements (4.1% of tests).
Other Hyundai models
Hyundai i10 (71%), Hyundai i20 (71%), Hyundai Tucson (80%), Hyundai i30 (64%), Hyundai IX35 (64%), Hyundai Ioniq (86%). All Hyundai models
Source: DVSA anonymised MOT tests and results, 2025 (class 4 normal tests; first-time pass means passed with no faults fixed at the test). Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.