Does the Seat Leon fail the MOT on steering more than it should?
The Seat Leon records 1.33 steering failure items per 100 initial MOT tests (2019–2024), against 2.16 expected for a car of the same age mix: less than expected for its class and age (−0.83, 95% interval −0.86 to −0.80). It ranks 343 of 640 models on steering (1 = most failures above expected).
Data release dvsa-2024-v2 (24 Sep 2026) · page updated 30 Sep 2026 · all models on steering · check a Seat Leon by registration
What exactly fails on steering?
The most frequent DVSA defect wording in this group on the Seat Leon is “Steering rack gaiter or ball joint dust cover damaged or deteriorated”, recorded 5,696 times in 2019–2024.
| DVSA defect wording | Items | Per 100 tests |
|---|---|---|
| Steering rack gaiter or ball joint dust cover damaged or deteriorated | 5,696 | 0.56 |
| Steering rack gaiter or ball joint dust cover missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt etc | 4,026 | 0.39 |
| A steering ball joint with excessive wear or free play | 2,459 | 0.24 |
| EPS MIL indicating a system malfunction | 479 | 0.05 |
| Free play in the steering, measured at the rim of the steering wheel is excessive | 194 | 0.02 |
Source: DVSA MOT bulk data (OGL v3.0) · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 1,021,630 (initial tests) · Method: failure items (major and minor) grouped by DVSA's defect tree; wordings with 30+ items · Updated: 30 Sep 2026 · Release: dvsa-2024-v2 · CSV
If a Seat Leon gets a steering advisory, how often does it fail next time?
14.9% of Seat Leon MOTs with a steering advisory were followed by a fail in the same group at the next MOT, typically 12.1 months and 5,652 miles later (2,651 advisories followed).
Source: DVSA MOT bulk data (OGL v3.0) · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 2,651 (advisories followed) · Method: the same vehicles followed to their next ordinary MOT · Updated: 30 Sep 2026 · Release: dvsa-2024-v2 · CSV
Other pages for this model
Seat Leon 2000 · Seat Leon 2001 · Seat Leon 2002 · Seat Leon 2003 · Seat Leon 2004 · Seat Leon 2005 · Seat Leon 2006 · Seat Leon 2007 · Seat Leon 2008 · Seat Leon 2009 · Seat Leon 2010 · Seat Leon 2011 · Seat Leon 2012 · Seat Leon 2013 · Seat Leon 2014 · Seat Leon 2015 · Seat Leon 2016 · Seat Leon 2017 · Seat Leon 2018 · Seat Leon 2019 · Seat Leon 2020 · Seat Leon in Finland · Seat Leon in the Netherlands · Seat Leon by postcode area · Seat Leon body, chassis and structure failures · Seat Leon brakes failures · Seat Leon vehicle identification failures · Seat Leon lamps, reflectors and electrics failures · Seat Leon noise, emissions and leaks failures · Seat Leon road wheels failures · Seat Leon seat belts and airbags failures · Seat Leon suspension failures · Seat Leon tyres failures · Seat Leon visibility failures