Dacia Sandero Essential MOT Pass Rate & Official DVSA Failure Statistics

Dacia Sandero Essential MOT History and Failure Rates vs UK National Average

The Dacia Sandero Essential passed on its first attempt in 92.7%, and its overall record sits +12.1 percentage points above the national average for all cars. These figures come from every recorded DVSA MOT test for the Dacia Sandero Essential in the 2023–2025 data: 1,537 tests across 2 model years (2021–2022). A test still carries exactly one pass or fail verdict.

Figures are computed from every recorded DVSA test for this model in the 2023–2025 data.

Most Common Dacia Sandero Essential MOT Problems by Failure Category

Every MOT failure a tester records belongs to one inspection section of the DVSA manual. For the Dacia Sandero Essential, the Visibility section leads the record — the breakdown below shows where the recorded failures cluster, then the exact strings behind the three biggest sections.

Shares are over the Dacia Sandero Essential's recorded defect strings, merged across its year pages.

Top Recorded Dacia Sandero Essential DVSA MOT Test Statistics & Defect Descriptions

The descriptions below are the exact DVSA failure strings testers recorded most often for the Dacia Sandero Essential, each with how many of the model's 1,537 tests it was noted on.

• "Wipers blade defective" (Minor) — noted on about 46 Dacia Sandero Essential tests, 3.0% of the model's MOT record.
• "Wipers does not clear the windscreen effectively" (Major) — noted on about 38 Dacia Sandero Essential tests, 2.5% of the model's MOT record.
• "Has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords" (Major) — noted on about 26 Dacia Sandero Essential tests, 1.7% of the model's MOT record.
• "Headlamp aim too high" (Rectified) — noted on about 22 Dacia Sandero Essential tests, 1.4% of the model's MOT record.
• "Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm" (Major) — noted on about 16 Dacia Sandero Essential tests, 1.0% of the model's MOT record.
• "Washers provides insufficient washer liquid" (Major) — noted on about 15 Dacia Sandero Essential tests, 1.0% of the model's MOT record.

Best and Worst Dacia Sandero Essential Model Years by Pass Rate

The strongest Dacia Sandero Essential model year on record is 2022 (93.7% across 143 tests), and the weakest is 2021 (93.0%). The gap between them is 0.7 points. Years with fewer than 50 recorded tests are excluded, so these are the years with enough MOT history to mean something.

Newest model year first. Only years with at least 50 recorded tests are listed.

Pre-MOT Inspection Checklist for Dacia Sandero Essential Owners

These checks follow this Dacia Sandero Essential's own most-recorded failure strings, starting with what a tester is most likely to flag on a Dacia Sandero Essential.

• the wipers and washers — “wipers blade defective”

  Run the wipers with the screen wet: they should clear it in one sweep without smearing or juddering. Top the washer bottle up and check both jets hit the screen.

• the lights — “headlamp aim too high”

  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.

• the tyre tread — “tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm”

  Check all four tyres cold, including the inner shoulder where wear hides — 1.6mm across the central three-quarters is the legal limit, and most testers fail at 1.6mm without argument.

Derived from the DVSA failure strings testers recorded for the Dacia Sandero Essential. A check that finds nothing means the item is likely fine, not that the test is guaranteed.

Frequently Asked Questions: Dacia Sandero Essential MOT & Reliability