Model Reports 4 min read Updated 18 Oct 2026

Hyundai Santa Fe 2006: reliability & common MOT faults

In 2025, 50 in every 100 first MOTs on a 2006 Hyundai Santa Fe were passes. Most common reason for a fail: Individual sidelight or tail light (front).

Summary

With 831 first tests, there are too few to say whether the 2006 Hyundai Santa Fe differs from the model years either side.

At a glance

How 831 first tests went in 2025.

Passed first time
50 in every 100
Did not pass first time
50 in every 100415 failed first-attempt tests
The typical car
19 yearsabout 114,340 miles
First tests counted
831

What failed most often

  1. Individual sidelight or tail light (front)24 in every 100 failed tests
  2. Drive shaft joints and boots (front)15 in every 100 failed tests
  3. Suspension arm ball joint (front)14 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 2006 Hyundai Santa Fe vehicles in 2025, not a prediction that any one car will have them. Faults are grouped by part of the car. They come from MOT defect codes, not manufacturer bulletins, recalls or a diagnosis of any one car.

Brakes

One fault: handbrake efficiency below minimum (decelerometer test), 13 times as often as on similar cars.

Figures below are measured across the 414 of 415 failed first attempts (99.8%) 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.

Handbrake efficiency below minimum (decelerometer test)

Failed on 20 first tests13 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

A parking brake with efficiency below the minimum requirement is graded Major, and efficiency less than half of the required value is graded Dangerous. This check applies only to vehicles whose parking brake has not already been tested as the secondary brake.

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

Noise, emissions and leaks

One fault: diesel emissions test (pre-reg turbo rules before 01/07/2008), 2.8 times as often as on similar cars.

Diesel emissions test (pre-reg turbo rules before 01/07/2008)

Failed on 20 first tests2.8 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

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

Steering

One fault: track rod end (front), 2.5 times as often as on similar cars.

Track rod end (front)

Failed on 44 first tests2.5 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

A steering ball joint with excessive wear or free play is Major, and one worn to the extent there is a serious risk of detachment is graded Dangerous. A dust cover that is damaged but still keeps dirt out is Minor, and one missing or no longer keeping dirt out is Major. Testers must tell wear from a joint's built-in clearance or spring loading.

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

Suspension

One fault: suspension arm ball joint (front), 2.4 times as often as on similar cars.

Suspension arm ball joint (front)

Failed on 58 first tests2.4 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

A suspension arm ball joint is failed under the general suspension pin, bush or joint wording. Excessively worn is Major, and likely to become detached is graded Dangerous.

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

Body and structure

One fault: drive shaft joints and boots (front), 2.1 times as often as on similar cars.

Drive shaft joints and boots (front)

Failed on 64 first tests2.1 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

A constant velocity boot that is only severely deteriorated is Minor. It is Major once it is missing, split or insecure so that it no longer prevents the ingress of dirt. A transmission joint excessively worn is Major, and graded Dangerous when it is so worn it is likely to fail.

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.

Anti-roll bar linkage ball joints (front)

Noted on 21 first tests2.2 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Coil spring (front)

Noted on 29 first tests2.2 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Engine oil leaks (front)

Noted on 20 first tests2.1 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
50in every 100
Passed on the first test.
Fixed at the station
10in every 100
Failed, then fixed at the test station the same day.
Failed
40in every 100
Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.

First-attempt pass 50.1% of 831 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 59.7%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 10 fixed and the 40 not fixed make the 50 in every 100 that did not pass first time.

Same model, other years

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

4060801002006201020152020Older carsNewer cars
406080100200620102020Newer cars

Newer cars are younger, so look for a jump rather than the climb.

YearPassed first timeFirst tests
200455 in every 100367
200550 in every 100501
2006 This car50 in every 100831
200754 in every 100839
200857 in every 100543
200961 in every 100502
201051 in every 1002,661
201153 in every 1002,908
201252 in every 1002,682
201360 in every 1001,240
201466 in every 1002,324
201575 in every 1002,800
201678 in every 1004,095
201781 in every 1002,507
201882 in every 1001,850
201983 in every 1001,046
202084 in every 100501
202189 in every 100846
202290 in every 1001,766

FAQs

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

With 831 first tests, there are too few to say whether the 2006 Hyundai Santa Fe differs from the model years either side. Its main cause of failure was Individual sidelight or tail light (front), about 24 in every 100 failed tests. In 2025, 50.1% of 831 first MOTs on the 2006 Hyundai Santa Fe passed first time (PRS: items fixed at the station the same day, counted as a fail). The official-style rate including PRS is 59.7%. Among 415 failed first-attempt MOT tests (test year 2025), Handbrake efficiency below minimum (decelerometer test) appears more often than on similar cars (4.8% of those tests; 20 observed failures; about 13× 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 2006 Hyundai Santa Fe at the first attempt were Individual sidelight or tail light (front) (23.9%), Drive shaft joints and boots (front) (15.5%) and Suspension arm ball joint (front) (14.0%), 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: Handbrake efficiency below minimum (decelerometer test) (4.8% of those tests; 20 observed failures; about 13× more often than similar cars). These are statistical signals, not a diagnosis of any individual car.
Handbrake efficiency below minimum (decelerometer test) shows up more often than on similar cars (4.8% of those tests; 20 observed failures; about 13× 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 2006 Hyundai Santa Fe include Handbrake efficiency below minimum (decelerometer test), Track rod end (front), Suspension arm ball joint (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 2006 Hyundai Santa Fe (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.

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