Seat Leon 2008: MOT failure rate for its age

40.4% of 37,877 MOT tests of the Seat Leon first registered in 2008 failed at the first attempt (2019–2024; retests excluded). Against this model's own normal rate at the same ages the index is 101.6 (95% CI 100.0–103.2; 100 = normal for this model at that age): the 2008 build year is no different from other years of the same model at the same age.

Seat Leon built in 2008 at a glance
Measure	Value	Unit	Compared with	Years	Tests
Failed first time	40.4	%	all ages tested	2019–2024	37877
Index against this model at the same age (95% CI 100.0–103.2)	101.6	index	100 = normal for this model at that age	2019–2024	37877
Rank among this model's 21 build years	10	of 21	1 = fails least for its age	2019–2024	37877
Tested in 2024	4537	tests	median 121,503 miles	2024	4537

Built 2008 against Seat Leon normal for the age: first-time MOT failure share at each age, age 11: 40% vs 36.9%; age 12: 39.3% vs 38.3%; age 13: 40.5% vs 40.6%; age 14: 40.2% vs 40.4%; age 15: 41% vs 41.5%; age 16: 41.7% vs 42.3%. Axis from 0% to 50%. DVSA MOT bulk data, 2019–2024.

Check a 2008 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 2008 Seat Leon fail at each age?

Cars built in 2008 were tested at ages 11 to 16 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 2008: 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)
11	8,021	40	38.9–41	36.9	108.2
12	7,040	39.3	38.2–40.5	38.3	102.7
13	6,771	40.5	39.3–41.7	40.6	99.7
14	6,102	40.2	39–41.5	40.4	99.7
15	5,406	41	39.7–42.3	41.5	98.8
16	4,537	41.7	40.3–43.1	42.3	98.6

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 37,877 (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 2008 Seat Leon?

The most common failure group on cars built in 2008 is suspension: 34.7 items per 100 first tests, against 12.5 across all build years of the Seat Leon. These counts are not age-adjusted: cars built in 2008 were tested at ages 11 to 16.

Failure items per 100 first tests, Seat Leon built 2008 against the Seat Leon in all build years (2019–2024, not age-adjusted)
Failure group	Built 2008, per 100	All build years, per 100	Items
Suspension	34.7	12.5	13,137
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment	26.6	10.1	10,058
Body, chassis, structure	18	5.3	6,817
Brakes	17.3	8.7	6,568
Tyres	11.2	9.2	4,255

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 37,877 (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 2008 compare with the years around it?

Among the 21 published build years of the Seat Leon, 2008 ranks 10 (1 = fails least for its age). 2007: index 99.3. 2009: index 106.3.

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 2008 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/2008/

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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