Model Reports 4 min read Updated 18 Oct 2026

SEAT Leon 2006: reliability & common MOT faults

In 2025, 55 in every 100 first MOTs on a 2006 SEAT Leon were passes. Most common reason for a fail: Drive shaft joints and boots (front).

Summary

A 2006 SEAT Leon passed first time about 4 in every 100 less often than the average of the 2005 and 2007 model years.

At a glance

How 1,950 first tests went in 2025.

Passed first time
55 in every 100
Did not pass first time
45 in every 100875 failed first-attempt tests
The typical car
19 yearsabout 127,852 miles
First tests counted
1,950

What failed most often

  1. Drive shaft joints and boots (front)19 in every 100 failed tests
  2. Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test)12 in every 100 failed tests
  3. Headlight aim10 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 2006 SEAT Leon 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.

Body and structure

Two faults. The strongest is the body panel (front): 10 times as often as on similar cars.

Figures below are measured across the 875 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.

Body panel (front)

Failed on 22 first tests10 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

A body panel that is damaged or corroded and likely to cause injury when grazed or contacted, or that is insecure, is Major. One likely to become detached is graded Dangerous. The inspection covers all body panels, undertrays, spoilers and mirror housings.

Drive shaft joints and boots (front)

Failed on 163 first tests2.5 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: electronic stability control, 3.2 times as often as on similar cars.

Electronic stability control

Failed on 25 first tests3.2 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

An ESC warning lamp is failed only when the tester is certain it indicates an ESC malfunction, because the lamp takes various forms and the owner's handbook may need checking. The system is also called ESP, VDC or DSC, among many other names. Every failure row is Major, covering the lamp, wheel speed sensors, wiring, other components and the switch.

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

Seat belts and restraints

One fault: airbag warning light, 3.0 times as often as on similar cars.

Airbag warning light

Failed on 80 first tests3.0 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

The airbag warning lamp (SRS MIL in DVSA's wording) is failed only if it indicates a system malfunction, which is Major. A lamp lit to show the passenger airbag is disabled is not to be regarded as a defect. Dashboard messages are not a defect in their own right, though they can help the tester confirm a malfunction.

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

Noise, emissions and leaks

One fault: diesel engine warning light, 2.7 times as often as on similar cars.

Diesel engine warning light

Failed on 22 first tests2.7 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

An engine malfunction indicator lamp that is illuminated to show a malfunction is graded Major on a diesel, but only on the diesels the test covers, which depends on the vehicle type and when it was first used. DVSA lists it under exhaust emissions for compression ignition engines, and the detail line for the row also names an inoperative lamp.

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

Lamps and electrical

One fault: individual sidelight or tail light (rear), 2.0 times as often as on similar cars.

Individual sidelight or tail light (rear)

Failed on 57 first tests2.0 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

A position lamp showing red light to the front or white light to the rear is Major. Rear lamps must show a steady red light, and front ones can show white, predominantly white with a blue tinge, or yellow if combined in a yellow headlamp. With a multiple light source, up to half not working is Minor and more than half is Major.

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.

Anti-roll bar linkage ball joints (rear)

Noted on 25 first tests2.6 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Suspension sub-frame (rear)

Noted on 131 first tests2.2 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
55in 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
36in every 100
Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.

First-attempt pass 55.1% of 1,950 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 63.9%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 9 fixed and the 36 not fixed make the 45 in every 100 that did not pass first time.

Petrol and diesel

First testsPassed first time, as tested
Diesel1,08056
Petrol87055

Figures are in every 100 first tests.

Same model, other years

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

4060801002006201020152020Older carsNewer cars
406080100200620102020Newer 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
200261 in every 100397
200363 in every 100817
200461 in every 1001,048
200560 in every 1001,198
2006 This car55 in every 1001,950
200759 in every 1003,078
200860 in every 1003,533
200959 in every 1003,891
201061 in every 1004,828
201163 in every 1005,583
201265 in every 1007,838
201371 in every 10010,755
201476 in every 10017,542
201579 in every 10016,225
201680 in every 10015,083
201778 in every 10017,384
201878 in every 10020,120
201977 in every 10018,377
202084 in every 10012,952
202187 in every 10010,653
202289 in every 1003,314

FAQs

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

A 2006 SEAT Leon passed first time about 4 in every 100 less often than the average of the 2005 and 2007 model years. In 2025, 55.1% of 1,950 first MOTs on the 2006 SEAT Leon passed first time (PRS: items fixed at the station the same day, counted as a fail). The official-style rate including PRS is 63.9%. Among 875 failed first-attempt MOT tests (test year 2025), Body panel (front) appears more often than on similar cars (2.5% of those tests; 22 observed failures; about 10× 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 2006 SEAT Leon at the first attempt were Drive shaft joints and boots (front) (18.6%), Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test) (12.3%) and Headlight aim (9.6%), 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: Body panel (front) (2.5% of those tests; 22 observed failures; about 10× more often than similar cars). These are statistical signals, not a diagnosis of any individual car.
Body panel (front) shows up more often than on similar cars (2.5% of those tests; 22 observed failures; about 10× 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 2006 SEAT Leon include Body panel (front), Electronic stability control, Airbag warning light. 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 2006 SEAT Leon (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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