Common problems

Skoda Fabia suspension problems

How often MOT testers find suspension faults on the Skoda Fabia at each age, against all cars of the same age, and which items come up most. From 937,544 DVSA MOT tests taken 2022 to 2025.

MOT data updated 28 September 2026

At 7 years, the most tested age

Suspension fails per 100 MOTs (n=72,605)6.9

All cars at 7 years (n=10,537,318)4.4

Suspension advisories and minor defects per 100 MOTs (n=72,605)20.6

All cars, same age (n=10,537,318)8.7

What stands out

At 7 years, 6.9 of every 100 MOTs of the Skoda Fabia found a suspension fail (n=72,605), against 4.4 for all cars of that age (n=10,537,318).
It is above the all-car rate at 13 of the 22 ages with at least 1,000 tests.
The gap is widest at 24 years: 18.8 per 100 MOTs against 13.5 for all cars.
The suspension fail item recorded most often at 7 years: suspension arm bush worn, on 4.4 per 100 MOTs.
The most common suspension advisory or minor defect: shock absorbers: has light misting of oil, on 12.2 per 100 MOTs.

Suspension fails by age

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

Skoda Fabia: suspension fails and advisories per 100 MOTs, by age, against all cars. Ages with fewer than 1,000 tests are not shown.
Age	Tests (n)	Fails	All cars	Advisories	All cars
3 years	40,679	0.4	0.6	2.6	1.9
4 years	49,898	1.1	0.9	7.6	2.8
5 years	59,520	3.1	1.6	13.0	4.2
6 years	69,349	5.3	2.9	17.3	6.1
7 years	72,605	6.9	4.4	20.6	8.7
8 years	70,609	7.4	6.1	19.9	11.8
9 years	71,820	7.0	7.9	18.6	14.9
10 years	66,738	7.2	9.7	18.4	18.2
11 years	60,969	8.2	11.6	17.7	21.6
12 years	57,465	9.3	13.4	19.5	24.9
13 years	52,677	11.2	14.9	22.1	27.9
14 years	49,769	13.7	16.0	24.8	30.4
15 years	46,956	15.3	16.7	27.3	32.3
16 years	43,506	16.9	17.1	30.0	33.7
17 years	35,795	17.7	17.2	30.6	34.7
18 years	28,988	17.7	17.2	31.5	35.3
19 years	22,173	18.0	16.9	31.9	35.4
20 years	16,114	18.2	16.5	33.4	35.2
21 years	10,980	18.4	15.9	35.3	35.0
22 years	6,385	18.9	15.2	36.5	34.4
23 years	3,191	18.0	14.5	39.1	33.8
24 years	1,358	18.8	13.5	42.3	32.5

Suspension fail items at 7 years

Suspension fail items on the Skoda Fabia at 7 years (n=72,605), per 100 MOTs, with all cars at the same age (n=10,537,318).
Item	Per 100 MOTs	All cars	Typical repair (estimate)
Suspension arm bush worn	4.4	0.6	£92 to £237 per arm (rough guide)
Shock absorber leaking	1.4	0.5	£122 to £484 per axle (pair) (rough guide)
Suspension arm pins and bushes: pin or bush likely to become detached	0.7	under 0.1

Suspension advisories and minor defects at 7 years

Advisories and minor defects are recorded, but the car still passes. Across all cars, a part with an advisory or minor defect failed at the next MOT 5.5 times in 100 (n=88,666,940 pairs of consecutive MOTs), against 0.3 times in 100 when the same part had none (n=12,936,860,350).

Suspension advisories and minor defects on the Skoda Fabia at 7 years (n=72,605), per 100 MOTs, with all cars at the same age (n=10,537,318).
Item	Per 100 MOTs	All cars	If it needs replacing (estimate)
Shock absorbers: has light misting of oil	12.2	2.4	£122 to £484 per axle (pair) (rough guide)
Suspension arm pins and bushes: pin or bush worn but not resulting in excessive movement	9.3	3.0	£92 to £237 per arm (rough guide)
Macpherson strut pins and bushes: pin or bush worn but not resulting in excessive movement	0.3	0.2

Repair estimates are a guide for an independent garage: labour at the national median local garage rate (median £78 an hour from 65 garages, ONS price quotes) times estimated labour hours, plus a parts band. Labour hours and most parts bands are estimates, not quotes, and prices vary by model, engine and region. A warning light fault shows the cost of the diagnosis only.

What to check on a viewing

On the Skoda Fabia, the suspension items testers fail most are suspension arm bush worn; shock absorber leaking; suspension arm pins and bushes: pin or bush likely to become detached.

Listen for knocks or clonks over speed bumps and rough roads on the test drive.
Push down hard on each corner: the car should settle at once rather than keep bouncing.
Look behind the wheels for broken or heavily rusted coil springs and split rubber bushes.
Check that the car sits level and that no tyre is worn on one edge only.

Ask for the car's MOT history: a suspension advisory that repeats from year to year has not been fixed. GOV.UK MOT history.

Questions

What are the common suspension problems on the Skoda Fabia?

At 7 years (72,605 MOTs), the suspension fail items testers record most often are suspension arm bush worn (4.4 per 100 MOTs), shock absorber leaking (1.4 per 100 MOTs), suspension arm pins and bushes: pin or bush likely to become detached (0.7 per 100 MOTs). The most common suspension advisories or minor defects are shock absorbers: has light misting of oil (12.2) and suspension arm pins and bushes: pin or bush worn but not resulting in excessive movement (9.3).

Does the Skoda Fabia have more suspension problems than other cars?

At 7 years it has 6.9 suspension fails per 100 MOTs against 4.4 for all cars of the same age (2.5 more). It is above the all-car rate at 13 of the 22 ages with enough tests.

What does a suspension repair cost on the Skoda Fabia?

For suspension arm bush worn, an independent garage estimate is £92 to £237 per arm (rough guide). This is a guide built from the national median garage labour rate and estimated labour hours, not a quote.

Suspension problems on other Skoda models

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.

The all cars figures cover all class 4 vehicles (cars and light vans) tested at the same age.

Looking at a Skoda Fabia?

These figures describe the model, not the car in front of you. Found one you might buy? See what the VetTheCar Buying Report covers, or use the tools that work without a registration.

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Repair estimates: ONS consumer price quotes for local garage labour (09/2025 to 08/2026), the MOT inspection manual for defect wording, and estimated labour hours and parts bands. Not affiliated with or endorsed by ONS.

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 28 September 2026.

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