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SEAT Ateca, Buying guide, MOT record, UK numbers and recalls

73,964 SEAT Atecas are licensed in the UK. In 2025 they passed 87.9% of initial MOT tests, 15.6 points above the 72.3% UK average.

Looking at a specific Ateca? Check its finance, write-off, stolen, mileage and keeper history. £15, no account needed.

SEAT Ateca at the MOT

87.9% of 52,177 initial tests passed in 2025, ranking the Ateca 70th of 575 models. SEAT Atecas aged 3 to 5 years passed 88.8% of MOT tests in 2025; for examples aged 6 to 10 years that fell to 86.3%.

First-time pass rate, 2025

Share of initial tests passed, retests excluded.

  • SEAT Ateca87.9%
  • All SEAT modelsThe Ateca is 13.9 pts ahead74%
  • All cars72.3%

Pass rate by age at test

SEAT Ateca tests in 2025.

  • 3 to 5 years23,584 tests88.8%
  • 6 to 10 years24,073 tests86.3%

Where Atecas fail

Share of all failure items recorded on SEAT Ateca tests in 2025.

  • Tyres32.2%
  • Brakes18%
  • Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment17%
  • Suspension11.4%
  • Visibility10.6%

The items testers recorded most often were tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm (14.5%), brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick (11.6%) and condition has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords (8.3%).

The MOT page lists every common Ateca MOT failure. For one car's own results and advisories, run a free MOT history check.

Full SEAT Ateca MOT record

What to look at on a viewing

The Ateca's most common failure areas, and what a tester checks in each.

  1. Tyres

    Check tread depth across the full width of every tyre (the legal minimum is 1.6mm), and look for cuts, bulges and uneven wear.32.2% of Ateca failure items

  2. Brakes

    Make sure the pedal feels firm, the car stops in a straight line, the handbrake holds on a slope and no brake warning light is showing.18% of Ateca failure items

  3. Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment

    Walk round with every light on: headlights, brake lights, indicators, fog lights and the number plate lamp. Check no warning lights stay on after starting.17% of Ateca failure items

SEAT Atecas in the UK

73,964 were licensed at the end of June 2026. The number licensed has grown 246% since the end of 2018.

Change since 2018
+246%from 21,371 licensed
Typical year of first use
2020half of those licensed at the end of 2025 were first used in 2020 or earlier
First registered in 2025
2,927against 11,313 in 2019
Declared off the road
3460.5% of those registered, under SORN

Licensed SEAT Atecas since 2016

Licensed at each year end and in the latest quarter.

Show the figures
DateLicensed
End of 20161,984
End of 201711,993
End of 201821,371
End of 201932,007
End of 202038,938
End of 202146,648
End of 202252,030
End of 202360,612
End of 202471,314
End of 202574,137
End of June 202673,964

How old they are

Licensed SEAT Atecas by year of first use.

  • Licensed at the end of 2025
  • First registered that year
Show the figures
First usedLicensed, end 2025First registered that year
20252,7832,927
202410,73611,162
20239,1869,512
20224,9155,218
20217,3657,646
20207,7388,040
201910,76411,313
20189,0289,479
20179,71410,387
20161,9002,021

Ateca engines and fuel

1.5 litre engines made up 42% of SEAT Ateca MOT tests in 2025, followed by 2.0 litre at 17%. Petrol accounts for 82% of licensed Atecas and diesel for 18%.

Engine size at MOT, 2025

Share of 52,177 initial MOT tests in 2025.

  • 1.5 litre42.4%
  • 2.0 litre17.4%
  • 1.0 litre15.2%
  • 1.4 litre13.1%
  • 1.6 litre11.9%

Fuel type, licensed Atecas

DfT licensing statistics, June 2026.

FuelLicensedShare
Petrol60,37382%
Diesel13,59018%
Gas1<0.1%

SEAT Ateca recalls

11 DVSA safety recalls launched from 2010 to July 2026 name the SEAT Ateca. The 8 most recent are below. Each covers vehicles built in a set period, so a recall does not mean every Ateca is affected.

  1. Sep 2023 R/2023/273

    Front driver airbag replacement

    Atecas built Oct 2016 to Mar 2017 · 6,456 vehicles across the whole recall

    Defect and remedy
    Defect
    In vehicles produced in a specific period with airbags from manufacturer Takata in the event of an accident with airbag activation the driver airbag gas generator housing may explode.
    Remedy
    Inspect the driver's airbag and replace it if necessary.

  2. Mar 2022 R/2022/076

    Engine design covers could detach from their fixing

    Atecas built Oct 2020 to Feb 2022 · 2,309 vehicles across the whole recall

    Defect and remedy
    Defect
    In some vehicles within the range of specified VINs it is possible that they have engine design covers installed that could detach from their fixing depending on use (very sporty driving or poor road conditions) and the operating time.
    Remedy
    The engine design cover must be removed on all affected vehicles.

  3. Oct 2019 R/2019/356

    Possible fault in a turn signal

    Atecas built Nov 2016 to Jul 2018 · 23,732 vehicles across the whole recall

    Defect and remedy
    Defect
    In the event of a turn signal (indicator) fault the driver may not realise
    Remedy
    Reprogram the on-board network control unit

  4. Sep 2019 R/2019/305

    At low engine speeds the engine produces insufficient torque

    Atecas built Sep 2018 to Jun 2019 · 2,042 vehicles across the whole recall

    Defect and remedy
    Defect
    Too little torque may be provided by the engine at low engine speeds.
    Remedy
    On the affected vehicles the software of the engine control unit must be updated.

  5. Jul 2019 R/2019/230

    Cracks in the right side of the seat frame/pan

    Atecas built Feb 2019 · 122 vehicles across the whole recall

    Defect and remedy
    Defect
    There is a possibility that due to a manufacturing error there is a crack on the frame of the left front seat.
    Remedy
    Check and replace the seat frame if a crack is found.

  6. May 2019 R/2019/157

    The driver's air bag may not inflate fast enough in the event of activation

    Atecas built Dec 2017 · 50 vehicles across the whole recall

    Defect and remedy
    Defect
    Drivers air bag may not inflate at the correct rate.
    Remedy
    Replace the drivers front air bag.

  7. Mar 2019 R/2019/078

    Internal safety pins may be missing from the rear seat centre headrest

    Atecas built Apr 2018 to Jun 2018 · 2,477 vehicles across the whole recall

    Defect and remedy
    Defect
    The centre rear head restraint may not be to specification.
    Remedy
    Check the head restraint and replace if necessary.

  8. Dec 2018 R/2018/353

    Possible deviations in a weld in the rear seats

    Atecas built May 2018 to Aug 2018 · 2 vehicles across the whole recall

    Defect and remedy
    Defect
    The rear back rest head restraint mounting is not correctly welded.
    Remedy
    Check and replace rear back rest frame if required.
How to check a specific Ateca for recalls

Other SEAT models

The most-tested SEAT models in 2025, against the Ateca's 87.9% MOT pass rate.

All 11 SEAT models

SEAT Ateca FAQs

How many SEAT Atecas are there in the UK?

73,964 SEAT Atecas were licensed in the UK at the end of June 2026, with a further 346 declared off the road (SORN), according to DfT vehicle licensing statistics.

Is the SEAT Ateca reliable?

MOT data does not measure reliability. It records whether a car met the roadworthiness standard on the day of its test. What it does show is an 87.9% first-time pass rate for the SEAT Ateca across 52,177 tests in 2025, above the 72.3% average for all cars.

Has the SEAT Ateca had any recalls?

11 DVSA safety recalls launched from 2010 to July 2026 name the SEAT Ateca. The most recent was published in September 2023. A recall applies to vehicles built in a set period, so check a specific car on the GOV.UK vehicle recall checker.

What should I check before buying a used SEAT Ateca?

On the car itself, start with the areas it most often fails on: tyres, brakes and lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment. Then check the individual car's own records. Outstanding finance, insurance write-offs and police stolen markers are not part of the MOT record, so they take a history check.

How do I check a SEAT Ateca's history?

Enter the registration of the specific car. A Carpeep car history check reports outstanding finance, write-off category, stolen markers, mileage history, previous keepers, MOT and tax status, import and export markers and scrapped status in one £15 report.

Already found an Ateca?

Check its finance, write-off, theft, mileage and keeper history with a £15 vehicle history report.

Across the 1,382 vehicles of every make Carpeep has checked since November 2025, 19% had outstanding finance recorded and 13% an insurance write-off. More on the SEAT history check. To confirm a car's identity, see the SEAT VIN check.

  • Outstanding finance
  • Write-off records
  • Stolen markers
  • Mileage history
  • Previous keepers

MOT figures are aggregated from the DVSA MOT Anonymised data set for 2025 (class 4 initial tests, retests excluded), which also gives the engine sizes. Licensed, SORN, fuel and registration figures are from the Department for Transport vehicle licensing statistics (VEH0120, VEH0124, VEH0160). Recalls are from the DVSA vehicle recalls data, with recalls launched up to July 2026. Government data is used under the Open Government Licence v3.0. MOT results describe roadworthiness at test, not mechanical reliability. History-check findings are anonymous counts from reports bought on Carpeep, each vehicle counted once, and are published only where at least 100 vehicles returned an answer.