Model Reports 5 min read Updated 18 Oct 2026

Hyundai Santa Fe 2011: reliability & common MOT faults

In 2025, 53 in every 100 first MOTs on a 2011 Hyundai Santa Fe were passes. Most common reason for a fail: Individual sidelight or tail light (front).

Summary

The 2011 Hyundai Santa Fe follows the pattern of the model years either side.

At a glance

How 2,908 first tests went in 2025.

Passed first time
53 in every 100
Did not pass first time
47 in every 1001,381 failed first-attempt tests
The typical car
14 yearsabout 116,275 miles
First tests counted
2,908

What failed most often

  1. Individual sidelight or tail light (front)23 in every 100 failed tests
  2. Drive shaft joints and boots (front)17 in every 100 failed tests
  3. Suspension arm ball joint (front)16 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 2011 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

Two faults. The strongest is the handbrake efficiency below minimum (decelerometer test): 25 times as often as on similar cars.

Figures below are measured across the 1,381 failed first attempts in 2025 that had a mileage recorded, which allows a like-for-like comparison.

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 85 first tests25 times as often as similar carsLikely 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.

Handbrake lever

Failed on 33 first tests2.9 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

A parking brake lever pivot or ratchet mechanism that is obviously worn is graded Minor. It is Major when worn to the extent that the brake may inadvertently release, and also when the ratchet is not holding correctly. A lever must have obvious excessive travel before being rejected.

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

Body and structure

Two faults. The strongest is the other passenger door condition (rear): 11 times as often as on similar cars.

Other passenger door condition (rear)

Failed on 30 first tests11 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

What it means

A lack of door handles is not a defect where it comes from the original design or a specialist modification, provided the door latches securely closed and opens using a control such as a button or a fob. Hinges, catches and pillars are rejected for deterioration only if the doors stop working as intended. A hinged door likely to open inadvertently or not remain closed is graded Dangerous.

Drive shaft joints and boots (front)

Failed on 241 first tests3.0 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.

Lamps and electrical

Two faults. The strongest is the side repeater indicators (front): 5.3 times as often as on similar cars.

Side repeater indicators (front)

Failed on 119 first tests5.3 times as often as similar carsStrong evidence

What it means

Sequential or dynamic direction indicators are not a reason to fail. Where a side repeater is required, it is allowed to be part of the front direction indicator if it has a marked wraparound lens, or an amber light coming through the front lens when viewed from a set distance to the side of the rear bumper. A lens defect with no effect on the emitted light is Minor, and one that adversely affects the light is Major.

Brake light

Failed on 126 first tests2.0 times as often as similar carsPossible 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.

Suspension

One fault: suspension arm ball joint (front), 2.2 times as often as on similar cars.

Suspension arm ball joint (front)

Failed on 226 first tests2.2 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.

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.

Suspension arm (rear)

Noted on 172 first tests4.6 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Rigid brake pipes (front)

Noted on 118 first tests3.4 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Individual direction indicators (rear)

Noted on 79 first tests3.2 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Rigid brake pipes (rear)

Noted on 161 first tests2.9 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Coil spring (rear)

Noted on 229 first tests2.5 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Number plates (front)

Noted on 93 first tests2.4 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Suspension sub-frame (rear)

Noted on 173 first tests2.3 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
53in every 100
Passed on the first test.
Fixed at the station
7in 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 52.5% of 2,908 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 60.3%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 7 fixed and the 40 not fixed make the 47 in every 100 that did not pass first time.

Same model, other years

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

4060801002005201120152020Older carsNewer cars
40608010020112020Older carsNewer 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, 52 in every 100 passed first time.

YearPassed first timeFirst tests
200455 in every 100367
200550 in every 100501
200650 in every 100831
200754 in every 100839
200857 in every 100543
200961 in every 100502
201051 in every 1002,661
2011 This car53 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

If you are buying one

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

Mileage matters most on a 2011 Santa Fe.

Of 2011 Santa Fe vehicles with under 90,000 miles, 62 in every 100 passed their 2025 MOT first time. With 145,000 miles or more, 48 in every 100 did.

Under 90,000577 tests
62
90,000–109,000603 tests
53
109,000–125,000 Typical car560 tests
52
125,000–145,000593 tests
48
145,000 and over575 tests
48

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 90,000109,000–125,000145,000 and over
Individual sidelight or tail light (front)5.912.012.2
Drive shaft joints and boots (front)8.59.36.6
Suspension arm ball joint (front)3.68.67.7
Brake light2.93.94.7
Side repeater indicators3.14.83.8

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

When a car fails

25in every 100

of failed cars had one item to fix.

53in every 100

of failed cars had three or more items to fix.

12in 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 2011 Hyundai Santa Fe follows the pattern of the model years either side. Its main cause of failure was Individual sidelight or tail light (front), about 23 in every 100 failed tests. In 2025, 52.5% of 2,908 first MOTs on the 2011 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 60.3%. Among 1,381 failed first-attempt MOT tests (test year 2025), Side repeater indicators (front) appears more often than on similar cars (8.6% of those tests; 119 observed failures; about 5.3× 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 2011 Hyundai Santa Fe at the first attempt were Individual sidelight or tail light (front) (23.1%), Drive shaft joints and boots (front) (17.5%) and Suspension arm ball joint (front) (16.4%), 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: Side repeater indicators (front) (8.6% of those tests; 119 observed failures; about 5.3× more often than similar cars). These are statistical signals, not a diagnosis of any individual car.
Side repeater indicators (front) shows up more often than on similar cars (8.6% of those tests; 119 observed failures; about 5.3× 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 2011 Hyundai Santa Fe include Side repeater indicators (front), Handbrake efficiency below minimum (decelerometer test), Other passenger door condition (rear). 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 2011 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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