Seat Leon 2004: MOT failure rate for its age

43.0% of 15,199 MOT tests of the Seat Leon 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 98.1 (95% CI 95.7–100.5; 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 Leon built in 2004 at a glance
Measure	Value	Unit	Compared with	Years	Tests
Failed first time	43.0	%	all ages tested	2019–2024	15199
Index against this model at the same age (95% CI 95.7–100.5)	98.1	index	100 = normal for this model at that age	2019–2024	15199
Rank among this model's 21 build years	6	of 21	1 = fails least for its age	2019–2024	15199
Tested in 2024	1365	tests	median 132,293 miles	2024	1365

Built 2004 against Seat Leon normal for the age: first-time MOT failure share at each age, age 15: 45.5% vs 46.5%; age 16: 44.8% vs 44.1%; age 17: 43.1% vs 44.5%; age 18: 40.3% vs 42.2%; age 19: 39.8% vs 40.7%; age 20: 38.7% vs 39.5%. Axis from 0% to 50%. DVSA MOT bulk data, 2019–2024.

Check a 2004 Seat Leon by registration · All Seat Leon 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 Leon 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 Leon 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	4,288	45.5	44–47	46.5	97.9
16	3,108	44.8	43–46.5	44.1	101.4
17	2,613	43.1	41.2–45	44.5	96.9
18	2,097	40.3	38.3–42.5	42.2	95.7
19	1,728	39.8	37.5–42.1	40.7	97.6
20	1,365	38.7	36.1–41.3	39.5	97.9

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 15,199 (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 Leon?

The most common failure group on cars built in 2004 is lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment: 34.2 items per 100 first tests, against 10.1 across all build years of the Seat Leon. These counts are not age-adjusted: cars built in 2004 were tested at ages 15 to 20.

Failure items per 100 first tests, Seat Leon built 2004 against the Seat Leon 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	34.2	10.1	5,201
Brakes	27.8	8.7	4,218
Body, chassis, structure	22.6	5.3	3,434
Suspension	19.6	12.5	2,979
Steering	16.2	1.3	2,467

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 15,199 (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 21 published build years of the Seat Leon, 2004 ranks 6 (1 = fails least for its age). 2003: index 101.4. 2005: index 103.0.

Seat Leon build years: index against the model at the same age (2019–2024)
Build year	Index (100 = normal)	95% interval	Verdict	Tests
2000	111.6	100.5–122.7	worse (rough estimate)	820
2001	106.2	100.9–111.6	worse (rough estimate)	3,341
2002	101.6	98.0–105.2	no different	7,003
2003	101.4	98.7–104.1	no different	12,368
2004	98.1	95.7–100.5	no different	15,199
2005	103.0	100.8–105.3	worse	17,970
2006	105.6	103.8–107.4	worse	30,008
2007	99.3	97.8–100.8	no different	40,443
2008	101.6	100.0–103.2	no different	37,877
2009	106.3	104.5–108.0	worse	36,174
2010	108.5	106.8–110.3	worse	40,356
2011	106.1	104.4–107.8	worse	44,258
2012	105.4	103.8–107.0	worse	58,021
2013	96.6	95.1–98.0	better	72,945
2014	91.2	90.0–92.4	better	115,712
2015	92.2	90.9–93.6	better	105,329
2016	97.7	96.2–99.2	better	97,267
2017	94.4	92.9–96.0	better	97,255
2018	103.0	101.3–104.8	worse	85,811
2019	114.7	112.3–117.0	worse	59,282
2020	102.7	99.4–106.1	no different	27,624

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 1,005,063 (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 Leon 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-leon/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.

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