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MOT fail rates

Skoda Fabia MOT fail rate by age

How often the Skoda Fabia fails its MOT at each age, compared with all cars of the same age, and what it fails on. From 937,544 DVSA MOT tests taken 2022 to 2025.

MOT data updated

At 7 years, the most tested age

MOT fail rate at age 7 (n=72,605)20.7%
All cars at 7 years (n=10,537,318)20.6%
Median mileage at test44,776
All cars, median mileage52,953

197 of 330 model groups with enough tests fail less often at 7 years.

What stands out

  • At 3 years the Skoda Fabia fails 11.9% of MOTs (40,679 tests), about the same as the 12.1% for all cars that age. At 24 years it fails 46.4% (1,358 tests), 8.6 points above the 37.8% average.
  • The gap is widest at 24 years: 8.6 points above all cars.
  • Its most common structural or mechanical fail item at 7 years: Suspension arm bush worn, at 5.8 per 100 MOTs.

MOT fail rate by age

3 years 24 years 52.3%

Solid line: this model. Dashed line: all cars at the same age.

Skoda Fabia: share of MOT tests that failed, by age, against all cars. Ages with fewer than 1,000 tests are not shown.
AgeMOT fail rateTests (n)All carsDifferenceMedian mileage
3 years11.9%40,67912.1%−0.1 pts18,438 miles
4 years13.8%49,89813.4%+0.5 pts24,423 miles
5 years15.6%59,52015.3%+0.2 pts31,253 miles
6 years18.4%69,34917.8%+0.5 pts38,148 miles
7 years20.7%72,60520.6%+0.1 pts44,776 miles
8 years22.2%70,60923.8%−1.6 pts51,450 miles
9 years23.6%71,82027.1%−3.5 pts57,919 miles
10 years25.9%66,73830.3%−4.4 pts64,763 miles
11 years28.6%60,96933.3%−4.6 pts72,151 miles
12 years31.2%57,46536.0%−4.8 pts78,164 miles
13 years35.1%52,67738.3%−3.2 pts82,193 miles
14 years39.5%49,76940.3%−0.7 pts86,470 miles
15 years42.9%46,95641.6%+1.3 pts90,056 miles
16 years45.8%43,50642.6%+3.2 pts94,336 miles
17 years46.9%35,79543.1%+3.8 pts99,628 miles
18 years47.5%28,98843.3%+4.2 pts102,027 miles
19 years47.3%22,17343.2%+4.1 pts101,762 miles
20 years47.5%16,11442.8%+4.7 pts101,054 miles
21 years46.9%10,98042.1%+4.9 pts98,069 miles
22 years46.7%6,38541.0%+5.7 pts92,322 miles
23 years43.8%3,19139.6%+4.2 pts91,392 miles
24 years46.4%1,35837.8%+8.6 pts90,797 miles

Most common fail items at 7 years

Split into structural or mechanical items and wear items. Wear items (tyres, brake pads, wipers, bulbs) say more about upkeep than about the design.

Structural and mechanical

Fail itemPer 100 MOTs
Suspension arm bush worn Major5.8
Shock absorber leaking Major1.8
Brake discs: significantly and obviously worn Major1.1
Suspension arm pins and bushes: pin or bush likely to become detached Dangerous0.8

Out of 72,605 MOTs. A test with two faults counts twice.

Wear and upkeep

Fail itemPer 100 MOTs
Wipers not clearing screen Major2.6
Tyre tread below 1.6 mm Dangerous2.3
Brake pads under 1.5 mm Dangerous1.7
Tyre condition: has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords Major1.6
Tyre with cords exposed Dangerous1.3
Headlamp aim: too low Major1.1

Out of 72,605 MOTs. A test with two faults counts twice.

Other models at 7 years

ModelMOT fail rateTests (n)All cars
Skoda Octavia17.5%75,87320.6%
Skoda Yeti15.8%37,26120.6%
Skoda Superb18.2%30,17420.6%

MOT fail rate by first-use year

Each year has its own page: the fail rate for cars first used that year at each MOT from 2022 to 2025 with at least 1,000 tests, the most common faults at that age, and the car tax and ULEZ rules for that year.

First-use year data updated .

Latest MOT age with at least 1,000 tests for each first-use year.
First usedAge at testMOT fail rateTests (n)All cars
200124 years in 202547.1%1,04237.8%
200223 years in 202543.6%1,39839.6%
200322 years in 202547.3%2,23641.0%
200421 years in 202546.5%3,51942.1%
200520 years in 202546.2%5,06142.8%
200619 years in 202545.4%6,30843.2%
200718 years in 202546.0%7,87943.3%
200817 years in 202547.4%9,54943.1%
200916 years in 202543.9%12,61742.6%
201015 years in 202537.8%10,20841.6%
201114 years in 202535.2%11,33340.3%
201213 years in 202532.2%13,39338.3%
201312 years in 202529.5%18,38436.0%
201411 years in 202527.5%14,55133.3%
201510 years in 202524.9%17,80430.3%
20169 years in 202524.6%19,38227.1%
20178 years in 202523.4%18,06123.8%
20187 years in 202522.1%16,79920.6%
20196 years in 202516.7%14,66517.8%
20205 years in 202515.2%9,41815.3%
20214 years in 202514.3%8,64913.4%
20223 years in 20259.2%7,19212.1%

More on the Skoda Fabia

Read this with care. A fail rate is not a measure of build quality. How far cars are driven, how they are used and how well owners maintain them all change it, and wear items such as tyres and brake pads are common fails. Compare a model only with cars of the same age. Methodology and limits.

Looking at one Skoda Fabia?

These are figures for the model, not for one car. The VetTheCar Buying Report looks at a single car: its MOT tests, defects, advisories and mileage readings.

See an example report Browse the car tools

Source

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data, class 4 normal MOT tests, 2022 to 2025. MOT data updated 22 September 2026.

Not affiliated with or endorsed by DVSA. How we calculate these figures · Data sources