Model Reports 4 min read Updated 18 Oct 2026

SEAT Altea 2009: reliability & common MOT faults

In 2025, 53 in every 100 first MOTs on a 2009 SEAT Altea were passes. Most common reason for a fail: Drive shaft joints and boots (front).

Summary

The 2009 SEAT Altea follows the pattern of the model years either side.

At a glance

How 1,299 first tests went in 2025.

Passed first time
53 in every 100
Did not pass first time
47 in every 100605 failed first-attempt tests
The typical car
16 yearsabout 118,309 miles
First tests counted
1,299

What failed most often

  1. Drive shaft joints and boots (front)15 in every 100 failed tests
  2. Headlight aim10 in every 100 failed tests
  3. Coil spring (front)9 in every 100 failed tests

How we count this. Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Only Class 4 cars on their first MOT of the year are counted. A car that fails and is fixed at the test station still counts as a fail in the first-attempt rate. These are raw results, not adjusted for age, mileage, or peer mix. The MOT does not test engine or gearbox internals.

Note:

These are patterns across 2009 SEAT Altea vehicles in 2025, not a prediction that any one car will have them. Faults are grouped by part of the car. A wear pattern follows age and use more than the way the car was built. They come from MOT defect codes, not manufacturer bulletins, recalls or a diagnosis of any one car.

Noise, emissions and leaks

One fault: diesel emissions test (compression-ignition rules for vehicles from 01/07/2008), 4.6 times as often as on similar cars.

Figures below are measured across the 604 of 605 failed first attempts (99.8%) that recorded an odometer reading in 2025. Mileage is needed to compare like with like.

We only list faults with at least 20 failures and a rate of about 2.0 times that of similar cars, which keeps one-off results out of the list.

Diesel emissions test (compression-ignition rules for vehicles from 01/07/2008)

Failed on 64 first tests4.6 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage.

Body and structure

One fault: drive shaft joints and boots (front), 2.7 times as often as on similar cars.

Drive shaft joints and boots (front)

Failed on 92 first tests2.7 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

A constant velocity boot that is only severely deteriorated is Minor. It is Major once it is missing, split or insecure so that it no longer prevents the ingress of dirt. A transmission joint excessively worn is Major, and graded Dangerous when it is so worn it is likely to fail.

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage.

Brakes

One fault and one wear pattern. The strongest is the brake pads (rear): 2.6 times as often as on similar cars.

Brake pads (rear)

Failed on 45 first tests2.6 times as often as similar carsWear pattern

What it means

A pad worn down to its wear indicator, or contaminated with oil or grease, is Major. A pad worn below the set thickness limit, missing or incorrectly mounted is Dangerous. The manual treats an illuminated brake wear indicator as no reason for failure, although DVSA also lists an illuminated indicator as a Major row.

Brake performance (roller test, rear)

Failed on 35 first tests2.1 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

A wheel with no recorded braking effort on the roller test is graded Dangerous. Inadequate effort, a brake grabbing severely, abnormal lag and excessive fluctuation in effort are each Major. So is significant brake effort recorded with no brake applied, which indicates a binding brake.

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage.

Suspension

Two faults. The strongest is the suspension arm ball joint dust cover (front): 2.5 times as often as on similar cars.

Suspension arm ball joint dust cover (front)

Failed on 38 first tests2.5 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

Whether a suspension arm ball joint dust cover still keeps dirt out decides its grade. Severely deteriorated is Minor, while missing, or no longer preventing the ingress of dirt, is Major.

Anti-roll bar ball joint dust cover (front)

Failed on 21 first tests2.1 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

A missing anti-roll bar ball joint dust cover is Major, and so is one that no longer prevents the ingress of dirt. A cover that is only severely deteriorated is Minor. DVSA uses one wording for the dust cover on any suspension joint.

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage.

Advisories

Other things testers noted as worn or close to failing, more often than on similar cars.

An advisory is a note from the tester about something that has not failed yet. It is an early warning, not a fail.

Suspension arm (rear)

Noted on 52 first tests3.0 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Shock absorbers (rear)

Noted on 48 first tests2.2 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Suspension sub-frame (rear)

Noted on 87 first tests2.1 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Headlight (front)

Noted on 21 first tests2.1 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Counts cover advisories recorded on failed first tests only, compared with cars of the same age and mileage.

MOT pass rates

How first tests ended, and how the pass rates are counted.

Passed first time
53in every 100
Passed on the first test.
Fixed at the station
9in every 100
Failed, then fixed at the test station the same day.
Failed
38in every 100
Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.

First-attempt pass 53.4% of 1,299 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 61.8%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 9 fixed and the 38 not fixed make the 47 in every 100 that did not pass first time.

Same model, other years

Passed first time in every 100, all tested in 2025.

406080100200520092015Older carsNewer cars
4060801002009Older carsNewer cars

Newer cars are younger, so look for a jump rather than the climb. A year earlier (2024), when these cars were a year younger, 56 in every 100 passed first time.

YearPassed first timeFirst tests
200552 in every 100396
200654 in every 100790
200753 in every 1001,510
200854 in every 1001,435
2009 This car53 in every 1001,299
201060 in every 1001,127
201160 in every 1001,171
201264 in every 1001,444
201363 in every 1001,342
201468 in every 100750
201567 in every 100436

FAQs

Short answers about how to read this model-year guide.

The 2009 SEAT Altea follows the pattern of the model years either side. Its main cause of failure was Drive shaft joints and boots (front), about 15 in every 100 failed tests. In 2025, 53.4% of 1,299 first MOTs on the 2009 SEAT Altea passed first time (PRS: items fixed at the station the same day, counted as a fail). The official-style rate including PRS is 61.8%. Among 605 failed first-attempt MOT tests (test year 2025), Drive shaft joints and boots (front) appears more often than on similar cars (15.2% of those tests; 92 observed failures; about 2.7× more often than similar cars). There is no single reliability score here; this is a pre-purchase checklist built from DVSA open data, not a guarantee for any individual car.
Ranked by how often they were actually recorded, the items that most often failed a 2009 SEAT Altea at the first attempt were Drive shaft joints and boots (front) (15.2%), Headlight aim (9.8%) and Coil spring (front) (9.4%), each as a share of the year's failed first attempts. That is what goes wrong most often on the car. The common faults table shows a different measure: faults that are unusual compared with similar cars.
Among failed first-attempt tests we highlight patterns that appear more often than on similar cars. Top example: Drive shaft joints and boots (front) (15.2% of those tests; 92 observed failures; about 2.7× more often than similar cars). These are statistical signals, not a diagnosis of any individual car.
Drive shaft joints and boots (front) shows up more often than on similar cars (15.2% of those tests; 92 observed failures; about 2.7× more often than similar cars). That does not prove a design fault. Age, mileage, and how the car was used still matter. Treat it as a pre-purchase checkpoint, not a manufacturer service bulletin.
Common MOT problem areas for the 2009 SEAT Altea include Drive shaft joints and boots (front), Suspension arm ball joint dust cover (front), Brake performance (roller test, rear). These are the faults that stand out compared with similar cars, not a complete list of what can go wrong on any individual car.
Advisories flag issues noted at the test and are not a fail rate. We show advisory patterns that appear more often than on similar cars among failed first-attempt tests, separate from common failure rows. Use them as early-warning checks, not as a pass/fail score.
This page highlights MOT failure patterns for the 2009 SEAT Altea (registration year) using UK DVSA open data for the selected test year. Patterns are compared with cars of a similar age and mileage. It is a buyer checklist from MOT defect statistics, not a full service history or manufacturer service-bulletin list.
No. MOT tests do not cover engine internals, gearboxes, or many electronic modules. Patterns here come from MOT defect statistics only and should not be read as engine or gearbox reliability scores.

About this data

How this page is built and what it can (and can't) say.

These figures come from UK MOT open data for this model year. We surface common failure patterns against similar cars, not a full reliability score, and not a pass/fail verdict on any individual vehicle.

2024 2025

What we include

UK Class 4 cars only. Normal MOT tests (not retests); first test per vehicle per calendar year; results pass, PRS, or fail.

Same-day repairs

PRS means the car failed items that were fixed at the test station and then passed the same day. We count PRS as a first-attempt fail in headline rates so same-day repairs do not hide problems.

How we compare

We compare this model year with other Class 4 cars of similar age and mileage in the same test year. This model family is left out of the peer group so the car is not measured against itself.

What this does not cover

  • MOTs do not cover engine internals, gearboxes, or many electronics; this is not a full reliability score.
  • Common faults come from MOT defect stats, not manufacturer TSBs or recalls.
  • Age and mileage matching reduces, but does not remove, differences in how cars were used and maintained.
  • If the data for a car is too thin to say anything useful, we say so rather than guess.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

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