Hi. I bought an FR 2015 Diesel a few months back, its currently done 38k. Anyway I was chatting to a friend recently that works in a lease car place and he warned me that Seat's (or VAG's) are very average when it comes to reliability according to Warranty Direct. Now he never said what models,year or fuel type but I have tried to look this up myself on a reliability site and the general Leon comes uo below average.This makes me wonder a little as I work a few miles from home and totally need my car for work. Touch wood ive no issues with my car but I was wonderinf what peoples thought are on and if you have ever looked into how reliable Leon's are. The reliablility site wasnt specific with my model, one big factor seemed to do with electrics? Any discussion on this would be fab or maybe a link to another reliability site. I dont want to be scaremongered into selling my beloved Leon but id also like to know facts etc
How reliable are Seat Leon FR Diesels?
- Thread starter hewittinspain
- Start date
This is just my personal experience of my current car, Leon FR 184 derv.
66,000 miles and I am the second owner. It has been serviced regularly and due early next year on mileage as well as cambelt/water pump as it is 5 years old. Only issue I have is rattles over crappy surfaces and a loud fan on low which I think is probably a leaf. I just need to have a look and check the filter once I have searched where the cabin one is housed.
66,000 miles and I am the second owner. It has been serviced regularly and due early next year on mileage as well as cambelt/water pump as it is 5 years old. Only issue I have is rattles over crappy surfaces and a loud fan on low which I think is probably a leaf. I just need to have a look and check the filter once I have searched where the cabin one is housed.
I’ve just handed my Leon FR 184 diesel to the wife at four years old with 88,000 miles on it. It’s on long life servicing so been serviced every 18-20,000 miles. It was last serviced at 78,000 and nothing identified as needed doing. It’s also successfully passed two MOT’s with no advisories. I’ve had four years of trouble free motoring and hopefully long will it continue as the wife will be runnnig it for the next four years. It’ll need its belt and water pump doing next year which I’ll get done at the stealers as they offer a three year warranty with it which will see us up to getting rid of the car at eight years old.
The DMF, PF and EGR failures are common and expensive issues on all VAG diesels but I've not heard of any major Leon electrical gremlins - it's usually fit and finish issues creating annoying noises.
The tandem pump also used to be a weakness on the PD engine, not sure if the CRD still has component though.
The tandem pump also used to be a weakness on the PD engine, not sure if the CRD still has component though.
Had my 2.0 tdi 150 for 4 years. Seat changed the screen (wouldn't work properly when freezing), and also the fuel cap lock. That's it. Only done 48k now (nearly 6 years old). I have all receipts and MOT's. The only ever advisory was the oil mist on front dampers. Common problem, and Seat advised it is OK, so never changed.
Reliability surveys can be misleading, particularly if based on owner reports. Many of the faults reported are very minor issues.
There aren't many brands now that would leave you stranded at the side of the road, unlike 30 - 40 years ago. I always carried spare ignition points, condenser and a plug or two. And tools.
There aren't many brands now that would leave you stranded at the side of the road, unlike 30 - 40 years ago. I always carried spare ignition points, condenser and a plug or two. And tools.
Most people in the trade I speak with consider VAG to be one of the most reliable manufactures, my PD is on 90k without issues and if were petrol I wouldn't even consider changing it soon, but I just can't be bothered with the Injector bills when they need replacement. Friend of mine with a 2.0 PD Tdi Golf has covered 185k, has changed all injectors twice, another friend with a Mk.5 2.0l pertrol, is on 255k and has only replaced wear and tear items. Fleet at work has slowing moved away from Jap/Korean due to many issues and is going back to VAG/Ford..
I've never considered VAG cars to be particularly reliable. We now have several Seats and they're suffering more gremlins and faults than I've had on just about any car I've owned. My Ibiza is going in tomorrow as one of the rear doors does not lock, which I only found out by accident.
When talking about Jap cars you need top be careful as there is a lot of cross-ownership and collaboration now so not all Jap cars are Jap cars. For instance, Renault own Nissan so they're not what they were.
The most reliable car I've ever owned was a P10 Nissan Primera which I took to over 100K miles, bought it a year old with 15k on it. Outside of the usual consumables the only issue that car suffered was a dead battery! Fantastic car.
When talking about Jap cars you need top be careful as there is a lot of cross-ownership and collaboration now so not all Jap cars are Jap cars. For instance, Renault own Nissan so they're not what they were.
The most reliable car I've ever owned was a P10 Nissan Primera which I took to over 100K miles, bought it a year old with 15k on it. Outside of the usual consumables the only issue that car suffered was a dead battery! Fantastic car.
Last edited:
I was actually talking older Jap. cars before many manufactures joined forces, for many different aspects. I'd forgotten Renault owned Datsun, I've not been in a Renault for many years but was in a 2018 Micra last month, sorry to anyone who owns one but the build quality is way behind many manufactures, I must presume Nissan use their own engines due to many reliability issues they suffer..
You can't really look at it that way. Nissan and Renault parts are more or less the same thing these days.
I knew a guy who's family owned a Nissan dealership at the time of the merger, he worked in the garage. I asked him if it had made any difference to the reliability of the cars. He said the effect was almost immediate. Straight away Renault started changing parts suppliers and using cheaper parts so the dealer started getting warranty problems on things that had never caused any trouble before. At first it was smaller things like washer pumps but as more stuff got changed bigger things failed. You might remember the issues with bad timing chains on the very last version of the P11 Primera? Then they made the P12 Primera which was so terrible Nissan gave up making saloon cars altogether!
If you want a 'true' Japanese car you need to buy a Honda or something else that is Jap owned. Personally, I think the Koreans are going to really start kicking ass. I think the position they are in is similar to where the Japanese were in maybe the mid seventies. The cars are well built and great value but they haven't quite figured out exactly what the Europeans are looking for in a car. Once they do though...
Owned three honda civics 7,8,9 generation all petrol cars may i had off topic
So reliable had to think when switching brands
This car i have has been great so far.
So reliable had to think when switching brands
This car i have has been great so far.
I've only been in 4 Honda's, all petrol vtec's, all for no more than an hour, 3 of which broke down, with all 3 been terminal and needing major engine replacement/repair, their lawnmowers however, are fantastic. I must of had bad luck with Jap cars..
Similar threads
