Pass rate
75.4%
Around average — 2.5 pts ahead of the 72.9% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 1,973 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £46–£145
2002 SEAT Leon MOT pass rate
- 2002
- typical 123,399 mi
Check your postcode
Most common fault
Suspension
21.6% of faults · 21.0% nationally
mostly worn arm bushes, split ball-joint boots and broken coil springs.
Part only £35–£75 for Suspension pin or bush excessively worn. What fitting it takes →
10.1 pts down across model years — 11.1% in 2002, 1.0% in 2021.
Which year to buy
- Best 2021 90.0% pass
- Avoid 2006 72.1% pass
Across the 23 years on record, a spread of 17.9 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 69.4%
- Typical mileage
- 123k mi
The 2002 SEAT Leon MOT pass rate is 75.4% of its MOT tests — 2.5 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. Suspension is the biggest single reason it fails, at 21.6% of what testers record.
Expert verdict
Body & chassis: 2.0× the national share
Body & chassis accounts for 11.0% of everything recorded on the 2002 SEAT Leon, against 5.6% nationally — 5.4 points above. Suspension is still the single largest share at 21.6%, but at 21.0% nationally that one is ordinary. Look underneath for corrosion near the jacking points and suspension mounts; surface rust is normal, flaking metal is not.
- When it fails, it costs. Only 24% of this model’s typical repairs come in under £30 in parts — the failures here tend to be the kind that need a garage rather than a bulb.
Written from this page's own figures: fault shares against the national composition, the like-for-like pass rate, and the priced repair list. How these are worked out
Watching a SEAT Leon? Get an email when these numbers change .
How does the 2002 SEAT Leon compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 72.9%, so this figure is 2.5 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 69.4%. The median 2002 SEAT Leon in this dataset had covered 123,399 mi.
81% of the tests on this vehicle ran on Petrol, which passed 75.3% of the time. Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 75.8% of the time, April–September 74.9%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Joints constant velocity boot severely deteriorated", noted on 8.72% of tests.
- 1,973 recorded tests behind this page.
- 75.4% overall pass rate, 69.4% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the SEAT Leon, the average is 83.1% — best year 2021 (90.0%), worst 2006 (72.1%).
Figures count every completed test on this vehicle-year in the dataset, including retests. See methodology for the exact definition.
This page's data
- Tests analysed
- 1,973
- Typical mileage (median)
- 123,399 mi
- Make and model
- SEAT Leon
- Updated
- 2026-11-07
Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data (2023–2025), OGL v3.0.
Top part to budget for
Body Panel Repair
Typically a garage job — get quotes before committing.
Does mileage affect the Leon MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 63% so small gaps stay visible.
Fuel type and reliability
Pass rate by fuel type. Petrol is the most common here (81% of tests).
Where the SEAT Leon is most common
Across all Leon model years on record (2000–2022): 263,914 SEAT Leon cars tested in a recordable postcode area, across 605,458 tests. Birmingham (B) has the most, with 12,979 cars tested there. Cars are counted by the postcode area of the MOT station, so this is where they were tested, not necessarily where their owners live.
| # | Postcode area | Cars | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Birmingham (B) | 12,979 | 87.7% |
| 2 | Sheffield (S) | 8,583 | 85.3% |
| 3 | Leicester (LE) | 6,211 | 83.6% |
| 4 | Nottingham (NG) | 5,608 | 81.9% |
| 5 | Bradford (BD) | 5,553 | 84.3% |
| 6 | Derby (DE) | 5,347 | 84.0% |
| 7 | Leeds (LS) | 5,266 | 81.6% |
| 8 | Manchester (M) | 5,194 | 84.3% |
| 9 | Glasgow (G) | 4,843 | 82.4% |
| 10 | Coventry (CV) | 4,699 | 84.3% |
| 11 | Bristol (BS) | 4,605 | 80.2% |
| 12 | Doncaster (DN) | 4,553 | 83.0% |
| 13 | Peterborough (PE) | 4,553 | 84.0% |
| 14 | Newcastle upon Tyne (NE) | 4,446 | 83.4% |
| 15 | Wakefield (WF) | 4,049 | 82.3% |
| 16 | Cardiff (CF) | 3,995 | 81.4% |
| 17 | Northampton (NN) | 3,894 | 80.4% |
| 18 | Stoke On Trent (ST) | 3,483 | 82.1% |
| 19 | Oldham (OL) | 3,403 | 82.4% |
| 20 | Edinburgh (EH) | 3,318 | 80.2% |
The twenty areas with the most SEAT Leon cars in the record, sorted by car count — sort the columns for a different question. Cars tested at a station whose postcode area could not be resolved are counted in the model's total but in no area, so the shares add up to slightly under 100% even across every area, and an area's cars are a subset of the model's. Pass rate is blank below 30 tests in an area, where a percentage is noise rather than a finding. How this model's pass rate varies by postcode →
Regional pass rates for the Leon
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South East | 506 | 78.7% |
| South West | 372 | 64.0% |
| West Midlands | 244 | 79.9% |
| East of England | 240 | 77.5% |
| North West | 131 | 80.2% |
| East Midlands | 126 | 71.4% |
| Yorkshire | 107 | 79.4% |
| Wales | 71 | 76.1% |
| London | 66 | 83.3% |
| Scotland | 66 | 77.3% |
| North East | 44 | 70.5% |
Regions come from the postcode area recorded at the test station. Areas on region borders are assigned to the region with the majority of their population.
What fails a 2002 Leon
Everything a tester recorded on this vehicle, grouped into the inspection sections that produced it. The notch on each bar is the national share, so you can see at a glance whether this car is unusual or just ordinary.
A test can record several items, so these percentages do not add up to 100%. The exact strings, with prices, are in the full DVSA record at the bottom of this page.
Before your test
Three checks worth doing on a 2002 Leon
These are not generic tips — they are the faults recorded most often on this exact model, rewritten as things you can check yourself. All three take about ten minutes and cost nothing.
-
Check the suspension joints 4.5% of tests
“track rod end ball joint dust cover damaged or deteriorated,”
With the car parked on level ground, rock the top of each front wheel in and out while someone watches the suspension arm. Clunks, or rubber boots split and greasy, are what testers record here.
-
Check the lights 4.4% of tests
“registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources”
Switch everything on and walk round the car: both headlamps on dip and main, every indicator, both brake lights, reverse, fog and the two number-plate lamps. A bulb is a few pounds and a five-minute job.
-
Check the windscreen 4.2% of tests
“windscreen damaged”
Check the driver’s side of the screen within the swept area for chips and cracks; anything larger than 10mm in the driver’s central view is a fail. Most chips can be resin-repaired for far less than a new screen.
Shares are the proportion of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item, so they overlap: one test can record several.
What it costs to get a 2002 Leon through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £46–£145 — and 24% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £46–£145
- Cheapest common item: registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the…
- £5–£20
- Dearest common item: joints constant velocity boot severely…
- £80–£250
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 50%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 24%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 1,973 MOT tests on this vehicle. They exclude diagnostics, retest fees and garage labour where the part is a DIY fit, and they are not figures from the DVSA dataset. Older and higher-mileage examples cost more than the average. How these estimates are built → · All MOT repair costs → · Cheapest cars to put through a test →
Every year of the Leon, side by side
23 model years on record, from 2000 to 2022. Across them the pass rate runs from 72.1% to 90.0% — a spread of 17.9 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2000 73.2% pins and bushes pin or bush…
- 2001 75.5% joints constant velocity boot…
- 2002 75.4%joints constant velocity boot…
- 2003 75.8% joints constant velocity boot…
- 2004 75.2% joints constant velocity boot…
- 2005 74.9% joints constant velocity boot…
- 2006 72.1% joints constant velocity boot…
- 2007 74.1% joints constant velocity boot…
- 2008 74.2% joints constant velocity boot…
- 2009 75.0% joints constant velocity boot…
- 2010 75.3% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2011 76.5% coil spring fractured or broken
- 2012 78.3% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2013 81.8% coil spring fractured or broken
- 2014 84.5% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2015 85.3% shock absorbers has a serious…
- 2016 86.4% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2017 86.4% coil spring fractured or broken
- 2018 86.5% coil spring fractured or broken
- 2019 86.4% coil spring fractured or broken
- 2020 88.9% has a cut in excess of the…
- 2021 90.0% has a cut in excess of the…
- 2022 89.8% has a cut in excess of the…
Colour is the pass rate on a fixed scale, so a block means the same thing on any model. Each year links to its own page with the full fault breakdown.
Compare the 2002 SEAT Leon with another year
The raw pass rate mostly measures age. The year comparison adds the like-for-like figure, the mileage bands and the repair bill.
Other 2002 cars with a similar record
- Land Rover Discovery 75.4%
- Toyota RAV4 75.3%
- Mazda Mx-5 75.2%
- Volvo S60 75.2%
- Toyota Rav-4 75.7%
- Rover 25 75.7%
Closest pass rates among 2002 cars with at least 2,000 tests, so a small sample cannot flatter itself into the list. See the full rankings: best and worst MOT pass rates.
The full DVSA record for the 2002 SEAT Leon 10 failure items · 6 advisories · 10 inspection categories · mileage brackets · all of it in the page, none of it above the fold
Every inspection category
Shares of the 6,409 individual items recorded on this vehicle, and the same share across all cars nationally. A single test can record several items, so a row is not a percentage of tests.
| Category | Items | This car | Nationally | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Suspension | 1,401 | 21.60% | 20.98% | +0.62 |
| Brakes | 1,395 | 21.50% | 20.89% | +0.61 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 785 | 12.10% | 12.21% | −0.11 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 716 | 11.00% | 5.57% | +5.43 |
| Tyres | 660 | 10.20% | 19.76% | −9.56 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 639 | 9.80% | 5.52% | +4.28 |
| Steering | 272 | 4.20% | 2.57% | +1.63 |
| Visibility | 226 | 3.50% | 4.97% | −1.47 |
| Non-component advisories | 193 | 3.00% | 4.18% | −1.18 |
| Identification of the vehicle | 122 | 1.90% | 1.76% | +0.14 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Joints constant velocity boot severely deteriorated Body, chassis, structure | Minor | 8.7% | £80–250 |
| Track rod end ball joint dust cover damaged or deteriorated, but preventing the ingress of dirt Steering | Minor | 4.5% | £18–45 |
| Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 4.4% | £5–20 |
| Joints constant velocity boot split or insecure, no longer prevents the ingress of dirt Body, chassis, structure | Major | 4.3% | £80–250 |
| Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view Visibility | Minor | 4.2% | £80–200 |
| Pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn Suspension | Major | 3.5% | £40–150 |
| Headlamp lens slightly defective Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 2.7% | £5–25 |
| Coil spring fractured or broken Suspension | Major | 2.7% | £25–65 |
| Position lamp not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 2.5% | £5–25 |
| Catalyst emissions carbon monoxide content after 2nd fast idle exceeds manufacturer's specified limits Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 2.2% | £60–250 |
Severity is as recorded: Major and Dangerous fail the test outright; Minor and Advisory do not. Costs are estimates from typical UK parts prices — see how they are built.
What testers noted without failing the car
Advisories are the early warnings — the same parts a year or two before they fail. Reading them is how you tell a car that has been maintained from one that has been patched.
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn Suspension | Advisory | 18.6% | £40–150 |
| Engine oil leaks leaking excessively from engine Noise, emissions and leaks | Advisory | 18.0% | £200–700 |
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Advisory | 17.6% | £45–95 |
| Brake discs in such a condition that it is seriously weakened Brakes | Advisory | 16.6% | £45–110 |
| Coil spring corroded so that its cross sectional area is reduced and seriously weakened Suspension | Advisory | 16.4% | £25–65 |
| Rigid brake pipes excessively corroded Brakes | Advisory | 16.3% | £80–180 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 7 | 71.4% | 25,588 mi |
| 30-60k | 143 | 83.9% | 46,394 mi |
| 60-90k | 256 | 76.6% | 77,992 mi |
| 90-120k | 510 | 73.7% | 105,876 mi |
| 120k+ | 1,048 | 75.0% | 155,079 mi |
Source: 1,973 recorded tests on this vehicle-year. Every row above is recomputed from the same DVSA extract as the rest of the page — see the methodology.
2002 Leon MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2002 SEAT Leon?
75.4% of the 1,973 2002 SEAT Leon tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 72.9% for cars first used in 2002. First-attempt pass rate: 69.4%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2002 SEAT Leon?
The three most recorded items are joints constant velocity boot severely deteriorated (8.72%), track rod end ball joint dust cover damaged or deteriorated, but preventing the ingress of dirt (4.46%), registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources (4.41%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2002 SEAT Leon MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 71.4% of the time, falling to 75.0% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2002 SEAT Leon in this dataset had covered 123,399 mi.
Which fuel type is most reliable for a 2002 SEAT Leon?
Petrol: 75.3% pass rate across 1,593 tests. Diesel: 75.8% pass rate across 380 tests. Shares are of the tests on this vehicle that recorded each fuel type.
Does the season affect the 2002 SEAT Leon MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 75.8% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 74.9%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.