MOT fail rates

SEAT Ateca MOT fail rate by age

How often the SEAT Ateca fails its MOT at each age, compared with all cars of the same age, and what it fails on. From 171,168 DVSA MOT tests taken 2022 to 2025.

MOT data updated 22 September 2026

At 5 years, the most tested age

MOT fail rate at age 5 (n=37,566)11.1%

All cars at 5 years (n=9,425,360)15.3%

Median mileage at test39,279

All cars, median mileage37,103

57 of 338 model groups with enough tests fail less often at 5 years.

What stands out

At 3 years the SEAT Ateca fails 9.5% of MOTs (32,579 tests), 2.5 points below the 12.1% for all cars that age. At 9 years it fails 14.0% (1,889 tests), 13.2 points below the 27.1% average.
The gap is widest at 9 years: 13.2 points below all cars.
Its most common structural or mechanical fail item at 5 years: Suspension arm bush worn, at 0.6 per 100 MOTs.

MOT fail rate by age

Solid line: this model. Dashed line: all cars at the same age.

SEAT Ateca: share of MOT tests that failed, by age, against all cars. Ages with fewer than 1,000 tests are not shown.
Age	MOT fail rate	Tests (n)	All cars	Difference	Median mileage
3 years	9.5%	32,579	12.1%	−2.5 pts	23,119 miles
4 years	10.5%	35,614	13.4%	−2.9 pts	30,972 miles
5 years	11.1%	37,566	15.3%	−4.3 pts	39,279 miles
6 years	12.4%	31,519	17.8%	−5.4 pts	47,925 miles
7 years	13.6%	20,570	20.6%	−7.1 pts	56,687 miles
8 years	13.7%	11,431	23.8%	−10.1 pts	64,776 miles
9 years	14.0%	1,889	27.1%	−13.2 pts	73,124 miles

Most common fail items at 5 years

Split into structural or mechanical items and wear items. Wear items (tyres, brake pads, wipers, bulbs) say more about upkeep than about the design.

Structural and mechanical

Fail item	Per 100 MOTs
Suspension arm bush worn Major	0.6
Shock absorber leaking Major	0.4

Out of 37,566 MOTs. A test with two faults counts twice.

Wear and upkeep

Fail item	Per 100 MOTs
Tyre tread below 1.6 mm Dangerous	3
Brake pads under 1.5 mm Dangerous	2.1
Tyre condition: has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords Major	1.5
Wipers not clearing screen Major	1
Headlight aimed too high Major	0.7
Tyre with cords exposed Dangerous	0.6
Headlamp aim: too low Major	0.6
Washers: provides insufficient washer liquid Major	0.5

Out of 37,566 MOTs. A test with two faults counts twice.

Other models at 5 years

Model	MOT fail rate	Tests (n)	All cars
SEAT Leon	16.2%	72,889	15.3%
SEAT Ibiza	18.3%	50,471	15.3%
SEAT Arona	14.9%	38,245	15.3%

MOT fail rate by first-use year

Each year has its own page: the fail rate for cars first used that year at each MOT from 2022 to 2025 with at least 1,000 tests, the most common faults at that age, and the car tax and ULEZ rules for that year.

First-use year data updated 28 September 2026.

Latest MOT age with at least 1,000 tests for each first-use year.
First used	Age at test	MOT fail rate	Tests (n)	All cars
2016	9 years in 2025	14.0%	1,889	27.1%
2017	8 years in 2025	13.7%	9,536	23.8%
2018	7 years in 2025	13.4%	8,968	20.6%
2019	6 years in 2025	11.9%	10,830	17.8%
2020	5 years in 2025	11.3%	7,857	15.3%
2021	4 years in 2025	11.6%	7,530	13.4%
2022	3 years in 2025	8.8%	5,301	12.1%

More on the SEAT Ateca

Read this with care. A fail rate is not a measure of build quality. How far cars are driven, how they are used and how well owners maintain them all change it, and wear items such as tyres and brake pads are common fails. Compare a model only with cars of the same age. Methodology and limits.

Looking at one SEAT Ateca?

These are figures for the model, not for one car. The VetTheCar Buying Report looks at a single car: its MOT tests, defects, advisories and mileage readings.

See an example report Browse the car tools

Source

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data, class 4 normal MOT tests, 2022 to 2025. MOT data updated 22 September 2026.

Not affiliated with or endorsed by DVSA. How we calculate these figures · Data sources