SEAT Leon 2007: reliability & common MOT faults

At a glance

How 3,078 first tests went in 2025.

Passed first time: 59 in every 100
Did not pass first time: 41 in every 1001,252 failed first-attempt tests
The typical car: 18 yearsabout 127,738 miles
First tests counted: 3,078

What failed most often

Drive shaft joints and boots (front)13 in every 100 failed tests
Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test)10 in every 100 failed tests
Windscreen washers9 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 2007 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

One fault: fuel cap, 4.6 times as often as on similar cars.

Figures below are measured across the 1,251 of 1,252 failed first attempts (99.9%) 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.

Fuel cap

Failed on 30 first tests4.6 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

What it means

A missing or ineffective fuel filler cap is Major, as is a plain fuel system leak, while a fuel system leaking excessively or a risk of fire has its own, separate wording. A fuel tank with a hole, or a split filler neck, from which fuel can leak must be failed for leaking even if the hole or split is above the fuel line.

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.

Vehicle structure condition (front)

Noted on 21 first tests3.7 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

Anti-roll bar linkage ball joints (rear)

Noted on 52 first tests3.4 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Suspension arm (rear)

Noted on 100 first tests2.8 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Suspension sub-frame (rear)

Noted on 216 first tests2.4 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Suspension arm pins and bushes (rear)

Noted on 74 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: 59in every 100; Passed on the first test.
Fixed at the station: 8in every 100; Failed, then fixed at the test station the same day.
Failed: 33in every 100; Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.

First-attempt pass 59.3% of 3,078 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 67.3%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 8 fixed and the 33 not fixed make the 41 in every 100 that did not pass first time.

Petrol and diesel

First testsTypical mileagePassed first time, as testedPassed first time, same mileage

Diesel1,759140,993 miles6060

Petrol1,319112,649 miles5959

Figures are in every 100 first tests. Cars with more miles usually fail more often, so the same-mileage figure gives every fuel the mileage mix of all the cars in this year.

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, 57 in every 100 passed first time.

Year	Passed first time	First tests
2002	61 in every 100	397
2003	63 in every 100	817
2004	61 in every 100	1,048
2005	60 in every 100	1,198
2006	55 in every 100	1,950
2007 This car	59 in every 100	3,078
2008	60 in every 100	3,533
2009	59 in every 100	3,891
2010	61 in every 100	4,828
2011	63 in every 100	5,583
2012	65 in every 100	7,838
2013	71 in every 100	10,755
2014	76 in every 100	17,542
2015	79 in every 100	16,225
2016	80 in every 100	15,083
2017	78 in every 100	17,384
2018	78 in every 100	20,120
2019	77 in every 100	18,377
2020	84 in every 100	12,952
2021	87 in every 100	10,653
2022	89 in every 100	3,314

If you are buying one

What this year's MOT record means for the decision in front of you.

Mileage makes little difference on a 2007 Leon.

Of 2007 Leon vehicles with under 99,000 miles, 64 in every 100 passed their 2025 MOT first time. With 159,000 miles or more, 62 in every 100 did.

Under 99,000621 tests

64

99,000–120,000624 tests

58

120,000–137,000 Typical car599 tests

59

137,000–159,000615 tests

55

159,000 and over617 tests

62

What to check at your mileage

How often each fault turned up on a failed first test, by the car's mileage. Read it as: what is likely to need looking at on a car like the one in front of you.

	Under 99,000	120,000–137,000	159,000 and over
Drive shaft joints and boots (front)	5.2	7.5	3.4
Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test)	2.3	5.7	4.9
Windscreen washers	2.1	4.0	4.4
Headlight aim	2.3	2.8	3.2
Coil spring (front)	2.3	3.5	2.8

Faults per 100 first tests, by the car's mileage at the test.

When a car fails

21in every 100

of failed cars had one item to fix.

58in every 100

of failed cars had three or more items to fix.

10in every 100

of all first tests had a defect the tester marked dangerous (unsafe to drive away).

Every figure here is a first-attempt MOT rate from DVSA open data for this model line, for cars of this model year tested in 2025. Each mileage band holds a fifth of the tests. MOTs do not test engine or gearbox internals, so this is a pre-purchase checklist, not a full reliability score.

FAQs

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

Is the 2007 SEAT Leon reliable?

The 2007 SEAT Leon follows the pattern of the model years either side. Its main cause of failure was Drive shaft joints and boots (front), about 13 in every 100 failed tests. In 2025, 59.3% of 3,078 first MOTs on the 2007 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 67.3%. Among 1,252 failed first-attempt MOT tests (test year 2025), Fuel cap appears more often than on similar cars (2.4% of those tests; 30 observed failures; about 4.6× 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.

What is most likely to fail on a 2007 SEAT Leon?

Ranked by how often they were actually recorded, the items that most often failed a 2007 SEAT Leon at the first attempt were Drive shaft joints and boots (front) (13.3%), Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test) (10.5%) and Windscreen washers (9.0%), 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.

What common MOT faults stand out on the SEAT Leon 2007?

Among failed first-attempt tests we highlight patterns that appear more often than on similar cars. Top example: Fuel cap (2.4% of those tests; 30 observed failures; about 4.6× more often than similar cars). These are statistical signals, not a diagnosis of any individual car.

Why does Fuel cap stand out?

Fuel cap shows up more often than on similar cars (2.4% of those tests; 30 observed failures; about 4.6× 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.

What are common problems with the 2007 SEAT Leon?

Common MOT problem areas for the 2007 SEAT Leon include Fuel cap. These are the faults that stand out compared with similar cars, not a complete list of what can go wrong on any individual car.

How should I read advisories vs fails?

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.

What does this SEAT Leon 2007 MOT report cover?

This page highlights MOT failure patterns for the 2007 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.

Does this include engine and gearbox problems?

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.