Hyundai Santa Fe Ultimate MOT Pass Rate & Official DVSA Failure Statistics

Hyundai Santa Fe Ultimate MOT History and Failure Rates vs UK National Average

The Hyundai Santa Fe Ultimate passed on its first attempt in 94.1%, and its overall record sits +13.4 percentage points above the national average for all cars. These figures come from every recorded DVSA MOT test for the Hyundai Santa Fe Ultimate in the 2023–2025 data: 2,049 tests across 4 model years (2021–2024). 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 Hyundai Santa Fe Ultimate MOT Problems by Failure Category

Every MOT failure a tester records belongs to one inspection section of the DVSA manual. For the Hyundai Santa Fe Ultimate, 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 Hyundai Santa Fe Ultimate's recorded defect strings, merged across its year pages.

Top Recorded Hyundai Santa Fe Ultimate DVSA MOT Test Statistics & Defect Descriptions

The descriptions below are the exact DVSA failure strings testers recorded most often for the Hyundai Santa Fe Ultimate, each with how many of the model's 2,049 tests it was noted on.

• "Wipers blade defective" (Minor) — noted on about 32 Hyundai Santa Fe Ultimate tests, 1.6% of the model's MOT record.
• "Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view" (Minor) — noted on about 31 Hyundai Santa Fe Ultimate tests, 1.5% of the model's MOT record.
• "Wipers does not clear the windscreen effectively" (Rectified) — noted on about 29 Hyundai Santa Fe Ultimate tests, 1.4% 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 28 Hyundai Santa Fe Ultimate tests, 1.4% of the model's MOT record.
• "Has ply or cords exposed" (Major) — noted on about 16 Hyundai Santa Fe Ultimate tests, 0.8% of the model's MOT record.
• "Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm" (Major) — noted on about 13 Hyundai Santa Fe Ultimate tests, 0.6% of the model's MOT record.

Best and Worst Hyundai Santa Fe Ultimate Model Years by Pass Rate

The strongest Hyundai Santa Fe Ultimate model year on record is 2021 (95.4% across 624 tests), and the weakest is 2024 (89.2%). The gap between them is 6.2 points. Years with fewer than 50 recorded tests are excluded, so these are the years with enough MOT history to mean something.

Hyundai Santa Fe Ultimate reliability is declining in the DVSA data — the pass rate moves about 1.9 points a year across the most recent model years shown above.

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

Pre-MOT Inspection Checklist for Hyundai Santa Fe Ultimate Owners

These checks follow this Hyundai Santa Fe Ultimate's own most-recorded failure strings, starting with what a tester is most likely to flag on a Hyundai Santa Fe Ultimate.

• 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 windscreen — “windscreen damaged”

  Check the driver’s side of the screen within the swept area for chips and cracks; anything larger than 10mm in the driver’s central view is a fail. Most chips can be resin-repaired for far less than a new screen.

• 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 Hyundai Santa Fe Ultimate. A check that finds nothing means the item is likely fine, not that the test is guaranteed.

Frequently Asked Questions: Hyundai Santa Fe Ultimate MOT & Reliability