87.9%
SEAT Ateca
SEAT Ateca MOT pass rate and common problems
The SEAT Ateca passed 87.9% of its initial MOT tests in 2025, 15.6 percentage points above the 72.3% UK average. The item testers recorded most often was tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm.
Checking a specific car? Its own results, advisories and recorded mileages are in a free MOT history check.
How the Ateca compares
Initial MOT tests in 2025, retests excluded. A car that failed and was repaired at the test station counts as a fail.
74%
SEAT average
72.3%
UK average, all cars
The Ateca runs 13.9 points ahead of the SEAT average. It is 1st of the 11 SEAT models in the data. The average Ateca arrived at its test 5.9 years old with 49,210 miles recorded.
A pass rate records whether cars met the roadworthiness standard on test day. It is not a reliability score, and part of any gap reflects how old the tested cars were.
Ateca MOT pass rate by age
The same 2025 tests split by the car's age at test.
SEAT Ateca cars aged 3 to 5 years passed 88.8% of MOT tests. For cars aged 6 to 10 years that fell to 86.3%, a drop of 2.4 percentage points.
| Age at test | Tests | Pass rate | vs UK average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 to 5 years | 23,584 | 88.8% | 16.5 pts above |
| 6 to 10 years | 24,073 | 86.3% | 14 pts above |
That is a smaller decline than most cars show. The UK average of 72.3% covers cars of every age, so compare like with like.
Where Ateca failures cluster
Every failure item recorded on SEAT Ateca cars in 2025, grouped into the DVSA's test areas.
Tyres and brakes together account for 50.2% of recorded failure items. These are recorded failures across the model, not faults every car has.
The 10 most common Ateca MOT failures
Specific items recorded on SEAT Ateca cars that failed their 2025 MOT, as a share of all recorded failure items.
Together these 10 items make up 64% of everything testers recorded against failed SEAT Ateca cars. The rest is spread across many smaller items, and one failed test often records several at once.
What to look at on a Ateca
The recorded failures above, grouped by area, biggest first.
1
Tyres
Recorded most often: tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm, condition has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords and condition has ply or cords exposed. 26.3% of failure items.
2
Brakes
Recorded most often: brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick. 11.6% of failure items.
3
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment
Recorded most often: headlamp aim too high and headlamp aim too low. 9.3% of failure items.
4
Suspension
Recorded most often: shock absorbers has a serious fluid leak and pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn. 8.8% of failure items.
The car's own MOT history matters more than any model average. A free MOT history check shows whether a specific Ateca has failed on these items before, or had them noted as advisories. Buying one? See the used SEAT Ateca buying guide.
Already found one?
Check its finance, write-off, theft, mileage and keeper history with a £15 vehicle history report.
SEAT Ateca MOT FAQs
What is the SEAT Ateca MOT pass rate?
87.9% of SEAT Ateca cars passed their initial MOT first time in 2025, from 52,177 tests. That is 15.6 percentage points above the 72.3% average for all cars, and ranks 70th of 575 models.
What does a SEAT Ateca most commonly fail its MOT on?
The item testers recorded most often on SEAT Ateca cars failing their 2025 MOT was tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm, on 14.5% of failure items. Next were 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%).
Which area causes the most SEAT Ateca MOT failures?
Across every recorded failure item, the largest area was tyres at 32.2%, followed by brakes at 18%.
Do older SEAT Ateca cars fail their MOT more often?
SEAT Ateca cars aged 3 to 5 years passed 88.8% of MOT tests in 2025, against 86.3% for cars aged 6 to 10 years.
Does this mean every SEAT Ateca has these problems?
No. These are the items testers recorded across every SEAT Ateca that failed in 2025. They show where the model most often needs attention, not the condition of any individual car.
How do I see a specific SEAT Ateca's MOT history?
Enter its registration on the free Carpeep MOT history check to see that car's own test results, failures, advisories and recorded mileages.
MOT figures are aggregated from the DVSA MOT Anonymised data set for 2025: class 4 initial tests, retests excluded, with failure items from failed tests (advisories and minor defects excluded), licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. MOT results describe roadworthiness at test, not mechanical reliability.