At a glance
How 612 first tests went in 2025.
- Passed first time
- 50 in every 100
- Did not pass first time
- 50 in every 100304 failed first-attempt tests
- The typical car
- 22 yearsabout 93,453 miles
- First tests counted
- 612
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.
These are patterns across 2003 SEAT Ibiza vehicles in 2025, not a prediction that any one car will have them. Faults are grouped by part of the car. They come from MOT defect codes, not manufacturer bulletins, recalls or a diagnosis of any one car.
Brakes
One fault: flexible brake hoses (front), 3.7 times as often as on similar cars.
Figures below are measured across the 304 failed first attempts in 2025 that had a mileage recorded, which allows a like-for-like comparison.
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.
Flexible brake hoses (front)
What it means
Testers reject a flexible brake hose for being excessively damaged or chafed only if it is severe enough to expose the reinforcement. Slight damage, chafing or twisting is graded Minor. A leak is graded Dangerous on a hydraulic braking system and Major on an air system, and a hose damaged and likely to fail is also Dangerous.
Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage.
Suspension
One fault: anti-roll bar linkage ball joint dust cover (front), 2.8 times as often as on similar cars.
Anti-roll bar linkage ball joint dust cover (front)
What it means
A suspension joint dust cover that is severely deteriorated is Minor. It becomes Major once it is missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt, so what matters is whether it still keeps dirt out. DVSA words this for any suspension joint dust cover, and files it here under anti-roll bars.
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), 2.5 times as often as on similar cars.
Drive shaft joints and boots (front)
Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage.
Noise, emissions and leaks
One fault: petrol engine warning light, 2.0 times as often as on similar cars.
Petrol engine warning light
What it means
The malfunction indicator lamp (MIL) on a petrol engine is a Major failure when it is illuminated indicating a malfunction. The detail line DVSA gives for the same row also names an inoperative lamp. The test covers only certain petrol vehicles, depending on their age, size and fuel type.
Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. 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
- 50in every 100
- Passed on the first test.
- Fixed at the station
- 11in every 100
- Failed, then fixed at the test station the same day.
- Failed
- 39in every 100
- Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.
First-attempt pass 50.3% of 612 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 61.1%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 11 fixed and the 39 not fixed make the 50 in every 100 that did not pass first time.
Same model, other years
Passed first time in every 100, all tested in 2025.
Newer cars are younger, so look for a jump rather than the climb. A year earlier (2024), when these cars were a year younger, 49 in every 100 passed first time.
| Year | Passed first time | First tests |
|---|---|---|
| 2003 This car | 50 in every 100 | 612 |
| 2004 | 49 in every 100 | 848 |
| 2005 | 50 in every 100 | 1,055 |
| 2006 | 49 in every 100 | 1,968 |
| 2007 | 48 in every 100 | 2,893 |
| 2008 | 48 in every 100 | 4,240 |
| 2009 | 53 in every 100 | 7,338 |
| 2010 | 55 in every 100 | 9,010 |
| 2011 | 56 in every 100 | 12,214 |
| 2012 | 59 in every 100 | 12,236 |
| 2013 | 59 in every 100 | 15,174 |
| 2014 | 61 in every 100 | 18,296 |
| 2015 | 63 in every 100 | 17,078 |
| 2016 | 66 in every 100 | 17,437 |
| 2017 | 71 in every 100 | 15,146 |
| 2018 | 72 in every 100 | 12,375 |
| 2019 | 82 in every 100 | 12,550 |
| 2020 | 86 in every 100 | 7,811 |
| 2021 | 87 in every 100 | 8,150 |
| 2022 | 88 in every 100 | 5,012 |
FAQs
Short answers about how to read this model-year guide.
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.
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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