Model Reports 4 min read Updated 18 Oct 2026

Dacia Sandero 2022: reliability & common MOT faults

In 2025, 89 in every 100 first MOTs on a 2022 Dacia Sandero were passes. Most common reason for a fail: Windscreen wipers (front).

Summary

The 2022 Dacia Sandero follows the pattern of the model years either side.

At a glance

How 12,554 first tests went in 2025.

Passed first time
89 in every 100
Did not pass first time
11 in every 1001,383 failed first-attempt tests
The typical car
3 yearsabout 18,348 miles
First tests counted
12,554

What failed most often

  1. Windscreen wipers (front)13 in every 100 failed tests
  2. Brake pads (front)12 in every 100 failed tests
  3. Headlight aim11 in every 100 failed tests

How we count this. Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Only Class 4 cars on their first MOT of the year are counted. A car that fails and is fixed at the test station still counts as a fail in the first-attempt rate. These are raw results, not adjusted for age, mileage, or peer mix. The MOT does not test engine or gearbox internals.

Note:

These are patterns across 2022 Dacia Sandero vehicles in 2025, not a prediction that any one car will have them. Faults are grouped by part of the car. A wear pattern follows age and use more than the way the car was built. They come from MOT defect codes, not manufacturer bulletins, recalls or a diagnosis of any one car.

Brakes

Two wear patterns. The strongest is the brake pads (front): 4.0 times as often as on similar cars.

Figures below are measured across the 1,382 of 1,383 failed first attempts (99.9%) that recorded an odometer reading in 2025. Mileage is needed to compare like with like.

We only list faults with at least 20 failures and a rate of about 2.0 times that of similar cars, which keeps one-off results out of the list.

Brake pads (front)

Failed on 170 first tests4.0 times as often as similar carsWear pattern

What it means

A pad worn down to its wear indicator, or contaminated with oil or grease, is Major. A pad worn below the set thickness limit, missing or incorrectly mounted is Dangerous. The manual treats an illuminated brake wear indicator as no reason for failure, although DVSA also lists an illuminated indicator as a Major row.

Also noted as an advisory

Testers also noted it as an advisory, worn but not yet failing, on 130 first tests, 2.2 times as often as on similar cars.

Brake discs (front)

Failed on 25 first tests3.6 times as often as similar carsWear pattern

What it means

A brake disc or drum must be significantly worn before it is rejected, and being worn below the manufacturer's recommended limits is not a reason in itself. Significantly and obviously worn is Major, as is contamination with oil or grease. A disc or drum that is fractured, insecure, seriously weakened or missing is graded Dangerous.

Also noted as an advisory

Testers also noted it as an advisory, worn but not yet failing, on 197 first tests, 2.9 times as often as on similar cars.

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage. Advisories count notes recorded on failed first tests only.

Lamps and electrical

One fault: brake light, 3.9 times as often as on similar cars.

Brake light

Failed on 30 first tests3.9 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

What it means

All stop lamps missing or not working is graded Dangerous, and so is a stop lamp that stays on when the brakes are released. A stop lamp that is missing or not working is Major. On some vehicles with LED rear lamps, part of the stop lamp can go out when the rear fog lamp is lit, which is not regarded as a defect.

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage.

Seat belts and restraints

One fault: airbag warning light, 3.6 times as often as on similar cars.

Airbag warning light

Failed on 42 first tests3.6 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

What it means

The airbag warning lamp (SRS MIL in DVSA's wording) is failed only if it indicates a system malfunction, which is Major. A lamp lit to show the passenger airbag is disabled is not to be regarded as a defect. Dashboard messages are not a defect in their own right, though they can help the tester confirm a malfunction.

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage.

Visibility

One fault: windscreen washers (front), 2.0 times as often as on similar cars.

Windscreen washers (front)

Failed on 84 first tests2.0 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

Windscreen washers that are not working, or do not provide sufficient fluid to clear the windscreen, are graded Major. They must provide enough fluid for the wipers to clear the windscreen effectively. Vehicles with an opening windscreen, or some other adequate view to the front, left and right, are not inspected for washers.

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage.

Advisories

Other things testers noted as worn or close to failing, more often than on similar cars.

An advisory is a note from the tester about something that has not failed yet. It is an early warning, not a fail. Advisories for the faults above are shown with those faults.

Suspension arm pins and bushes (front)

Noted on 26 first tests2.9 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Counts cover advisories recorded on failed first tests only, compared with cars of the same age and mileage.

MOT pass rates

How first tests ended, and how the pass rates are counted.

Passed first time
89in every 100
Passed on the first test.
Fixed at the station
4in every 100
Failed, then fixed at the test station the same day.
Failed
7in every 100
Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.

First-attempt pass 89.0% of 12,554 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 92.7%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 4 fixed and the 7 not fixed make the 11 in every 100 that did not pass first time.

By fuel type

First testsTypical mileagePassed first time, as testedPassed first time, same mileage
Petrol10,38617,784 miles8989
Other fuel2,16721,354 miles8990

Figures are in every 100 first tests. Cars with more miles usually fail more often, so the same-mileage figure gives every fuel the mileage mix of all the cars in this year.

Same model, other years

Passed first time in every 100, all tested in 2025.

40608010020152022Older cars
4060801002022Older cars

Newer cars are younger, so look for a jump rather than the climb. A year earlier (2024), when these cars were a year younger, 93 in every 100 passed first time.

YearPassed first timeFirst tests
201358 in every 1006,603
201454 in every 10011,590
201555 in every 10013,687
201661 in every 10013,820
201765 in every 10014,146
201871 in every 10012,028
201975 in every 10012,106
202079 in every 1008,817
202186 in every 1007,869
2022 This car89 in every 10012,554

If you are buying one

What this year's MOT record means for the decision in front of you.

Mileage matters most on a 2022 Sandero.

Of 2022 Sandero vehicles with under 11,000 miles, 94 in every 100 passed their 2025 MOT first time. With 28,000 miles or more, 83 in every 100 did.

Under 11,0002,515 tests
94
11,000–16,0002,550 tests
92
16,000–21,000 Typical car2,421 tests
89
21,000–28,0002,504 tests
86
28,000 and over2,562 tests
83

What to check at your mileage

How often each fault turned up on a failed first test, by the car's mileage. Read it as: what is likely to need looking at on a car like the one in front of you.

Under 11,00016,000–21,00028,000 and over
Windscreen wipers (front)0.31.42.6
Brake pads (front)0.01.03.4
Headlight aim1.11.21.6
Tyre condition (front)0.41.61.6
Tyre tread depth (front)0.11.11.8

Faults per 100 first tests, by the car's mileage at the test.

When a car fails

62in every 100

of failed cars had one item to fix.

11in every 100

of failed cars had three or more items to fix.

3in every 100

of all first tests had a defect the tester marked dangerous (unsafe to drive away).

Every figure here is a first-attempt MOT rate from DVSA open data for this model line, for cars of this model year tested in 2025. Each mileage band holds a fifth of the tests. MOTs do not test engine or gearbox internals, so this is a pre-purchase checklist, not a full reliability score.

FAQs

Short answers about how to read this model-year guide.

The 2022 Dacia Sandero follows the pattern of the model years either side. Its main cause of failure was Windscreen wipers (front), about 13 in every 100 failed tests. In 2025, 89.0% of 12,554 first MOTs on the 2022 Dacia Sandero passed first time (PRS: items fixed at the station the same day, counted as a fail). The official-style rate including PRS is 92.7%. Among 1,383 failed first-attempt MOT tests (test year 2025), Brake light appears more often than on similar cars (2.2% of those tests; 30 observed failures; about 3.9× more often than similar cars). There is no single reliability score here; this is a pre-purchase checklist built from DVSA open data, not a guarantee for any individual car.
Ranked by how often they were actually recorded, the items that most often failed a 2022 Dacia Sandero at the first attempt were Windscreen wipers (front) (12.9%), Brake pads (front) (12.3%) and Headlight aim (10.9%), each as a share of the year's failed first attempts. That is what goes wrong most often on the car. The common faults table shows a different measure: faults that are unusual compared with similar cars.
Among failed first-attempt tests we highlight patterns that appear more often than on similar cars. Top example: Brake light (2.2% of those tests; 30 observed failures; about 3.9× more often than similar cars). These are statistical signals, not a diagnosis of any individual car.
Brake light shows up more often than on similar cars (2.2% of those tests; 30 observed failures; about 3.9× more often than similar cars). That does not prove a design fault. Age, mileage, and how the car was used still matter. Treat it as a pre-purchase checkpoint, not a manufacturer service bulletin.
Common MOT problem areas for the 2022 Dacia Sandero include Brake light, Airbag warning light, Windscreen washers (front). These are the faults that stand out compared with similar cars, not a complete list of what can go wrong on any individual car.
Advisories flag issues noted at the test and are not a fail rate. We show advisory patterns that appear more often than on similar cars among failed first-attempt tests, separate from common failure rows. Use them as early-warning checks, not as a pass/fail score.
This page highlights MOT failure patterns for the 2022 Dacia Sandero (registration year) using UK DVSA open data for the selected test year. Patterns are compared with cars of a similar age and mileage. It is a buyer checklist from MOT defect statistics, not a full service history or manufacturer service-bulletin list.
No. MOT tests do not cover engine internals, gearboxes, or many electronic modules. Patterns here come from MOT defect statistics only and should not be read as engine or gearbox reliability scores.

About this data

How this page is built and what it can (and can't) say.

These figures come from UK MOT open data for this model year. We surface common failure patterns against similar cars, not a full reliability score, and not a pass/fail verdict on any individual vehicle.

2024 2025

What we include

UK Class 4 cars only. Normal MOT tests (not retests); first test per vehicle per calendar year; results pass, PRS, or fail.

Same-day repairs

PRS means the car failed items that were fixed at the test station and then passed the same day. We count PRS as a first-attempt fail in headline rates so same-day repairs do not hide problems.

How we compare

We compare this model year with other Class 4 cars of similar age and mileage in the same test year. This model family is left out of the peer group so the car is not measured against itself.

What this does not cover

  • MOTs do not cover engine internals, gearboxes, or many electronics; this is not a full reliability score.
  • Common faults come from MOT defect stats, not manufacturer TSBs or recalls.
  • Age and mileage matching reduces, but does not remove, differences in how cars were used and maintained.
  • If the data for a car is too thin to say anything useful, we say so rather than guess.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Check any vehicle’s MOT history

Full MOT history, mileage records, and reliability insights for any UK vehicle.

Run a free check