Pass rate
98.9%
Above average — 4.1 pts ahead of the 94.8% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 349 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £27–£66
2023 Hyundai Santa Fe MOT pass rate
- 2023
- typical 28,743 mi
Most common fault
Tyres
50.9% 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 →
4.4 pts down across model years — 9.3% in 2003, 4.9% in 2021.
Which year to buy
- Best 2023 98.9% pass · this year
- Avoid 2005 69.2% pass
Across the 23 years on record, a spread of 29.7 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 98.8%
- Typical mileage
- 29k mi
The 2023 Hyundai Santa Fe MOT pass rate is 98.9% of its MOT tests — 4.1 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. Tyres is the biggest single reason it fails, at 50.9% of what testers record.
Check your postcode
MOT pass rates are national — type your postcode to see how Hyundai Santa Fe does in your corner of the country.
Expert verdict
Tyres: 2.6× the national share
Tyres make up 50.9% of everything recorded on the 2023 Hyundai Santa Fe, against 19.8% nationally — 31.1 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.
- Beats its own age and mileage. Once you allow for how old and how far these cars have been driven, the expected pass rate is 94.8% and this one manages 98.9% — 4.1 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict.
- When it fails, it costs. Only 29% 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 Hyundai Santa Fe? Get an email when these numbers change .
How does the 2023 Hyundai Santa Fe compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 94.8%, so this figure is 4.1 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 98.8%. The median 2023 Hyundai Santa Fe in this dataset had covered 28,743 mi.
Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 99.0% of the time, April–September 98.6%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Shock absorbers has a serious fluid leak", noted on 0.86% of tests.
- 349 recorded tests behind this page.
- 98.9% overall pass rate, 98.8% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the Hyundai Santa Fe, the average is 77.7% — best year 2023 (98.9%), worst 2005 (69.2%).
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
- 349
- Typical mileage (median)
- 28,743 mi
- Make and model
- Hyundai Santa Fe
- Updated
- 2026-11-05
Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data (2023–2025), OGL v3.0.
Top part to budget for
Shock Absorber
Usually a DIY or independent-garage job.
Does mileage affect the Santa Fe MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 87% so small gaps stay visible.
Regional pass rates for the Santa Fe
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South East | 121 | 100.0% |
| London | 105 | 98.1% |
| North West | 35 | 100.0% |
| East of England | 22 | 100.0% |
| East Midlands | 21 | 95.2% |
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 2023 Santa Fe
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 2023 Santa Fe
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 shock absorbers 0.9% of tests
“shock absorbers has a serious fluid leak”
Press down hard on each corner of the car and let go. It should settle in one bounce; if it keeps rocking, or you can see oil weeping down a shock absorber, that is the fault a tester will find.
-
Check the lights 0.6% 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.
-
Check the tyre tread 0.6% of tests
“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.
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 2023 Santa Fe through its MOT
Across the 9 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £27–£66 — and 29% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 9 common items
- £27–£66
- Cheapest common item: side repeaters lens defective
- £3–£15
- Dearest common item: has a cut in excess of the requirements deep…
- £45–£95
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 78%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 29%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 349 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 Santa Fe, side by side
23 model years on record, from 2001 to 2023. Across them the pass rate runs from 69.2% to 98.9% — a spread of 29.7 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2001 69.3% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2002 71.2% joints constant velocity boot…
- 2003 71.1% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2004 70.2% joints constant velocity boot…
- 2005 69.2% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2006 69.5% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2007 71.4% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2008 71.6% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2009 72.8% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2010 70.6% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2011 71.0% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2012 72.0% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2013 73.8% track rod end ball joint has…
- 2014 77.5% track rod end ball joint has…
- 2015 83.6% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2016 85.3% ball joint excessively worn
- 2017 86.8% brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick
- 2018 88.3% brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick
- 2019 89.1% malfunction indicator lamp…
- 2020 90.4% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2021 90.9% has a cut in excess of the…
- 2022 91.8% wipers blade defective
- 2023 98.9%shock absorbers has a serious…
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 2023 Hyundai Santa Fe 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 2023 cars with a similar record
- Levc Tx 97.0%
- Mercedes-Benz Eqe 96.5%
- Ford Puma 96.5%
- Toyota Corolla 95.7%
- Kia Niro 95.5%
- Polestar Polestar 94.6%
Closest pass rates among 2023 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 2023 Hyundai Santa Fe 9 failure items · 6 advisories · 6 inspection categories · mileage brackets · all of it in the page, none of it above the fold
Every inspection category
Shares of the 57 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 | 29 | 50.90% | 19.76% | +31.14 |
| Suspension | 12 | 21.10% | 20.98% | +0.12 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 5 | 8.80% | 12.21% | −3.41 |
| Non-component advisories | 5 | 8.80% | 4.18% | +4.62 |
| Brakes | 4 | 7.00% | 20.89% | −13.89 |
| Visibility | 2 | 3.50% | 4.97% | −1.47 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shock absorbers has a serious fluid leak Suspension | Major | 0.86% | £30–75 |
| Has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords Tyres | Major | 0.57% | £45–95 |
| Headlamp aim too low Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Rectified | 0.57% | £30–80 |
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Major | 0.57% | £45–95 |
| Headlamp aim too high Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Rectified | 0.29% | £30–80 |
| Side repeaters lens defective which has no effect on emitted light Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 0.29% | £3–15 |
| Switch inoperative Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Rectified | 0.29% | £5–25 |
| Washers provides insufficient washer liquid Visibility | Rectified | 0.29% | £5–15 |
| Wipers blade defective Visibility | Minor | 0.29% | £8–22 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Advisory | 4.3% | £45–95 |
| Shock absorbers has a serious fluid leak Suspension | Advisory | 2.3% | £30–75 |
| Non-component advisories Nail in tyre Non-component advisories | Advisory | 1.4% | £45–95 |
| Tread depth tread pattern not visible over the whole tread area when minimum depth required is 1.0mm Tyres | Advisory | 1.1% | £45–95 |
| Has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords Tyres | Advisory | 0.86% | £45–95 |
| Brake discs significantly and obviously worn Brakes | Advisory | 0.57% | £45–110 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 185 | 100.0% | 15,934 mi |
| 30-60k | 135 | 97.8% | 41,858 mi |
| 60-90k | 20 | 95.0% | 66,888 mi |
| 90-120k | 4 | 100.0% | 103,852 mi |
| 120k+ | 2 | 100.0% | 136,448 mi |
Source: 349 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.
2023 Santa Fe MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2023 Hyundai Santa Fe?
98.9% of the 349 2023 Hyundai Santa Fe tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 94.8% for cars first used in 2023. First-attempt pass rate: 98.8%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2023 Hyundai Santa Fe?
The three most recorded items are shock absorbers has a serious fluid leak (0.86%), has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords (0.57%), headlamp aim too low (0.57%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2023 Hyundai Santa Fe MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 100.0% of the time, falling to 100.0% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2023 Hyundai Santa Fe in this dataset had covered 28,743 mi.
Does the season affect the 2023 Hyundai Santa Fe MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 99.0% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 98.6%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.