2006 Hyundai Santa Fe: MOT pass rate and reliability

58.8% of 2006 Hyundai Santa Fes pass the MOT first time, measured across 1,141 DVSA tests on that model year alone. The average one had covered 115,749 miles.

How the 2006 compares

  • Against all Hyundai Santa Fes (71.8%, 32,561 tests): -13 points
  • Against all 2006 cars (64.1%): -5.3 points
  • National first-time pass rate, all cars and years: 77%

Every Hyundai Santa Fe model year

Pass rates fall as cars age, so the only fair comparison for a 2006 car is other cars of the same age. The full run for the Hyundai Santa Fe:

Year Pass rate Tests Avg mileage
2003 63.9% 338 115,572
2004 61.4% 529 118,557
2005 57.8% 702 122,897
2006 58.8% 1,141 115,749
2007 60.3% 1,139 123,847
2008 62.7% 740 120,904
2009 63.1% 643 112,450
2010 60.3% 3,090 117,943
2011 60.4% 3,278 113,409
2012 62.8% 3,006 103,634
2013 65.5% 1,371 96,857
2014 71% 2,489 88,188
2015 80% 2,950 77,421
2016 83.1% 4,296 68,036
2017 84.7% 2,658 62,128
2018 87.4% 1,937 52,403
2019 86.8% 1,141 44,221
2020 91.8% 534 36,175
2021 85.7% 391 29,305

What this means if you are buying a 2006 Santa Fe

The 2006 is a weaker year for this model, passing 13 points less often than the Hyundai Santa Fe average. Some of that is simply age, so compare it against the 2006 figure for all cars above rather than against newer examples. Check the exact car with the free MOT history checker before you buy, and run its VIN and mileage through our free VIN decoder and clocking check.

What a 20-year-old car fails on

A 2006 car is 20 years old now, and age drives the failure mix more than the badge does. Across all cars tested, these are the categories that actually cause failures:

  • Lights and electrical: 10.36% of all cars tested
  • Suspension: 8.65% of all cars tested
  • Tyres: 6.23% of all cars tested
  • Brakes: 6.1% of all cars tested
  • Visibility: wipers, washers, glass: 4.65% of all cars tested
  • Body, chassis and structure: 3.18% of all cars tested

That is high mileage, so timing belts, clutches, suspension bushes and corrosion are the items worth budgeting for rather than the MOT itself. On a 2006 Hyundai Santa Fe the average at test was 115,749 miles, so treat anything far above that as a car that has worked harder than its peers, and anything far below as one worth checking for the faults that come from standing still.

The strongest year for this model is 2020 at 91.8%, and the weakest in our data is 2005 at 57.8%. That 34.0 point spread across the model's life is why comparing a 2006 car against a newer one tells you very little.

Nearby model years

All Hyundai Santa Fe MOT data · Every model