Hyundai Santa Fe, Buying guide, MOT record, UK numbers and recalls
42,404 Hyundai Santa Fes are licensed in the UK. In 2025 they passed 68.8% of initial MOT tests, 3.5 points below the 72.3% UK average.
Looking at a specific Santa Fe? Check its finance, write-off, stolen, mileage and keeper history. £15, no account needed.
Hyundai Santa Fe at the MOT
68.8% of 33,426 initial tests passed in 2025, ranking the Santa Fe 370th of 575 models. Hyundai Santa Fes aged 3 to 5 years passed 87.5% of MOT tests in 2025; for examples aged 11 years and over that fell to 54.9%.
First-time pass rate, 2025
Share of initial tests passed, retests excluded.
Pass rate by age at test
Hyundai Santa Fe tests in 2025.
Where Santa Fes fail
Share of all failure items recorded on Hyundai Santa Fe tests in 2025.
The items testers recorded most often were position lamp not working (6.3%), ball joint excessively worn (6%) and tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm (4.3%).
The MOT page lists every common Santa Fe MOT failure. For one car's own results and advisories, run a free MOT history check.
What to look at on a viewing
The Santa Fe's most common failure areas, and what a tester checks in each.
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Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment
Walk round with every light on: headlights, brake lights, indicators, fog lights and the number plate lamp. Check no warning lights stay on after starting.27% of Santa Fe failure items
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Suspension
Listen for knocks over bumps, check the car sits level, and look for leaking shock absorbers and split rubber gaiters.20.7% of Santa Fe failure items
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Brakes
Make sure the pedal feels firm, the car stops in a straight line, the handbrake holds on a slope and no brake warning light is showing.17.1% of Santa Fe failure items
Hyundai Santa Fes in the UK
42,404 were licensed at the end of June 2026. The number licensed has grown 8.8% since the end of 2014, although it peaked at 43,859 at the end of 2018.
- Change since 2014
- +8.8%from 38,969 licensed
- Typical year of first use
- 2016half of those licensed at the end of 2025 were first used in 2016 or earlier
- First registered in 2025
- 3,931against 4,873 in 2016
- Declared off the road
- 4,91310% of those registered, under SORN
Licensed Hyundai Santa Fes since 2014
Licensed at each year end and in the latest quarter.
Show the figures
| Date | Licensed |
|---|---|
| End of 2014 | 38,969 |
| End of 2015 | 40,636 |
| End of 2016 | 43,228 |
| End of 2017 | 43,486 |
| End of 2018 | 43,859 |
| End of 2019 | 42,512 |
| End of 2020 | 41,109 |
| End of 2021 | 39,744 |
| End of 2022 | 39,363 |
| End of 2023 | 39,612 |
| End of 2024 | 38,731 |
| End of 2025 | 40,398 |
| End of June 2026 | 42,404 |
How old they are
Licensed Hyundai Santa Fes by year of first use.
- Licensed at the end of 2025
- First registered that year
A further 1,080 were first used before 2006.
Show the figures
| First used | Licensed, end 2025 | First registered that year |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 3,856 | 3,931 |
| 2024 | 1,710 | 1,764 |
| 2023 | 2,584 | 2,671 |
| 2022 | 1,782 | 1,895 |
| 2021 | 864 | 981 |
| 2020 | 517 | 577 |
| 2019 | 1,104 | 1,268 |
| 2018 | 2,009 | 2,188 |
| 2017 | 2,795 | 3,031 |
| 2016 | 4,428 | 4,873 |
| 2015 | 2,978 | 3,418 |
| 2014 | 2,472 | |
| 2013 | 1,340 | |
| 2012 | 2,715 | |
| 2011 | 2,897 | |
| 2010 | 2,623 | |
| 2009 | 442 | |
| 2008 | 475 | |
| 2007 | 737 | |
| 2006 | 731 |
2,978 Santa Fes first used in 2015 were still licensed at the end of 2025, roughly 87% of the 3,418 first registered that year.
Santa Fe engines and fuel
2.2 litre engines made up 85% of Hyundai Santa Fe MOT tests in 2025, followed by 1.6 litre at 9.3%. Diesel accounts for 67% of licensed Santa Fes and hybrid electric for 17%.
Engine size at MOT, 2025
Share of 33,420 initial MOT tests in 2025.
Fuel type, licensed Santa Fes
DfT licensing statistics, June 2026.
| Fuel | Licensed | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Petrol | 535 | 1% |
| Diesel | 28,407 | 67% |
| Plug-in hybrid | 6,245 | 15% |
| Hybrid electric | 7,213 | 17% |
| Gas | 4 | <0.1% |
Hyundai Santa Fe recalls
21 DVSA safety recalls launched from 1992 to October 2026 name the Hyundai Santa Fe. The 8 most recent are below. Each covers vehicles built in a set period, so a recall does not mean every Santa Fe is affected.
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Sep 2026 R/2026/322
The vehicle may have incorrectly secured front seat belt anchor points
Defect and remedy
- Defect
- Affected vehicles may have incorrectly secured front seat belt anchor points. This may result in a lack of protection in the event of a vehicle collision.
- Remedy
- A modification will be applied to the seat belt anchor area to rectify the concern
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Apr 2026 R/2026/146
Some vehicles may have an instrument cluster operational concern whilst driving the vehicle
Defect and remedy
- Defect
- Some vehicles may face a concern where the instrument cluster panel may reboot during vehicle operation potentially resulting in a blank instrument cluster display screen.
- Remedy
- To correct this an 'Over the Air ' software update to the vehicles will be deployed remotely.
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Sep 2024 R/2024/341
The main floor wiring harness could become damaged due to contact with the second-row bench seat folding hinge assembly. This may result in a malfunction of the supplemental restraint system
Defect and remedy
- Defect
- Some Santa Fe (MX5) vehicles may experience the main floor wiring harness becoming damaged due to contact with the second-row bench seat folding hinge assembly.
- Remedy
- The affected vehicles will be inspected and the main wiring harness will be secured and routed as specified within the Technical Service Bulletin. In the event the main wiring harness is damaged the main floor wire harness will be replaced
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Sep 2024 R/2024/309
A potential safety defect has been identified which could occur within the ABS control unit. The ABS control unit within the affected VIN range could experience an electrical short circuit
Defect and remedy
- Defect
- On affected vehicles the HECU (Hydraulic Electronic Control Unit) for the ABS could experience an electrical short circuit with a potential that the malfunction indicator light may become illuminated (MIL and /or ABS light) and a burning smell may emanate from the engine compartment and the HECU components.
- Remedy
- The affected vehicles will have a low-capacity fuse installed within the engine compartment junction box
-
May 2023 R/2023/126
The vehicle fuel tank may be manufactured incorrectly which may result in a fuel leak
Defect and remedy
- Remedy
- Inspect the vehicle fuel tank and replace it if required.
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Apr 2023 R/2023/069
: Some vehicles may experience an abnormal front seat belt pretensioner deployment during a vehicle impact
Defect and remedy
- Defect
- Some vehicles may experience an abnormal front seat belt pretensioner deployment during a vehicle impact.
- Remedy
- Install front seat belt pretensioner protection caps to both front seat belts.
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Apr 2023 R/2023/068
Certain vehicles may experience a transmission malfunction resulting in a loss of drive
Defect and remedy
- Remedy
- Conduct a software update to the DCT transmission control unit (TCU).
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Jun 2022 R/2022/128
The ABS control unit within the affected VIN range could experience an electrical short
Defect and remedy
- Defect
- The ABS control unit within the affected VIN range could experience an electrical short. Hyundai have put advice in the interim letter for the registered keeper is to park the vehicle in an outdoor location allowing space around it until the recall is complete.
- Remedy
- Replace the under-bonnet fuse box multi-fuse which controls the ABS control unit to a lower fuse amperage rating.
Other Hyundai models
The most-tested Hyundai models in 2025, against the Santa Fe's 68.8% MOT pass rate.
Hyundai Santa Fe FAQs
How many Hyundai Santa Fes are there in the UK?
42,404 Hyundai Santa Fes were licensed in the UK at the end of June 2026, with a further 4,913 declared off the road (SORN), according to DfT vehicle licensing statistics.
Is the Hyundai Santa Fe reliable?
MOT data does not measure reliability. It records whether a car met the roadworthiness standard on the day of its test. What it does show is a 68.8% first-time pass rate for the Hyundai Santa Fe across 33,426 tests in 2025, below the 72.3% average for all cars.
Has the Hyundai Santa Fe had any recalls?
21 DVSA safety recalls launched from 1992 to October 2026 name the Hyundai Santa Fe. The most recent was published in September 2026. A recall applies to vehicles built in a set period, so check a specific car on the GOV.UK vehicle recall checker.
What should I check before buying a used Hyundai Santa Fe?
On the car itself, start with the areas it most often fails on: lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment, suspension and brakes. Then check the individual car's own records. Outstanding finance, insurance write-offs and police stolen markers are not part of the MOT record, so they take a history check.
How do I check a Hyundai Santa Fe's history?
Enter the registration of the specific car. A Carpeep car history check reports outstanding finance, write-off category, stolen markers, mileage history, previous keepers, MOT and tax status, import and export markers and scrapped status in one £15 report.
Already found a Santa Fe?
Check its finance, write-off, theft, mileage and keeper history with a £15 vehicle history report.
Across the 1,548 vehicles of every make Carpeep has checked since November 2025, 19% had outstanding finance recorded and 13% an insurance write-off. More on the Hyundai history check. To confirm a car's identity, see the Hyundai VIN check.
- Outstanding finance
- Write-off records
- Stolen markers
- Mileage history
- Previous keepers
MOT figures are aggregated from the DVSA MOT Anonymised data set for 2025 (class 4 initial tests, retests excluded), which also gives the engine sizes. Licensed, SORN, fuel and registration figures are from the Department for Transport vehicle licensing statistics (VEH0120, VEH0124, VEH0160). Recalls are from the DVSA vehicle recalls data, with recalls launched up to October 2026. Government data is used under the Open Government Licence v3.0. MOT results describe roadworthiness at test, not mechanical reliability. History-check findings are anonymous counts from reports bought on Carpeep, each vehicle counted once, and are published only where at least 100 vehicles returned an answer.