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

4,575 SEAT Exeos are licensed in the UK. In 2025 they passed 62% of initial MOT tests, 10.3 points below the 72.3% UK average.

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

SEAT Exeo at the MOT

62% of 4,292 initial tests passed in 2025, ranking the Exeo 471st of 575 models.

First-time pass rate, 2025

Share of initial tests passed, retests excluded.

  • SEAT Exeo62%
  • All SEAT modelsThe Exeo is 12 pts behind74%
  • All cars72.3%

Where Exeos fail

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

  • Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment21.5%
  • Suspension20.3%
  • Brakes17.8%
  • Tyres12.8%
  • Steering10.5%

The items testers recorded most often were coil spring fractured or broken (7.8%), malfunction indicator lamp inoperative or indicates a malfunction (5.4%) and position lamp not working (5.4%).

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

Full SEAT Exeo MOT record

What to look at on a viewing

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

  1. 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.21.5% of Exeo failure items

  2. Suspension

    Listen for knocks over bumps, check the car sits level, and look for leaking shock absorbers and split rubber gaiters.20.3% of Exeo failure items

  3. 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.17.8% of Exeo failure items

SEAT Exeos in the UK

4,575 were licensed at the end of June 2026. The number licensed has fallen 46% since the end of 2014.

Change since 2014
−46%from 8,395 licensed
Typical year of first use
2011half of those licensed at the end of 2025 were first used in 2011 or earlier
Declared off the road
79515% of those registered, under SORN

Licensed SEAT Exeos since 2014

Licensed at each year end and in the latest quarter.

Show the figures
DateLicensed
End of 20148,395
End of 20158,371
End of 20168,253
End of 20178,074
End of 20187,930
End of 20197,597
End of 20207,316
End of 20217,050
End of 20226,601
End of 20236,128
End of 20245,519
End of 20254,929
End of June 20264,575

How old they are

Licensed SEAT Exeos by year of first use.

Show the figures
First usedLicensed, end 2025
2013546
2012993
20111,418
20101,102
2009539

Exeo engines and fuel

2.0 litre engines made up 99% of SEAT Exeo MOT tests in 2025. Diesel accounts for 99% of licensed Exeos and petrol for 1.5%.

Fuel type, licensed Exeos

DfT licensing statistics, June 2026.

FuelLicensedShare
Petrol671%
Diesel4,50899%

SEAT Exeo recalls

3 DVSA safety recalls launched from 1992 to October 2026 name the SEAT Exeo. Each covers vehicles built in a set period, so a recall does not mean every Exeo is affected.

  1. Aug 2025 R/2025/391

    Passenger airbag replacement

    Exeos built Jan 2009 to May 2013 · 8,632 vehicles across the whole recall

    Defect and remedy
    Defect
    In some SEAT EXEO (3R) vehicles within the specified range of VINs with a front passenger airbag by Takata a deterioration of the propellant could occur due to high air humidity and temperature changes. As a result in the event of an accident and the activation of the front passenger airbag fragments of the generator housing could become detached and injure the passengers.
    Remedy
    The front passenger airgbag must be replaced.

  2. Jul 2025 R/2025/348

    Takata front drivers or passenger airbag replacement

    Exeos built Jun 2009 to Dec 2010 · 77 vehicles across the whole recall

    Defect and remedy
    Defect
    Urgent Safety Warning - Do Not Drive Your Vehicle Issue: The front airbag in your SEAT vehicle contains an ageing inflator propellant that may explode when deployed due to long-term exposure to heat and humidity. Risk: If the airbag inflator explodes metal fragments may be ejected causing life-threatening or fatal injuries to anyone in the vehicle. Immediate Action Required: Stop driving your vehicle immediately. Contact the SEAT Takata Stop Drive helpline at 0113 526 9646 (Monday to Friday 9:00am to 5:00pm) to arrange your recall service. Mobility assistance is available if needed.
    Remedy
    For important safety reasons it is necessary to replace the inflator or driver/passenger seat's airbag module of your vehicle.

  3. Nov 2024 R/2024/437

    Passenger airbag replacement

    Exeos built Sep 2009 to Dec 2010 · 8 vehicles across the whole recall

    Defect and remedy
    Defect
    Takata has advised that in the event of an accident with airbag activation the front passenger airbag gas generator housing may explode. The cause may be a deterioration of the propellant caused by high air humidity and temperature changes during an extended period of time. In the event of an accident with front passenger airbag activation fragments from the gas generator can cause injuries and endanger the life of the passengers.
    Remedy
    Replace the passenger airbag as necessary.
How to check a specific Exeo for recalls

Other SEAT models

The most-tested SEAT models in 2025, against the Exeo's 62% MOT pass rate.

All 11 SEAT models

SEAT Exeo FAQs

How many SEAT Exeos are there in the UK?

4,575 SEAT Exeos were licensed in the UK at the end of June 2026, with a further 795 declared off the road (SORN), according to DfT vehicle licensing statistics.

Is the SEAT Exeo 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 a 62% first-time pass rate for the SEAT Exeo across 4,292 tests in 2025, below the 72.3% average for all cars.

Has the SEAT Exeo had any recalls?

3 DVSA safety recalls launched from 1992 to October 2026 name the SEAT Exeo. The most recent was published in August 2025. 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 Exeo?

On the car itself, start with the areas it most often fails on: lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment, suspension and brakes. 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 Exeo'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 Exeo?

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

Across the 1,548 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 October 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.