SEAT Ateca MOT failure rate and common faults
51,705 SEAT Ateca cars aged 3 to 20 took their MOT in 2025, and 12.2% failed at the first attempt. An average car of the same age failed 16.8% of the time, which makes the SEAT Ateca 28% less likely to fail than the typical car on the road. Here is what fails, and which years to look for.
12.2%
failed first time
51,705 MOT tests in 2025
-28%
vs same age average
average car of this age mix: 16.8%
29 of 208
age adjusted rank
among cars; 1 fails least
67.0
dangerous defects per 1,000
same age average: 73.0
What fails on a SEAT Ateca MOT
Failure items recorded per 1,000 tests, by part of the car, set against an average car with exactly the same spread of ages. A figure well above average is a weak spot worth checking before you buy.
The most common SEAT Ateca MOT failures
The individual failure items testers recorded most often, per 1,000 tests.
| Failure item | Area | Per 1,000 tests |
|---|---|---|
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm | Tyres | 26.9 |
| Brake pads: less than 1.5 mm thick | Brakes | 21.5 |
| Tyres: has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords | Tyres | 15.0 |
| Headlamp aim: too high | Lights and electrics | 11.4 |
| Wipers: does not clear the windscreen effectively | Windscreen, wipers and mirrors | 9.1 |
| Shock absorbers: has a serious fluid leak | Suspension | 8.0 |
| Suspension arms: pin or bush excessively worn | Suspension | 7.7 |
| Tyres: has ply or cords exposed | Tyres | 6.2 |
| Headlamp aim: too low | Lights and electrics | 5.5 |
| Washers: provides insufficient washer liquid | Windscreen, wipers and mirrors | 5.3 |
SEAT Ateca MOT failure rate by year
Every car fails more often as it ages, so each registration year is compared with the average for all cars of the same age. Years with fewer than 500 tests are left out.
| First registered | Tests | Failed | Same age average | Average mileage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 5,275 | 8.8% | 11.4% | 27,300 |
| 2021 | 7,501 | 11.7% | 12.8% | 34,100 |
| 2020 | 7,821 | 11.3% | 14.1% | 40,300 |
| 2019 | 10,792 | 11.9% | 16.5% | 49,500 |
| 2018 | 8,928 | 13.5% | 19.1% | 59,100 |
| 2017 | 9,506 | 13.7% | 21.8% | 66,900 |
| 2016 | 1,882 | 14.0% | 25.1% | 75,000 |
Advisories to look for in a SEAT Ateca's MOT history
An advisory is a tester's warning that something is wearing but has not failed yet. These are the ones written most often on the SEAT Ateca, per 1,000 tests. If the car you are looking at has one of these, ask whether it has been fixed since.
- Tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge259.9
- Brake pads: wearing thin153.9
- Tyres: slightly damaged/cracking or perishing134.4
- Shock absorbers: has light misting of oil127.2
- Brake discs: worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened97.7
- Suspension arms: pin or bush worn but not resulting in excessive movement46.6
Checking a used SEAT Ateca before you buy
The SEAT Ateca has no part of the car that fails well above average for its age, so check the areas that fail most often overall.
Tyres
Check the tread across the full width of every tyre, inner edge included. Uneven wear points to worn suspension or out of line steering geometry.
Brakes
Look through the wheel spokes at the discs for a deep lip or scoring, check the handbrake holds the car on a slope, and feel for a pull to one side when braking hard.
Lights and electrics
Walk round the car with every light on: headlights on dip and main beam, indicators, brake lights, fog lights and the number plate lamp. A pattern of electrical faults costs more than a bulb.
Averages only take you so far. The specific car's MOT history shows whether it has already failed on any of these, how often advisories were ignored, and whether the mileage climbs steadily from test to test. Read our guide to reading a car's MOT history before you go to view it.
Fuel mix of the SEAT Ateca cars tested: Petrol 76%, Diesel 24%. Average age at test 5.9 years, average recorded mileage 49,400.
SEAT Ateca MOT questions
What is the SEAT Ateca MOT failure rate?
12.2% of SEAT Ateca cars failed their first MOT test of 2025, from 51,705 tests on vehicles aged 3 to 20. An average car with the same age mix failed 16.8% of the time, so the SEAT Ateca was 28% less likely to fail.
What fails most often on a SEAT Ateca MOT?
Tyres caused the most failure items, at 61 per 1,000 tests. The single most common failure item was "Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm", recorded 26.9 times per 1,000 tests.
Which SEAT Ateca year has the best MOT record?
Measured against cars of the same age, 2016 registrations did best: 14.0% failed against an average of 25.1% for cars that age. Older cars always fail more often, so compare a year with its age group rather than with newer cars.
Does this tell me whether a particular SEAT Ateca will pass?
No. These are averages across every SEAT Ateca tested in 2025. The car in front of you has its own record: its full MOT history shows every pass, failure and advisory it has had, and it is free to view by registration.
Other SEAT models
- SEAT Ibiza33.9% failed
- SEAT Leon24.0% failed
- SEAT Arona15.8% failed
- SEAT Alhambra25.1% failed
Ranked close to the SEAT Ateca
- Range Rover Sportrank 26
- BMW i3rank 27
- Mini Countrymanrank 28
- Suzuki Celeriorank 30
How these figures are calculated
Source: DVSA Anonymised MOT tests and results, 2025 release. We count first tests of cars and small vans (class 4) aged 3 to 20, so a car that fails and is retested is counted once. A failure includes faults fixed and passed within the same visit. The same age average weights the national failure rate for each age by how many SEAT Ateca cars of that age were tested, so a model is never penalised for having an older fleet. Make and model are as recorded at the test; trim levels are combined. Full method and rankings.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.