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MOT fail rates

SEAT Leon MOT fail rate by age

How often the SEAT Leon fails its MOT at each age, compared with all cars of the same age, and what it fails on. From 739,732 DVSA MOT tests taken 2022 to 2025.

MOT data updated

At 6 years, the most tested age

MOT fail rate at age 6 (n=74,889)18.6%
All cars at 6 years (n=10,382,720)17.8%
Median mileage at test50,070
All cars, median mileage44,951

219 of 340 model groups with enough tests fail less often at 6 years.

What stands out

  • At 3 years the SEAT Leon fails 12.8% of MOTs (49,082 tests), about the same as the 12.1% for all cars that age. At 22 years it fails 37.7% (1,829 tests), 3.3 points below the 41.0% average.
  • The gap is widest at 10 years: 6.1 points below all cars.
  • Its most common structural or mechanical fail item at 6 years: Coil spring broken, at 3.9 per 100 MOTs.

MOT fail rate by age

3 years 22 years 47.6%

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

SEAT Leon: 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 years12.8%49,08212.1%+0.7 pts24,561 miles
4 years14.0%66,48613.4%+0.7 pts32,615 miles
5 years16.2%72,88915.3%+0.9 pts41,103 miles
6 years18.6%74,88917.8%+0.8 pts50,070 miles
7 years19.4%72,86020.6%−1.3 pts59,907 miles
8 years20.0%70,67023.8%−3.8 pts70,241 miles
9 years21.4%64,01327.1%−5.7 pts79,474 miles
10 years24.2%56,82330.3%−6.1 pts88,690 miles
11 years27.4%46,49133.3%−5.8 pts96,854 miles
12 years33.0%33,75136.0%−3.0 pts104,353 miles
13 years36.7%27,07538.3%−1.6 pts110,070 miles
14 years38.4%23,21440.3%−1.9 pts114,724 miles
15 years39.6%21,66441.6%−2.0 pts119,422 miles
16 years41.7%18,48542.6%−0.9 pts122,616 miles
17 years42.4%14,03043.1%−0.7 pts125,426 miles
18 years41.0%10,14243.3%−2.2 pts127,568 miles
19 years41.6%7,13443.2%−1.6 pts127,919 miles
20 years39.6%4,93042.8%−3.2 pts128,529 miles
21 years38.7%3,27542.1%−3.4 pts128,296 miles
22 years37.7%1,82941.0%−3.3 pts124,467 miles

Most common fail items at 6 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
Coil spring broken Major3.9
Shock absorber leaking Major2.4

Out of 74,889 MOTs. A test with two faults counts twice.

Wear and upkeep

Fail itemPer 100 MOTs
Tyre tread below 1.6 mm Dangerous3.5
Brake pads under 1.5 mm Dangerous2.7
Wipers not clearing screen Major2.3
Tyre condition: has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords Major1.6
Tyre with cords exposed Dangerous1.5
Washers: provides insufficient washer liquid Major1.3
Headlamp aim: too low Major1.1
Tyre condition: has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Dangerous0.7

Out of 74,889 MOTs. A test with two faults counts twice.

Other models at 6 years

ModelMOT fail rateTests (n)All cars
SEAT Ibiza24.3%60,85117.8%
SEAT Ateca12.4%31,51917.8%
SEAT Arona19.2%27,57017.8%

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
200321 years in 202438.3%1,06642.1%
200421 years in 202537.7%1,11142.1%
200520 years in 202539.2%1,27042.8%
200619 years in 202544.1%2,06743.2%
200718 years in 202539.8%3,24943.3%
200817 years in 202539.7%3,72243.1%
200916 years in 202539.8%4,06842.6%
201015 years in 202538.7%5,05241.6%
201114 years in 202536.2%5,83440.3%
201213 years in 202534.2%8,13938.3%
201312 years in 202528.4%11,11436.0%
201411 years in 202523.3%18,19133.3%
201510 years in 202521.2%16,82330.3%
20169 years in 202520.3%15,65227.1%
20178 years in 202521.4%18,12823.8%
20187 years in 202521.4%21,02720.6%
20196 years in 202522.2%19,29117.8%
20205 years in 202516.0%13,62315.3%
20214 years in 202512.7%11,16713.4%

More on the SEAT Leon

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 Leon?

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