All generations and engines together · 27,525 MOT tests in the 2025 data · typical mileage at age 7: 65k
Split by first-registration year. Cars registered in a changeover year can belong to either generation.
Computed from DVSA MOT results, all of Great Britain, 2025. Nothing here is opinion.
Share of tests where each item was recorded. The dark tick is the class average across all tracked models; bars are scaled within each group.
The rows that judge the model rather than its keeper. 10,645 tests in this band.
Tyres, pads and stone chips say more about how the car was driven and maintained than about how it was built.
Owner folklore from forums and the motoring press. Most of it never shows up in an MOT, which is why this section exists at all.
On 4WD Santa Fes the electronically controlled coupling that sends drive to the rear axle wears out, usually shown by a 4WD warning light, a clonk or binding feeling in tight, slow turns, or a juddering rear end. It tends to show from around 45,000 miles and owners report bills of roughly £750-1,500 for the coupling or actuator assembly once labour is added. Front-wheel-drive-only diesel versions are not affected.
A rattle from the front of the engine for a second or two on a cold start, sometimes called a 'death rattle' by owners, points to a stretched timing chain or worn tensioner on the 2.2 CRDi diesel. It has been reported from around 75,000 miles and, left unchecked, can lead to chain jump and serious engine damage; a chain and tensioner kit plus labour typically runs into four figures. It is a wear item rather than an acknowledged factory fault, so there is no recall covering it.
The variable-geometry turbo actuator and EGR valve on the 2.2 CRDi diesel (shared with the Kia Sorento of the same era) collect soot, especially on cars used mainly for short journeys. Symptoms are hesitant power delivery, a flat spot above 2,000rpm, or the car dropping into limp mode with the engine light on. A clean or valve replacement runs from a couple of hundred pounds up to over a thousand if the EGR cooler has to go too; it is a known weakness rather than something Hyundai has issued a recall for.
Hyundai has recalled Santa Fes more than once for an ABS control unit fault where an internal short can leave the module energised after the ignition is off, in the worst case risking a fire, and separately for a battery-drain version of the same issue. It has affected a broad span of model years and recall rounds landed in 2020, 2022 and again in 2024, so this is manufacturer-acknowledged rather than forum speculation. Any car should have had the recall work done for free; it is worth confirming via the vehicle's recall status.
Owners regularly report creaks and knocks from the front end and an occasional harsh jolt from the rear axle, generally blamed on bushes, top mounts and drop links loosening with age; there was also an early recall for corroding suspension arms on older cars. Suspension is the fault that shows up most in this model's actual MOT failure data versus the rest of its class, so the folklore and the hard numbers point the same way, even if the exact worn part varies car to car. Bushes and links are a few hundred pounds a corner; full spring or arm replacement is more.
A small but persistent set of owners report the heater matrix leaking coolant into the cabin, sometimes more than once on the same car, with a sweet smell and misting windows the giveaway. It is a heavy job because the dash has to come out, so labour dominates the bill even though the part itself is cheap; garages have struggled to pin down why some cars suffer it repeatedly while most never see it at all, which is why owners argue about whether it is a real design fault or just bad luck with a batch of parts.
Built from the two sections above.
Same segment (Family & large SUVs), best MOT record first. Compare before you shortlist.