Pass rate
78.4%
Around average — 5.6 pts behind the 84.0% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 53,061 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £45–£129
2016 Dacia Sandero MOT pass rate
- 2016
- typical 53,366 mi
Most common fault
Tyres
26.6% of faults · 19.8% nationally
mostly tread below the limit, cuts and sidewall bulges.
Part only £55–£85 for Tread depth below 1.6 mm. What fitting it takes →
0.5 pts down across model years — 6.1% in 2013, 5.6% in 2021.
Which year to buy
- Best 2021 90.3% pass
- Avoid 2014 72.9% pass
Across the 10 years on record, a spread of 17.4 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 72.8%
- Typical mileage
- 53k mi
The 2016 Dacia Sandero MOT pass rate is 78.4% of its MOT tests — 5.6 points behind what its age and mileage predict. Tyres is the biggest single reason it fails, at 26.6% of what testers record.
Check your postcode
MOT pass rates are national — type your postcode to see how Dacia Sandero does in your corner of the country.
Expert verdict
Tyres: 1.3× the national share
Tyres make up 26.6% of everything recorded on the 2016 Dacia Sandero, against 19.8% nationally — 6.8 points above. Check all four tyres yourself, including the inner shoulders, and look at the date stamp — a tyre can pass on tread and still be six years old.
- Falls short of its own age and mileage. Like-for-like, cars this age and mileage expect about 84.0%; this one manages 78.4% — 5.6 points below. Age is a fair excuse; this is not age.
- When it fails, it costs. Only 18% of this model’s typical repairs come in under £30 in parts — the failures here tend to be the kind that need a garage rather than a bulb.
Written from this page's own figures: fault shares against the national composition, the like-for-like pass rate, and the priced repair list. How these are worked out
Watching a Dacia Sandero? Get an email when these numbers change .
How does the 2016 Dacia Sandero compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 84.0%, so this figure is 5.6 points behind what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 72.8%. The median 2016 Dacia Sandero in this dataset had covered 53,366 mi.
66% of the tests on this vehicle ran on Petrol, which passed 79.5% of the time. Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 78.4% of the time, April–September 78.4%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Joints constant velocity boot split or insecure, no longer prevents the ingress of dirt", noted on 5.87% of tests.
- 53,061 recorded tests behind this page.
- 78.4% overall pass rate, 72.8% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the Dacia Sandero, the average is 79.9% — best year 2021 (90.3%), worst 2014 (72.9%).
Figures count every completed test on this vehicle-year in the dataset, including retests. See methodology for the exact definition.
This page's data
- Tests analysed
- 53,061
- Typical mileage (median)
- 53,366 mi
- Make and model
- Dacia Sandero
- Updated
- 2026-11-05
Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data (2023–2025), OGL v3.0.
Top part to budget for
Body Panel Repair
Typically a garage job — get quotes before committing.
Does mileage affect the Sandero MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 61% so small gaps stay visible.
Fuel type and reliability
Pass rate by fuel type. Petrol is the most common here (66% of tests).
Regional pass rates for the Sandero
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| Scotland | 10,796 | 71.7% |
| North West | 6,609 | 79.5% |
| South East | 6,396 | 83.6% |
| Wales | 5,894 | 77.2% |
| South West | 5,309 | 80.8% |
| Yorkshire | 4,468 | 77.7% |
| West Midlands | 4,093 | 80.5% |
| East of England | 3,357 | 82.7% |
| North East | 3,075 | 76.4% |
| East Midlands | 2,143 | 80.0% |
| London | 921 | 87.3% |
Regions come from the postcode area recorded at the test station. Areas on region borders are assigned to the region with the majority of their population.
What fails a 2016 Sandero
Everything a tester recorded on this vehicle, grouped into the inspection sections that produced it. The notch on each bar is the national share, so you can see at a glance whether this car is unusual or just ordinary.
A test can record several items, so these percentages do not add up to 100%. The exact strings, with prices, are in the full DVSA record at the bottom of this page.
Before your test
Three checks worth doing on a 2016 Sandero
These are not generic tips — they are the faults recorded most often on this exact model, rewritten as things you can check yourself. All three take about ten minutes and cost nothing.
-
Check the coil springs 4.1% of tests
“coil spring fractured or broken”
Look up inside each wheel arch with a torch, all the way round the spring. A snapped spring usually breaks at the very bottom coil, where a quick glance will not reach.
-
Check the suspension joints 2.0% of tests
“ball joint excessively worn”
With the car parked on level ground, rock the top of each front wheel in and out while someone watches the suspension arm. Clunks, or rubber boots split and greasy, are what testers record here.
-
Check the lights 1.6% of tests
“headlamp aim too low”
Switch everything on and walk round the car: both headlamps on dip and main, every indicator, both brake lights, reverse, fog and the two number-plate lamps. A bulb is a few pounds and a five-minute job.
Shares are the proportion of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item, so they overlap: one test can record several.
What it costs to get a 2016 Sandero through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £45–£129 — and 18% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £45–£129
- Cheapest common item: washers provides insufficient washer liquid
- £5–£15
- Dearest common item: joints constant velocity boot split or…
- £80–£250
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 60%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 18%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 53,061 MOT tests on this vehicle. They exclude diagnostics, retest fees and garage labour where the part is a DIY fit, and they are not figures from the DVSA dataset. Older and higher-mileage examples cost more than the average. How these estimates are built → · All MOT repair costs → · Cheapest cars to put through a test →
Every year of the Sandero, side by side
10 model years on record, from 2012 to 2021. Across them the pass rate runs from 72.9% to 90.3% — a spread of 17.4 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2012 77.8% horn not working
- 2013 75.0% joints constant velocity boot…
- 2014 72.9% joints constant velocity boot…
- 2015 73.9% coil spring fractured or broken
- 2016 78.4%joints constant velocity boot…
- 2017 81.7% coil spring fractured or broken
- 2018 85.3% headlamp aim too low
- 2019 87.5% wipers does not clear the…
- 2020 89.5% wipers does not clear the…
- 2021 90.3% wipers does not clear the…
Colour is the pass rate on a fixed scale, so a block means the same thing on any model. Each year links to its own page with the full fault breakdown.
Compare the 2016 Dacia Sandero with another year
The raw pass rate mostly measures age. The year comparison adds the like-for-like figure, the mileage bands and the repair bill.
Other 2016 cars with a similar record
- SEAT Ibiza 78.5%
- Citroen C4 78.6%
- Citroen C4 Cactus 78.2%
- Peugeot 3008 78.1%
- Renault Grand Scenic 77.9%
- DS DS4 77.8%
Closest pass rates among 2016 cars with at least 2,000 tests, so a small sample cannot flatter itself into the list. See the full rankings: best and worst MOT pass rates.
The full DVSA record for the 2016 Dacia Sandero 10 failure items · 6 advisories · 10 inspection categories · mileage brackets · all of it in the page, none of it above the fold
Every inspection category
Shares of the 71,667 individual items recorded on this vehicle, and the same share across all cars nationally. A single test can record several items, so a row is not a percentage of tests.
| Category | Items | This car | Nationally | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tyres | 19,299 | 26.60% | 19.76% | +6.84 |
| Brakes | 16,406 | 22.60% | 20.89% | +1.71 |
| Suspension | 11,440 | 15.80% | 20.98% | −5.18 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 6,786 | 9.30% | 12.21% | −2.91 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 5,285 | 7.30% | 5.57% | +1.73 |
| Visibility | 5,023 | 6.90% | 4.97% | +1.93 |
| Non-component advisories | 3,660 | 5.00% | 4.18% | +0.82 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 1,904 | 2.60% | 5.52% | −2.92 |
| Steering | 1,098 | 1.50% | 2.57% | −1.07 |
| Road Wheels | 766 | 1.10% | 0.75% | +0.35 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Joints constant velocity boot split or insecure, no longer prevents the ingress of dirt Body, chassis, structure | Major | 5.9% | £80–250 |
| Coil spring fractured or broken Suspension | Major | 4.1% | £25–65 |
| Ball joint excessively worn Suspension | Major | 2.0% | £18–45 |
| Headlamp aim too low Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Rectified | 1.6% | £30–80 |
| Wipers does not clear the windscreen effectively Visibility | Major | 1.6% | £8–22 |
| Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view Visibility | Minor | 1.6% | £80–200 |
| Joints constant velocity boot severely deteriorated Body, chassis, structure | Minor | 1.4% | £80–250 |
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Major | 1.3% | £45–95 |
| Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of a single lamp or all lamps Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 1.2% | £5–20 |
| Washers provides insufficient washer liquid Visibility | Major | 1.1% | £5–15 |
Severity is as recorded: Major and Dangerous fail the test outright; Minor and Advisory do not. Costs are estimates from typical UK parts prices — see how they are built.
What testers noted without failing the car
Advisories are the early warnings — the same parts a year or two before they fail. Reading them is how you tell a car that has been maintained from one that has been patched.
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Tyres | Advisory | 15.1% | £45–95 |
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Advisory | 14.5% | £45–95 |
| Brake discs in such a condition that it is seriously weakened Brakes | Advisory | 10.0% | £45–110 |
| Brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick Brakes | Advisory | 5.7% | £18–45 |
| Brake discs significantly and obviously worn Brakes | Advisory | 3.1% | £45–110 |
| Non-component advisories Child Seat fitted not allowing full inspection of adult belt Non-component advisories | Advisory | 2.8% | £20–80 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 7,486 | 88.0% | 21,470 mi |
| 30-60k | 24,532 | 79.9% | 45,547 mi |
| 60-90k | 15,545 | 74.2% | 72,478 mi |
| 90-120k | 4,276 | 71.0% | 101,151 mi |
| 120k+ | 1,205 | 69.8% | 140,834 mi |
Source: 53,061 recorded tests on this vehicle-year. Every row above is recomputed from the same DVSA extract as the rest of the page — see the methodology.
2016 Sandero MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2016 Dacia Sandero?
78.4% of the 53,061 2016 Dacia Sandero tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 84.0% for cars first used in 2016. First-attempt pass rate: 72.8%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2016 Dacia Sandero?
The three most recorded items are joints constant velocity boot split or insecure, no longer prevents the ingress of dirt (5.87%), coil spring fractured or broken (4.08%), ball joint excessively worn (1.98%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2016 Dacia Sandero MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 88.0% of the time, falling to 69.8% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2016 Dacia Sandero in this dataset had covered 53,366 mi.
Which fuel type is most reliable for a 2016 Dacia Sandero?
Petrol: 79.5% pass rate across 34,996 tests. Diesel: 76.2% pass rate across 18,056 tests. Shares are of the tests on this vehicle that recorded each fuel type.
Does the season affect the 2016 Dacia Sandero MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 78.4% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 78.4%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.