SEAT Tarraco 2021: reliability & common MOT faults

At a glance

How 1,940 first tests went in 2025.

Passed first time: 88 in every 100
Did not pass first time: 12 in every 100242 failed first-attempt tests
The typical car: 4 yearsabout 35,946 miles
First tests counted: 1,940

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 2021 SEAT Tarraco 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.

Tyres

One wear pattern: tyre tread depth (front), 2.1 times as often as on similar cars.

Figures below are measured across the 242 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.

Tyre tread depth (front)

Failed on 38 first tests2.1 times as often as similar carsWear pattern

What it means

Only primary grooves count when tread depth is assessed: those holding the wear indicators, or cut as deep as those when new. Shallower secondary grooves are ignored. Tread depth below the minimum for the vehicle is Dangerous, and so is a pattern not visible over the whole tread, but that second row applies only to vehicles that need the lower minimum.

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.

Non-component advisories (rear)

Noted on 35 first tests2.3 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Brake discs (rear)

Noted on 40 first tests2.3 times as often as similar carsWear pattern

Brake pads (front)

Noted on 37 first tests2.2 times as often as similar carsWear pattern

Brake pads (rear)

Noted on 30 first tests2.2 times as often as similar carsWear pattern

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: 88in every 100; Passed on the first test.
Fixed at the station: 1in every 100; Failed, then fixed at the test station the same day.
Failed: 11in every 100; Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.

First-attempt pass 87.5% of 1,940 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 89.2%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 1 fixed and the 11 not fixed make the 12 in every 100 that did not pass first time.

Petrol and diesel

First testsPassed first time, as tested

Petrol1,60288

Diesel33887

Figures are in every 100 first tests.

Same model, other years

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

Year	Passed first time	First tests
2019	83 in every 100	3,992
2020	84 in every 100	2,572
2021 This car	88 in every 100	1,940
2022	87 in every 100	1,042

Newer cars are younger, so look for a jump rather than the climb.

FAQs

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

Is the 2021 SEAT Tarraco reliable?

The 2021 SEAT Tarraco follows the pattern of the model years either side. In 2025, 87.5% of 1,940 first MOTs on the 2021 SEAT Tarraco passed first time (PRS: items fixed at the station the same day, counted as a fail). The official-style rate including PRS is 89.2%. Among 242 failed first-attempt MOT tests (test year 2025), we highlight MOT failure patterns that show up more often than on cars of a similar age and mileage when the sample is large enough to trust. 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.

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 Tarraco 2021 MOT report cover?

This page highlights MOT failure patterns for the 2021 SEAT Tarraco (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.