2012 Hyundai Santa Fe MOT pass rate: 62.5% (8,925 tests)

2012-registered Hyundai Santa Fes passed 62.5% of 8,925 MOT tests in 2023–2025 — 8.7 points worse than same-age cars (71.2%). This is one of the lower-scoring Santa Fe years after correcting for vehicle age — inspect the individual car carefully.

62.5%Pass rate, 2012 cars

91.3Age-adjusted index (100 = average)

8,925Tests analysed

100,646 miMedian mileage at test

65.9% / 62.5%Petrol vs diesel pass rate

Is the 2012 Santa Fe getting worse?

Pass rate of 2012-registered cars across recent test years:

Test year	Pass rate
2023	63.9% -8.4 vs same-age
2024	62.7% -8.3 vs same-age
2025	60.8% -9.5 vs same-age

The raw rate normally falls as cars age. The “vs same-age” figure compares this cohort with all UK cars registered in the same year, so normal ageing is not mistaken for a bad model year.

What fails on a 2012 Santa Fe

#	System	Defects recorded	Share
1	Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment	2,914	29.9%
2	Suspension	1,985	20.3%
3	Brakes	1,894	19.4%
4	Body, chassis, structure	1,162	11.9%
5	Tyres	846	8.7%
6	Visibility	392	4.0%

All Santa Fe years compared

Registration year	Tests	Pass rate	Vs same-age	Median mileage
2004	1,624	61.0%	-3.3 pts	117,434
2005	2,189	59.1%	-5.3 pts	119,688
2006	3,505	58.9%	-5.5 pts	114,891
2007	3,420	61.7%	-3.4 pts	120,386
2008	2,209	62.2%	-2.9 pts	119,628
2009	1,912	64.4%	-2.0 pts	109,666
2010	9,157	60.0%	-7.4 pts	114,960
2011	9,752	60.7%	-8.5 pts	110,676
2012 (this page)	8,925	62.5%	-8.7 pts	100,646
2013	4,063	65.6%	-7.7 pts	93,453
2014	7,390	71.6%	-4.3 pts	84,480
2015	8,753	80.6%	+1.8 pts	73,021
2016	12,663	83.1%	+1.8 pts	64,347
2017	7,824	84.9%	+0.9 pts	59,205
2018	5,712	86.8%	+0.5 pts	48,829
2019	3,349	88.1%	-0.3 pts	40,434
2020	1,581	89.7%	-0.2 pts	33,480

Weighing up which year to buy? See the full ranking: Hyundai Santa Fe years to avoid.

Buying a 2012 Santa Fe? Two checks first

Free MOT history checkThe exact car’s failures, advisories and mileage trail — sellers can’t edit it
Topdon OBD2 scannersTopdon diagnostic scanners with full-system readouts
XTOOL diagnostic toolsXTOOL code readers for petrol and diesel cars
Autel UK testersAutel professional-grade diagnostic testers

FAQs

Is a 2012 Hyundai Santa Fe reliable?

2012-registered examples passed 62.5% of their MOT tests (8,925 tests, 2023–2025), -8.7 points versus all UK cars registered in the same year. At roughly 14 years old with a median 100,646 miles, condition now varies car by car — always check the individual MOT history.

What mileage is too high for a 2012 Santa Fe?

The median tested example shows 100,646 miles. Anything far beyond that isn't automatically bad — a motorway-mile car with consistent service records often beats a low-mileage school-run car — but price accordingly and scrutinise the mileage trail for gaps or drops.

Source: DVSA Anonymised MOT tests and results, 2023–2025 extracts (96 million Class 4 initial tests; retests excluded). Only vehicles old enough for a routine first MOT are included. Age-adjusted figures compare the model-year cohort with all vehicles of the same registration year tested in the same calendar year. Contains public sector information licensed under OGL v3.0.