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MOT fail rates

SEAT Ibiza MOT fail rate by age

How often the SEAT Ibiza fails its MOT at each age, compared with all cars of the same age, and what it fails on. From 775,282 DVSA MOT tests taken 2022 to 2025.

MOT data updated

At 9 years, the most tested age

MOT fail rate at age 9 (n=73,557)34.5%
All cars at 9 years (n=9,949,012)27.1%
Median mileage at test65,505
All cars, median mileage68,033

257 of 315 model groups with enough tests fail less often at 9 years.

What stands out

  • At 3 years the SEAT Ibiza fails 11.5% of MOTs (35,715 tests), about the same as the 12.1% for all cars that age. At 22 years it fails 45.0% (1,250 tests), 4.0 points above the 41.0% average.
  • The gap is widest at 7 years: 8.2 points above all cars.
  • Its most common structural or mechanical fail item at 9 years: Suspension arm bush worn, at 6.8 per 100 MOTs.

MOT fail rate by age

3 years 22 years 56.0%

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

SEAT Ibiza: share of MOT tests that failed, by age, against all cars. Ages with fewer than 1,000 tests are not shown.
AgeMOT fail rateTests (n)All carsDifferenceMedian mileage
3 years11.5%35,71512.1%−0.6 pts20,906 miles
4 years12.9%43,26013.4%−0.4 pts28,029 miles
5 years18.3%50,47115.3%+3.0 pts35,228 miles
6 years24.3%60,85117.8%+6.5 pts42,720 miles
7 years28.8%66,07220.6%+8.2 pts50,425 miles
8 years31.0%72,78123.8%+7.3 pts57,702 miles
9 years34.5%73,55727.1%+7.4 pts65,505 miles
10 years36.6%69,06430.3%+6.3 pts72,706 miles
11 years38.5%65,33533.3%+5.2 pts79,917 miles
12 years40.2%56,80636.0%+4.2 pts86,770 miles
13 years42.5%49,19238.3%+4.2 pts91,512 miles
14 years45.3%40,75640.3%+5.0 pts95,854 miles
15 years47.5%30,53741.6%+5.9 pts98,359 miles
16 years49.0%22,28342.6%+6.5 pts100,045 miles
17 years50.9%14,34943.1%+7.8 pts99,947 miles
18 years50.1%9,73443.3%+6.8 pts98,615 miles
19 years50.0%6,69743.2%+6.8 pts96,646 miles
20 years49.1%4,10042.8%+6.3 pts93,543 miles
21 years48.1%2,47242.1%+6.1 pts91,585 miles
22 years45.0%1,25041.0%+4.0 pts90,566 miles

Most common fail items at 9 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 itemPer 100 MOTs
Suspension arm bush worn Major6.8
Shock absorber leaking Major2.8
Coil spring broken Major2.4

Out of 73,557 MOTs. A test with two faults counts twice.

Wear and upkeep

Fail itemPer 100 MOTs
Tyre tread below 1.6 mm Dangerous5.3
Wipers not clearing screen Major3.1
Dipped headlight not working Major2.9
Headlamp aim: projected beam image is obviously incorrect Major2.7
Washers: provides insufficient washer liquid Major2.5
Washers: not working Major2.3
Registration plate lamp(s): inoperative in the case of a single lamp or all lamps Major2.2

Out of 73,557 MOTs. A test with two faults counts twice.

Other models at 9 years

ModelMOT fail rateTests (n)All cars
SEAT Leon21.4%64,01327.1%
SEAT Mii23.4%11,63127.1%
SEAT Alhambra25.2%9,85027.1%

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 .

Latest MOT age with at least 1,000 tests for each first-use year.
First usedAge at testMOT fail rateTests (n)All cars
200320 years in 202351.3%1,23942.8%
200420 years in 202448.8%1,18542.8%
200520 years in 202548.7%1,11242.8%
200619 years in 202549.7%2,05243.2%
200718 years in 202550.7%3,02243.3%
200817 years in 202550.5%4,48843.1%
200916 years in 202546.4%7,71442.6%
201015 years in 202544.1%9,48141.6%
201114 years in 202542.8%12,81440.3%
201213 years in 202540.6%12,85538.3%
201312 years in 202540.8%15,92036.0%
201411 years in 202538.4%19,09033.3%
201510 years in 202536.5%17,83330.3%
20169 years in 202533.3%18,20627.1%
20178 years in 202529.0%15,76623.8%
20187 years in 202527.6%13,01220.6%
20196 years in 202517.5%13,11117.8%
20205 years in 202514.2%8,15515.3%
20214 years in 202512.5%8,50413.4%
20223 years in 202511.8%5,30912.1%

More on the SEAT Ibiza

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 Ibiza?

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