SEAT Tarraco MOT Pass Rate & Official DVSA Failure Statistics

SEAT Tarraco MOT History and Failure Rates vs UK National Average

The SEAT Tarraco passed on its first attempt in 86.9%, and its overall record sits +7.3 percentage points above the national average for all cars. These figures come from every recorded DVSA MOT test for the SEAT Tarraco in the 2023–2025 data: 22,238 tests across 5 model years (2019–2023). A test still carries exactly one pass or fail verdict.

Figures are computed from every recorded DVSA test for this model in the 2023–2025 data.

Most Common SEAT Tarraco MOT Problems by Failure Category

Every MOT failure a tester records belongs to one inspection section of the DVSA manual. For the SEAT Tarraco, the Tyres section leads the record — the breakdown below shows where the recorded failures cluster, then the exact strings behind the three biggest sections.

Shares are over the SEAT Tarraco's recorded defect strings, merged across its year pages.

Top Recorded SEAT Tarraco DVSA MOT Test Statistics & Defect Descriptions

The descriptions below are the exact DVSA failure strings testers recorded most often for the SEAT Tarraco, each with how many of the model's 22,238 tests it was noted on.

• "Srs malfunction indicator lamp warning lamp indicates a fault" (Major) — noted on about 445 SEAT Tarraco tests, 2.0% of the model's MOT record.
• "Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view" (Minor) — noted on about 418 SEAT Tarraco tests, 1.9% of the model's MOT record.
• "Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm" (Major) — noted on about 348 SEAT Tarraco tests, 1.6% of the model's MOT record.
• "Has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords" (Major) — noted on about 321 SEAT Tarraco tests, 1.4% of the model's MOT record.
• "Brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick" (Major) — noted on about 267 SEAT Tarraco tests, 1.2% of the model's MOT record.
• "Wipers blade defective" (Minor) — noted on about 188 SEAT Tarraco tests, 0.8% of the model's MOT record.

Best and Worst SEAT Tarraco Model Years by Pass Rate

The strongest SEAT Tarraco model year on record is 2021 (89.6% across 1,294 tests), and the weakest is 2019 (87.9%). The gap between them is 1.7 points. Years with fewer than 50 recorded tests are excluded, so these are the years with enough MOT history to mean something.

Newest model year first. Only years with at least 50 recorded tests are listed.

Pre-MOT Inspection Checklist for SEAT Tarraco Owners

These checks follow this SEAT Tarraco's own most-recorded failure strings, starting with what a tester is most likely to flag on a SEAT Tarraco.

• the lights — “srs malfunction indicator lamp warning lamp indicates a fault”

  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.

• the windscreen — “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.

• the tyre tread — “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.

Derived from the DVSA failure strings testers recorded for the SEAT Tarraco. A check that finds nothing means the item is likely fine, not that the test is guaranteed.

Where the SEAT Tarraco is most common

Across every Tarraco model year on record (2019–2023): 12,006 SEAT Tarraco cars tested in a recordable postcode area, across 22,238 tests. Glasgow (G) has the most, with 406 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.

The twenty areas with the most SEAT Tarraco 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 →

Frequently Asked Questions: SEAT Tarraco MOT & Reliability