Pass rate
86.5%
Above average — 1.4 pts behind the 87.9% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 70,648 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £32–£76
2018 SEAT Leon MOT pass rate
- 2018
- typical 49,749 mi
Check your postcode
Most common fault
Tyres
31.0% of faults · 19.8% nationally
mostly tread below the limit, cuts and sidewall bulges.
Part only £55–£85 for Tread depth below 1.6 mm. What fitting it takes →
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
- 84.5%
- Typical mileage
- 50k mi
The 2018 SEAT Leon MOT pass rate is 86.5% of its MOT tests — 1.4 points behind what its age and mileage predict. Tyres is the biggest single reason it fails, at 31.0% of what testers record.
Expert verdict
Tyres: 1.6× the national share
Tyres make up 31.0% of everything recorded on the 2018 SEAT Leon, against 19.8% nationally — 11.2 points above. Check all four tyres yourself, including the inner shoulders, and look at the date stamp — a tyre can pass on tread and still be six years old.
- When it fails, it costs. Only 20% 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 2018 SEAT Leon compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 87.9%, so this figure is 1.4 points behind what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 84.5%. The median 2018 SEAT Leon in this dataset had covered 49,749 mi.
The most common fuel recorded here is Petrol — 79% of tests, with a 86.6% pass rate. Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 87.4% of the time, April–September 85.6%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Coil spring fractured or broken", noted on 3.09% of tests.
- 70,648 recorded tests behind this page.
- 86.5% overall pass rate, 84.5% 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
- 70,648
- Typical mileage (median)
- 49,749 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
Coil Spring
Usually a DIY or independent-garage job.
Does mileage affect the Leon MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 74% so small gaps stay visible.
Fuel type and reliability
Pass rate by fuel type. Petrol is the most common here (79% 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 | 9,938 | 87.3% |
| North West | 9,553 | 87.0% |
| Yorkshire | 9,266 | 85.5% |
| West Midlands | 8,105 | 87.6% |
| Scotland | 7,902 | 84.1% |
| South West | 6,144 | 86.0% |
| East Midlands | 5,900 | 85.0% |
| East of England | 5,589 | 88.4% |
| North East | 3,538 | 87.7% |
| Wales | 3,317 | 85.4% |
| London | 1,396 | 89.4% |
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 2018 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 2018 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 coil springs 3.1% of tests
“coil spring fractured or broken”
Look up inside each wheel arch with a torch, all the way round the spring. A snapped spring usually breaks at the very bottom coil, where a quick glance will not reach.
-
Check the shock absorbers 1.6% of tests
“shock absorbers has a serious fluid leak”
Press down hard on each corner of the car and let go. It should settle in one bounce; if it keeps rocking, or you can see oil weeping down a shock absorber, that is the fault a tester will find.
-
Check the tyre tread 1.6% of tests
“tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm”
Check all four tyres cold, including the inner shoulder where wear hides — 1.6mm across the central three-quarters is the legal limit, and most testers fail at 1.6mm without argument.
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 2018 Leon through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £32–£76 — and 20% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £32–£76
- Cheapest common item: washers provides insufficient washer liquid
- £5–£15
- Dearest common item: windscreen damaged
- £80–£200
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 90%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 20%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 70,648 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 2018 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 2018 cars with a similar record
- Volkswagen Amarok 86.5%
- Skoda Fabia 86.4%
- Audi A4 86.6%
- Vauxhall Insignia 86.6%
- Mercedes-Benz Cla 86.4%
- Ford S-Max 86.4%
Closest pass rates among 2018 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 2018 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 77,801 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tyres | 24,261 | 31.00% | 19.76% | +11.24 |
| Suspension | 20,485 | 26.20% | 20.98% | +5.22 |
| Brakes | 18,348 | 23.50% | 20.89% | +2.61 |
| Non-component advisories | 4,585 | 5.90% | 4.18% | +1.72 |
| Visibility | 4,150 | 5.30% | 4.97% | +0.33 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 2,737 | 3.50% | 12.21% | −8.71 |
| Identification of the vehicle | 1,107 | 1.40% | 1.76% | −0.36 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 929 | 1.20% | 5.52% | −4.32 |
| Road Wheels | 711 | 0.90% | 0.75% | +0.15 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 488 | 0.60% | 5.57% | −4.97 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coil spring fractured or broken Suspension | Major | 3.1% | £25–65 |
| Shock absorbers has a serious fluid leak Suspension | Major | 1.6% | £30–75 |
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Major | 1.6% | £45–95 |
| Brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick Brakes | Major | 1.4% | £18–45 |
| Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view Visibility | Minor | 1.3% | £80–200 |
| Has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords Tyres | Major | 1.2% | £45–95 |
| Wipers blade defective Visibility | Minor | 0.99% | £8–22 |
| Wipers does not clear the windscreen effectively Visibility | Major | 0.98% | £8–22 |
| Washers provides insufficient washer liquid Visibility | Rectified | 0.72% | £5–15 |
| Has ply or cords exposed Tyres | Major | 0.69% | £45–95 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shock absorbers has a serious fluid leak Suspension | Advisory | 21.7% | £30–75 |
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Advisory | 15.3% | £45–95 |
| Brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick Brakes | Advisory | 13.5% | £18–45 |
| Has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Tyres | Advisory | 9.2% | £45–95 |
| Brake discs in such a condition that it is seriously weakened Brakes | Advisory | 6.8% | £45–110 |
| Non-component advisories Child Seat fitted not allowing full inspection of adult belt Non-component advisories | Advisory | 3.2% | £20–80 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 8,541 | 92.6% | 23,242 mi |
| 30-60k | 39,761 | 86.8% | 45,075 mi |
| 60-90k | 17,579 | 83.6% | 71,347 mi |
| 90-120k | 3,562 | 82.7% | 101,312 mi |
| 120k+ | 1,197 | 84.9% | 148,184 mi |
Source: 70,648 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.
2018 Leon MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2018 SEAT Leon?
86.5% of the 70,648 2018 SEAT Leon tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 87.9% for cars first used in 2018. First-attempt pass rate: 84.5%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2018 SEAT Leon?
The three most recorded items are coil spring fractured or broken (3.09%), shock absorbers has a serious fluid leak (1.65%), tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm (1.55%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2018 SEAT Leon MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 92.6% of the time, falling to 84.9% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2018 SEAT Leon in this dataset had covered 49,749 mi.
Which fuel type is most reliable for a 2018 SEAT Leon?
Petrol: 86.6% pass rate across 55,594 tests. Diesel: 86.0% pass rate across 15,054 tests. Shares are of the tests on this vehicle that recorded each fuel type.
Does the season affect the 2018 SEAT Leon MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 87.4% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 85.6%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.