SEAT Arosa 2004: MOT failure rate for its age

45.2% of 5,481 MOT tests of the SEAT Arosa first registered in 2004 failed at the first attempt (2019–2024; retests excluded). Against this model's own normal rate at the same ages the index is 97.7 (95% CI 93.9–101.6; 100 = normal for this model at that age): the 2004 build year is no different from other years of the same model at the same age.

SEAT Arosa built in 2004 at a glance
Measure	Value	Unit	Compared with	Years	Tests
Failed first time	45.2	%	all ages tested	2019–2024	5481
Index against this model at the same age (95% CI 93.9–101.6)	97.7	index	100 = normal for this model at that age	2019–2024	5481
Rank among this model's 7 build years	4	of 7	1 = fails least for its age	2019–2024	5481
Tested in 2024	574	tests	median 72,825 miles	2024	574

Built 2004 against SEAT Arosa normal for the age: first-time MOT failure share at each age, age 15: 46.5% vs 50.5%; age 16: 45.7% vs 47.7%; age 17: 46.1% vs 45.8%; age 18: 43.9% vs 43.6%; age 19: 44.8% vs 43.5%; age 20: 42% vs 40.9%. Axis from 0% to 60%. DVSA MOT bulk data, 2019–2024.

Check a 2004 SEAT Arosa by registration · All SEAT Arosa MOT statistics · Download the build-year table (CSV)

Data release dvsa-2024-v2 (24 Sep 2026) · page updated 30 Sep 2026 · full dataset (v5).

How does the 2004 SEAT Arosa fail at each age?

Cars built in 2004 were tested at ages 15 to 20 between 2019 and 2024. Each row compares their first-time failure share with what this model normally shows at that age, after allowing for the overall failure level of each test year.

SEAT Arosa built 2004: first-time MOT failure by age, against the model's normal rate at that age (2019–2024)
Age	Tests	Failed, %	95% interval	Normal for this model at that age, %	Index (100 = normal)
15	1,418	46.5	43.9–49.1	50.5	92
16	1,080	45.7	42.8–48.7	47.7	95.9
17	946	46.1	42.9–49.3	45.8	100.7
18	791	43.9	40.4–47.3	43.6	100.7
19	672	44.8	41.1–48.6	43.5	103
20	574	42	38–46.1	40.9	102.6

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 5,481 (initial tests) · Method: normal rate = this model's first-time failure share at that age across its build years (cells of 400+ tests), adjusted for each test year's overall level; cells of 30+ tests, under 500 marked rough · Updated: 30 Sep 2026 · Release: dvsa-2024-v2 · CSV

What fails most on the 2004 SEAT Arosa?

The most common failure group on cars built in 2004 is lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment: 36.3 items per 100 first tests, against 34.7 across all build years of the SEAT Arosa. These counts are not age-adjusted: cars built in 2004 were tested at ages 15 to 20.

Failure items per 100 first tests, SEAT Arosa built 2004 against the SEAT Arosa in all build years (2019–2024, not age-adjusted)
Failure group	Built 2004, per 100	All build years, per 100	Items
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment	36.3	34.7	1,992
Suspension	30.6	25.4	1,676
Brakes	18.9	21	1,036
Body, chassis, structure	17.7	18.6	970
Visibility	15.5	15.1	850

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 5,481 (initial tests of this build year) · Method: failure items grouped by DVSA's top-level defect groups, per 100 initial tests; groups with 30+ items · Updated: 30 Sep 2026 · Release: dvsa-2024-v2 · CSV

How does 2004 compare with the years around it?

Among the 7 published build years of the SEAT Arosa, 2004 ranks 4 (1 = fails least for its age). 2003: index 98.8. 2005: index 88.6.

SEAT Arosa build years: index against the model at the same age (2019–2024)
Build year	Index (100 = normal)	95% interval	Verdict	Tests
1999	92.8	79.8–105.9	no different (rough estimate)	460
2000	88.3	79.2–97.4	better (rough estimate)	888
2001	98.1	91.4–104.8	no different (rough estimate)	1,855
2002	99.2	94.3–104.0	no different (rough estimate)	3,569
2003	98.8	94.6–103.0	no different	4,648
2004	97.7	93.9–101.6	no different	5,481
2005	88.6	73.3–103.9	no different (rough estimate)	322

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 17,223 (initial tests) · Method: observed failures against those expected for the same model at the same ages, test-year level adjusted; verdict follows the printed one-decimal bound · Updated: 30 Sep 2026 · Release: dvsa-2024-v2 · CSV

How to cite this page

MOT Risk Index (2026). SEAT Arosa 2004 MOT statistics (data release dvsa-2024-v2; full dataset motriskindex-families-2024-v5, DOI 10.5281/zenodo.22975051), updated 30 September 2026. motriskindex.co.uk/cars/seat-arosa/2004/

How every figure is calculated: methodology. Age, test year and build year are tied together (age = test year − build year), so the test-year level is taken as observed, not estimated.

Other pages for this model